Internet Solutions Information/Overview

From ABRI - Agricultural Business Research Institute

As part of its Breedplan services to Breed Associations, ABRI has developed an extensive range of web-based services, easily accessible to anyone worldwide who has access to the Internet.

These systems have entry to the Association's pedigree and performance database, which has been built up over many years of performance recording and accurate bookkeeping. The online database is an invaluable tool to the serious cattle producer.

Pricing for internet solutions and sale cataloguing

Below are charges to be applied  the Angus new Zealand (Angus NZ)   for 2010 'Internet Solutions', 'Sale Cataloguing', 'Semen Cataloguing' and extraction of data for cataloguing by the staff at PBBnz is $3.50/per lot.
It is possible for individual templates to be supplied byPBBnz for outside printers to use for personal Sale Catalogues. You will be charged extraction costs by Angus NZ, all other costs will be charged direct by PBBnz and should not be confused with above Angus NZ charges to members.
Any additional work carried out by PBBnz staff (eg. Formatting for catalogues) will be charged directly by them at their rates. They will give quotes if required.

Semen cataloguing on internet solutions.

Contact the office to place your AI Bulls on to the Semen Catalogue of Internet Solutions. 

Using EBVs for making comparisons
between animals

By Peter Parnell,
CEO, Australian Angus

When using EBVs to assist in selection decisions, it is important to remember that only half the EBV differences between animals are expressed in their progeny.

For example, when comparing the expected difference in the 400-Day weights of calves from two bulls, you need to consider half the difference in EBVs between the bulls, multiplied by the expected number of calves sired during the normal life span of a bull in your herd.

 Example:   400-day Wt. EBV
          BULL  A     +40 kg
          BULL  B      +20 kg
Expected difference in 400 day weight:
 ½ x (40 kg - 20 kg)  = 10 kg  per calf

Total gain over 3 years of use, with 25 calves per year:
25 calves x 3 years x 10kg = 750kg

(plus further benefits from the future improved performance of daughter’s calves)

This simple calculation can be a useful guide to assist in determining the potential extra revenue you can expect from using a bull with superior growth EBVs.  Similar calculations can be made for determining the expected effect on progeny performance of differences in other EBVs. 

In selecting bulls for use in your herd, it is often helpful to compare their EBV figures relative to the whole drop of bulls for sale.  During 2010 many of the bulls for sale will come from the 2008 calf crop. 

The table on that lists the EBV percentile bands for the 2008 born calves, for each of the traits included in the Autumn 2010 Angus GROUP BREEDPLAN analysis.   This table provides a guide to the relative ranking of any animal, compared with the total 2008 calf crop. 

For example, a bull with a 600-Day Wt EBV of +110 kg, and a Birth Wt EBV of +5.9 kg is in the highest 5% of the breed for 600-Day Wt and in the lowest 20% of the breed for Birth Wt, compared to all recorded calves born in 2008.  A bull with a ‘Days to Calving’ EBV of –4.9 days would be in the highest (most favourable) 5% of the breed for that trait.

Click Here for the EBV percentile table (PDF document)

Understanding Accuracies

The “accuracy” associated with an EBV gives an indication of its reliability and the likely extent of its possible change, as more information becomes available.  EBVs are based on the available information at the time of the GROUP BREEDPLAN analysis.  As more data becomes available on an animal (or its progeny, or relatives) the accuracy of its EBVs, for particular traits, will increase.

For example, a bull at two years of age might have EBVs based on his own performance and the performance of his siblings, parents and other relatives.  As the bull is used and his progeny recorded, more information is available about his likely genetic merit.  As a result, his EBVs may change and the accuracies will increase.

Accuracies are influenced by the heritabilities of traits and the genetic associations existing between them.  For lowly heritable traits, more information is required to achieve a similar accuracy to that of highly heritable traits.

Accuracies are expressed as percentages.  The higher the percentage, the greater the chance that the EBV is a true estimate of the animal’s genetic merit and the less likelihood that the EBV will change as more information becomes available.  Even though an EBV with a low accuracy may change in the future, it is still the best estimate of an animal’s genetic merit for that trait.  Generally, as more information becomes available, an EBV is just as likely to increase in value as it is to decrease.

Figure 1. An Example Sale Catalogue entry with Accuracies highlighted (red arrow)

Where an individual performance record is available on an animal, for a particular trait, then its EBV for that trait must have an accuracy of at least 20% before it will be reported.  Where no individual performance is available, the EBV must have an accuracy of at least 50% for growth and carcase traits, and at least 35% for calving ease, milk and days to calving EBVs, to be reported.

The maximum likely change to EBVs, at different accuracy levels, is indicated by the standard error associated with different accuracies.  The size of the standard errors decrease as the accuracies increase.  Statistically, there is a 66% chance that an animals true breeding value will be within 1 standard error of its EBV, and a 96% chance that it will be within 2 standard errors of its EBV.  Table 1 shows the confidence ranges associated with different accuracy levels for various traits.

For example, a 400-Day Wt. EBV with an accuracy of 90% will have a standard error of ± 7 kg.  If an animal’s EBV is +30kg then, with the addition of further information (e.g. progeny or sibling records), the EBV would be expected to still fall within the range of +23 kg to +37 kg (i.e. 30 ± 7 kg) 67% of the time; and, within the range of +16 kg to +44 kg (i.e. 30 ± 14 kg) 96% of the time.

Heritabilities of Traits in Angus Group Breedplan.

Only part of the variation that we observe among animals is due to genetic differences. The majority of the variation is generally due to non-genetic factors such as differences in environment and nutrition.

The drgree to which genetic differences influence performance varies from trait to trait. This is explained by differences in the heritability of the traits. Growth and carcass traits tend to have moderate to high heritabilities(i.e. 20% to 40%), whilst femalwe fertility and calving ease have low heritability(10% or lower).

GROUP BREEDPLAN takes into account the different degrees of heritability of various traits, and the known genetic relationships between the traits.