Recently, a bull selection workshop was held on the picturesque farm at Magic Valley Angus Stud in Harvey. The weather was kind, with clouds clearing up for a very educational day that was well attended. Milne Feeds was proud to be one of the sponsors.
Magic Valley, in a beautiful location east of Harvey, lived up to its name, with a winding trail through the forest opening up to the amazing family farm. It was clear to see how highly the family values the responsibility they have to agriculture. The cattle were extremely well looked after and, as one attendee noted, were very happy.
The day was attended by people from all areas of the cattle industry. This included students from Harvey Ag College, who actively engaged by asking many questions and contributing their own thoughts. Once again it was great to see the future of the cattle industry in such interested and passionate young hands.
The purpose of the workshop was to help educate people in the industry on the best ways to improve their cattle enterprise profits through the selection and breeding of bulls. The focus was on how to choose and develop the best genetics to suit each farm’s particular requirements.
Over the last 200 years, bulls have been strategically bred to achieve many different Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs); from short legs 200 years ago, to the 80s where ‘bigger is best’ was the aim, to the latest trend, which is a medium genetic. To assist breeders with genetic choices for their cattle, BREEDPLAN, a modern genetic evaluation system for beef cattle, has been working on genetic analysis since 1985.
Recognised as the world’s most widely used genetic evaluation system for beef cattle, BREEDPLAN allows beef producers to access and compare the genetic merit of animals. The software compares each animal on its site to the average of the breed. Among the many traits considered are items such as structural soundness, carcass weight, marble score and gestation length. Only EBVs produced in the same breed plan analysis can be directly compared.
When considering high EBV accuracy, the general rule is that the higher the EBV, the better.
During comparison of EBV, three factors need to be applied:
1. Compare to the level of genetic merit - which allows farmers to understand where a bull ranks in the current population. Comparing the EBV of the bull against the breed average allows for the analysis of whether the animal is below or above the average of the particular genetic level of each trait. In this case, it is not always advantageous to have the rank as higher. The ideal rank will depend more on each farmer’s breeding objectives.
2. Compare expected difference in progeny performance - a bull/sire will only pass on 50% EBV to the progeny, the other half comes from the dam.
3. Consider EBV accuracy - the accuracy provides a measure of stability. A younger bull will have a lower EBV accuracy because of the lower number of progeny. An older bull, however, will have a higher EBV which comes from having more progeny. The accuracy will be influenced by the level of risk each farm or breeder can tolerate.
The image below is an example of EBV from a bull. As can be seen from this example, most of the EBVs are above average but, as noted above, this may not be what best suits your business. It should also be noted that the BREEDPLAN information is best used in conjunction with a visual assessment.
Milne Feeds Sales Manager, Paul Nenke, attended the workshop and was pleased to catch up with many farmers on the day, hear their positive feedback, and learn many new things himself. Sincere thanks to Magic Valley Angus Stud for hosting the event and we look forward to next year’s workshop.
