Lessons from the ASBP

Angus Australia is dedicated to providing selection tools that enable breeders of Angus cattle to make the most informed decisions, when selecting animals for use within their breeding program.

These tools centre around the TransTasman Angus Cattle Evaluation (TACE), a joint initiative between Angus Australia and the New Zealand Angus Association that produces estimated breeding values, or EBVs, for Angus, and Angus influenced cattle.

A project jointly funded by Angus Australia and the MLA Donor Company (MDC) has been established to demonstrate the value of the selection tools provided by Angus Australia.

The project will use data generated through the Angus Sire Benchmarking Program to explore questions such as “how much genetic variation is there between Angus bulls”, and “do Angus EBVs accurately predict the performance of a bull’s progeny”.

Over the next few instalments, this project will demonstrate the value of performance recording, genetic evaluation and selection using Estimated Breeding Values and Selection Indexes.