Gene hints disseminated in beef herd

The dairy sector has led the livestock industry with its genetic progress, but has signiicant advantages over other livestock operations to measure its production.

Daily milk figures, a structured herd testing scheme, the extensive use of AI, and top industry genetics over a large percentage of the nations herd has allowed this sector spectacular progress in genetic gain.

Sheep and beef farmers do not have such advantages, but do have EBV's to judged an animals breeding merit.  The Deer industry has also followed this approach in an endeavour to recognise superior animals by other factors other than their looks.

Are you using EBV's when selecting sires for your herd, and if not why not?

Commercial beef farmers had an opportunity to increase their knowledge and gain a better understanding of the estimated breeding values (EBVs) system at a recent beef genetics forum in North Otago. The forum, hosted by Fossil Creek Angus and Goldwyn Angus, was held at Neil and Rose Sanderson's Fossil Creek Angus stud at Ngapara reports The ODT. The discussion included the relevance of subjective and objective information when selecting bulls, how to interpret and use genetic information when buying bulls, how to simplify bull selection with selection indices and how to source bulls on the internet with the best genetic package for a particular herd.

Forum presenters Christian Duff and Andrew Byrne are both heavily involved in beef genetic technologies in Australia. Their presentation aimed to educate commercial farmers on how to interpret the information available so they could best use that information for their own herds. Mr Duff encouraged farmers to talk to their bull supplier and tell them exactly what they wanted a bull to do and the environment it was going into.
The tools were there and the trick was to know how to use the information or to talk to the stud breeder, he said.

Mr Sanderson said clients wanted to learn more and the forum had been interactive and hands-on, with cattle on site to support the presentations and discussions. At Fossil Creek, they were not totally focused on Breedplan or EBVs or performance recording, and there was a chance to show other aspects of what they were doing. It was all about a package - "we don't sit down and mate cows on the computer" - and it was a good to promote the balanced programme of what they did. One farmer attending said he took an interest in EBVs because he believed in the figures. Genetics had been a "big thing" in the dairy industry and he had seen EBVs work in that industry.