EBI Discussion Group Competition 2010
Objective:
To reward and promote improved dairy cow breeding and
fertility management among Dairy Discussion Groups. This
competition is open to all Dairy Discussion Groups.
Prize Winners:
A total prize fund of €43,000 is available as outlined in the
following table.
Awards:
Category
Established Groups
New Groups
€5,000
€3,000
Leinster
€2,000
€1,000
Munster
€2,000
€1,000
Connacht/Ulster
€2,000
€1,000
26 counties
€500 each
€500 each
Overall Winner
Regional Winners
County Prizes
Notes re. awards:
 There are two categories in this year’s competition, a category for established
groups and a category for newly formed discussion groups.
 Overall winner – Open to all dairy discussion groups in the country apart
from previous national award winners.
 Connacht /Ulster regional / county winners - the winning groups will come
from within the counties Clare, Mayo, Galway, Sligo, Roscommon, Donegal,
Cavan, Monaghan and Leitrim.
 Leinster regional / county winners - the winning groups will come from
within the counties Meath, Westmeath, Louth, Wexford, Dublin, Laois, Offaly,
Carlow, Kilkenny, Kildare, Longford and Wicklow.
 Munster regional / county winners – the winning groups will come from
within the counties Cork, Kerry, Tipperary, Limerick and Waterford.
 Inter county groups will be assigned to the county providing the greatest
number of members.
Operation of the Competition:
 The competition will be operated on a within county basis with groups
competing initially with each other within their own county
 Where a small number of groups apply from one county, the county will be
amalgamated with other counties to provide a ‘critical mass’ of groups. This
will be determined by the judges and based on the number of groups applying
from each county
 Based on this initial screening, up to 52 groups will be short listed for
interview
 A score sheet has been developed to ensure that all groups entering the
Competition receive feedback on where they performed strongly and where
improvement can be made
 The second major change to the 2010 Competition is the introduction of a
new groups category with a substantial portion of the prize fund available to
groups formed since 1st January 2009. This is in response to the large
number of new groups formed following the introduction of the Dairy
Efficiency Programme and provides such groups with the opportunity to
compete against each other for the prizes on offer.
 Last year’s regional and development category prize winning discussion
groups are excluded from the prizes detailed above except the Overall
Winner prize in the established discussion group category.
 Previous national winners are excluded from entering the Competition.
EBI Discussion Group Competition 2010
Application Form
1. Discussion Group Name:
Chairman / Secretary’s Name:
Address
Mobile Phone Number
Teagasc Advisor / Group Facilitator
Address
Phone Number
Email address
_____________________
2. Number of Disc. Group Members
(Submit names / addresses on attached)
3. Numbers of group members who have completed Profit Monitor
for 2009 (identify on attached)
4. When was your group first formed?
______________________
5 Which competition category are you entering? _______________
(established / new group category)
Declaration: We agree to abide by the terms and conditions as set out in the
application form and by the judges’ decision in all circumstances
Signature of Group Chairman:
EBI Discussion Group Competition 2010
Names of ALL Discussion Group Members
National IE Herd
Number
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
1
Tick (X) if Profit Monitor is completed
Dairy Profit Monitor
2009 Completed1
EBI Discussion Group Competition 2010
Terms and Conditions
1. The Competition is open to all Dairy Discussion Groups
2. Judging will be based on the information submitted on the application
form and information from ICBF & Teagasc systems.
3. The names and addresses of all discussion group members must be
submitted and verified by the group facilitator. For Teagasc facilitators,
this will be checked against Teagasc systems.
4. Group activity marks will be based relative to all discussion group
members.
5. The names of group members who have completed last year’s
Teagasc Dairy Profit Monitor must be submitted.
6. Entrants must be willing to provide evidence to support their
application.
7. In the event of winning a regional or overall prize, the winning groups
must be willing to allow a group member host a farm walk to
demonstrate the benefits of EBI and participate in relevant promotional
activity.
8. Overall winning Discussion Groups may not enter the competition for a
period of time following their win. This time period is at the discretion of
the Competition organising committee.
Deadlines:
Completed application forms should be submitted by Friday 22nd October,
2010 to:
EBI Competition,
Teagasc Advisory Office,
Moorepark,
Fermoy,
Co. Cork
EBI Discussion Group Competition 2010
Planned Operation of the Competition
Preliminary judging:
All groups will be initially pre judged and ranked on the basis of the following criteria:
Breeding Reports
EBI report - latest
Calving report – latest
Fertility report – latest
Profit Monitor data
Percentage of group members who have completed Profit Monitor for
the 2009 financial year
Judges will have access to these reports – ensure that individual member details are
up to date and correct on these reports. Group members need to contact their
facilitator to amend group details where necessary.
The important details that need to be confirmed are that group reports contain:
(1) Names of active group members,
(2) Agreement on Data consent forms for Teagasc groups,
(3) Herd Plus membership details
Finalists:
Up to fifty two groups will be selected from all entries for further judging. The next
stage of judging will include a group interview at central locations around Ireland in
early November 2010.