EBI Explanation

Economic breeding Index (EBI) is a single figure profit index aimed at helping farmers identify the most profitable bulls and cows for breeding dairy herd replacements. 

It comprises of information on seven sub-indexes related to profitable milk production.

These are:

1. Milk Production

2. Fertility

3. Calving Performance

4. Beef Carcass

5. Cow Maintenance

6. Cow Management

7. Health

The main goals of the EBI index are to breed high fertility, easily managed cows of moderate stature, who produce high quality milk in a cost effective manner with a regular calving interval.

The economic values in the index are based on data collected from Irish Dairy Farms and the Dairy Industry. These values were last updated in May 2017. 

Table 1 - Economic values and % emphasis of the various traits in the EBI formula :