From the Angus TACE Desk

In the midst of the eastern bull sale season, Angus TACE has been extremely busy with our fortnightly TACE Analyses, just as one analysis finishes, the next analysis kicks off.  The never-ending hamster wheel that is Angus TACE just keeps on turning.

Recording Small Herds in Angus TACE

During recent times, Angus Australia has fielded several phone calls from both new and existing members who are excited about the possibilities that EBVs and selection indexes provide. However, their herds are small, and they are questioning whether TACE can work for them.

The simple answer is yes, breeders with small herds can certainly be involved in Angus TACE, and can have EBVs that are both informative and effective at estimating an animal’s genetic merit.

The important point to remember is that breeders must be sure to manage their animals in a way that will include as many animals in each contemporary group as possible.

 Calves will be analysed in the same contemporary group if:

• They were bred in the same herd
• Are of the same sex
• Are of the same birth number (i.e. Twins are not compared with single calves)
• Are of the same birth status (e.g. ET calves are not compared with AI/natural calves)
• Were born in the same calving year
• Were born within 45 days of each other (for birth and 200 day weight)
• Were born within 60 days of each other (for 400 and 600 day weight)
• Have performance measured on the same day (and have the same measurement history)
• Have been run under the same conditions

This seems like a large list, but if small herds ensure that there are at least two animals that meet the above criteria, their performance records can be analysed effectively by Angus TACE.

How many animals need to be in each contemporary group?

As shown below, the effectiveness of an individual’s performance record increases as more animals are represented within each contemporary group.  A single animal contemporary group is not effective, however a contemporary group with two animals will immediately jump to a 50% record effectiveness, while a contemporary group with 5 animals will have an 80% record effectiveness.  After 5 to 10 animals are represented within each group, the increase in effectiveness for each additional animal decreases rapidly with increasing group size.

This graph clearly shows that a breeder doesn’t need huge contemporary groups to have effective data in Angus TACE and even small herds can generate effective EBVs and Selection Indexes.

What about Genomic Information?

While the effectiveness of performance information is dependant on contemporary group size, the effectiveness of genomic information is not.  As a result, testing animals with genomic products offers small herds an invaluable opportunity to increase the accuracy of the EBVs that are calculated for their animals, particularly in situations where it is not possible to collect effective performance information.

For more information on recording small herds with Angus TACE, a comprehensive fact sheet can be found on the Angus Australia website or by contacting Angus TACE Project Officer Ashleigh Horne on 02 6773 4603 or by emailing tace@angusaustralia.com.au

TACE Submission Deadlines

Please be aware of the upcoming Angus TACE Analysis Deadlines.  If you are relying on updated EBVs from a particular analysis, please make sure that all of your registration details, DNA and performance data is submitted well ahead of the submission deadline to guarantee that updated EBVs are available when they are needed.

For more information regarding the upcoming analyses, please see the 2017 Angus TACE Analysis Schedule on the Angus Australia website.

Performance Data Processing Statistics

The table below provides a snapshot of some of the performance information that has been added to the Angus Australia database from the 01/01/2017 to the 31/08/2017.

Contact Information

To further discuss the requirements of performance recording with Angus TACE, please email tace@angusaustralia.com.au. Comprehensive educational material is also available from the TACE section of the Angus Australia website.