At Stellar, we believe that EBVs are an invaluable tool in making evidence-based breeding decisions that – when utilised in conjunction with other relevant criteria such as structure and temperament – can dramatically lift productivity and profitability in a herd.
Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) and Selection Indexes
The use of EBVs in Australia dates back to the late 1970s, and they have been playing an integral role in the industry for at least the last two decades.
EBVs provide an estimate of an animal’s genetic potential for specific traits, such as growth rate, gestation length, and carcass quality.
The introduction of EBVs has revolutionised the way cattle breeding decisions can be made, providing a more accurate and objective measure of genetic potential for various production traits. This has allowed breeders to make more informed breeding and selection decisions, ultimately leading to improvements in herd genetics and overall productivity.
EBVs are derived from a combination of an animal’s own performance data, such as weight and carcass measurements, and the performance data of its relatives. This information is then analysed using sophisticated statistical methods to estimate the genetic merit of the animal. In Australia, for the beef industry, the key platform for undertaking these analyses is Breedplan.
The Breedplan website has a wide range of Factsheets and Frequently Asked Questions that provide comprehensive information and guidance to the use of EBV’s.
An important development for Speckle Park has been the introduction of “Single Step” Breedplan analyses, which has seen the wonderful depth of genomic information collected by Speckle Park stud breeders combined with the pedigree related performance data, to significantly improve the accuracy of the breed’s EBVs.
Breedplan has an excellent article on Understanding EBV Accuracy, which concludes that “although the accuracy of an EBV should be considered, animals should generally be compared on EBVs regardless of accuracy as they are still the best estimate of an animal’s breeding value. In the case where animals have similar EBVs, the animal with the higher accuracy would be preferable because the results can be predicted with more confidence (i.e. less risk).”
A further recent development for the Speckle Park breed has been the introduction of Selection Indexes. These indexes provide an indication of an animal’s genetic value for profit across multiple traits for a specific production system or target market.
The following EBVs and Selection indexes are available from Breedplan for Speckle Parks:
| Growth EBVs | Fertility & Birth EBVs | Carcase EBVs | Selection Indexes |
| Birth Weight
200 Day Growth 400 Day Weight 600 Day Weight Milk (Maternal) Mature Cow Weight |
Scrotal Size
Gestation Length
|
Carcase Weight
Eye Muscle Area Rib Fat Rump Fat Retail Beef Yield Intramuscular Fat |
Domestic Maternal (DM)
Domestic Terminal (DT) Export Maternal (EM) Export Terminal (ET)
|
At Stellar, our strong commitment to collecting performance data reflects our belief in the importance of using EBVs as a critical tool in the evaluation of animals. While EBVs are not the sole criteria for selection, they play a significant role alongside other key factors such as structure and temperament.
To find out how Stellar Speckle Park genetics can future-proof your stud operation, please visit our Sales page to see our current Bulls and Genetics for sale, or contact us to learn more.
