Performance
Proven Performance
The Greenup family’s commitment to performance recording stems from a desire to breed cattle that will in turn, develop both consistently and predictably. On a number of occasions in the past we were disappointed with the progeny of young sires whose sale weights and other ‘raw’ indicators of performance were of subpar quality.
It became obvious that some bulls were ‘looked after’ very well and performed well because of the extra feed they got. However, if they did not have the genetics to back up this performance, their progeny were relatively low performers. It is exceedingly difficult to decide between what is genetics and what is environment, especially when buying from a herd you haven’t bought from before.
By directly comparing only those cattle that have been grown in the same environment, Santa Gertrudis Group BREEDPLAN can take environmental factors out of the equation and give us an indication of the actual genetic makeup of an animal. By linking herds through common pedigrees, Group BREEDPLAN can compare cattle between herds.
What is BREEDPLAN?
BREEDPLAN is a modern genetic evaluation system for beef cattle breeders. It has been developed in Australia and is provided to both Australian and international clients of the Agricultural Business Research Institute (ABRI) and so represents the most widely used genetic evaluation service for beef cattle internationally. BREEDPLAN offers bull breeders the potential to accelerate genetic progress within their herds, and to importantly, provide objective information on stock they sell to commercial breeders.
BREEDPLAN uses an advanced genetic evaluation system (based on Best Linear Unbiased Prediction (BLUP) technology) to produce Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) of recorded cattle for a range of important production traits such as weight, carcase and fertility.
When Rosevale first joined BREEDPLAN about fifteen years ago, we only submitted weaning weights on all calves of known parentage and 400 Day weights and scrotal sizes of bulls within this group. While the resulting EBVs were of use to us, it is obvious to us now that there was not enough information to calculate accurate EBVs.
The Rosevale herd is now one of the most extensively and accurately performance recorded herds in the Santa Gertrudis breed. Genomic testing is further adding to this precision.
Annual records submitted to Santa Gertrudis Group BREEDPLAN include:
- Weaning weights on all calves
- 400 Day weights and flight times on all yearlings
- Muscle, fat scans and scrotal sizes on all yearling bulls
- 600 Day weights on all bulls and heifers
- Mature weights on all cows when calves are weaned (maximum of 4 times)
- Mating dates of all females
The above data combines with accurately recorded birth dates and pedigrees and clearly defined management groups to ensure the calculation of accurate BREEDPLAN EBVs for Rosevale cattle.
For more information, head to our Group BREEDPLAN page
It’s In The Pedigree
All of our stud cattle now have known pedigrees – through either single sire mating or DNA analysis to determine sires. This cuts down on the open-ended pedigrees created by ‘multiple’ sires and dams and therefore helps build on generations of recorded performance.
Compared to the past, more weights are taken. This means a little more work for us, but we are very satisfied with the results we are getting. The recording of mature cow weights has had a big impact on the accuracy of all growth EBVs as it helps BREEDPLAN accurately ‘map’ the growth pattern of each animal.
It concerns us that some stud breeders talk negatively about the accuracy of BREEDPLAN. In most cases, the performance recording within the herds that these people are associated with fails for one or more of the following reasons:
- Lack of data (eg. only one or two weights recorded).
- Poor management grouping (directly comparing cattle from different environments).
- Inaccurate birth date and/or pedigree recording.
- When performance records are both complete and accurate, BREEDPLAN has the ability to give an accurate indication of the genetic makeup of an animal.
- Because of the thorough recording carried out in our herd Rosevale bulls have their performance proven.
BREEDPLAN only calculates EBVs for traits that are measurable and therefore helps ‘tell part of the story’. Visual appraisal for structure, temperament, and conformation along with such things as vet assessments of semen quality must be used in conjunction with BREEDPLAN EBVs to select an animal that is functional and suited to your environment, management and markets.