Learn about joining
Angus GROUP BREEDPLAN

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Joining Breedplan
25 - What work is involved
26 - What is the minimum size herd that can participate
27- What do get back from Breedplan
28 - Can I record calves that have been fed differently
29 - How long does take to get useful EBVs for my herd
30 - Should I only record calves from my top cows
31 - Can I have records from past years analysed
32 – What help is available after I join
33 - When I buy a cow with EBVs, do those EBVs go with the cow 

25 : What extra work will be required if I join BREEDPLAN

To participate in Breedplan you will need to:

• have the cows, sires and calves you wish to record individually and uniquely identified.

• record the birth date, sire and dam of each calf.

• mother up and tag or tattoo calves soon after birth

• weigh calves at least once, when the group average age is around 200 days. Weighing and scanning at other ages is optional, albeit desirable.

The first 3 steps are required for Breed Society Pedigree records so the only extra work for stud breeders is weighing calves on one or more occasions.

Calves can be first weighed when they are between 80 and 300 days of age. For best results, weigh when the average age of the group is about 200 days. A 400-Day weight can be recorded between 301 and 500 days of age, and a 600-Day weight can be recorded between 501 and 900 days of age. Recording of birth weight is optional. When deciding weighing date consider management implications and also the need to keep groups as large as possible, e.g. It is better to weigh all bull calves at 160 days rather than wait till 200 days when some have been castrated.

At your option you may record ultra-sound scanning observations of fat depth and eye muscle area measured by an accredited Breedplan scanner at a time between 300 and 800 days of age. The dates sires were put in with cows and scrotal size of bull calves are also optional, but important measurements.

There will be some extra office work involved, particularly in the first year, if back records are processed. Those with personal computers are able to transfer records to the processing centre by disk or computer print-out if a Breedplan compatible software program is used – Herd Magic or Cattle Plus.

26 : Small herds and Breedplan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Go to Top

Small herds can join Breedplan and benefit greatly by doing so by being linked to the breed base. This allows them to see how their animals compare with the breed average and other herds, identify sires that will progress their breeding program, and compete on a level playing field with larger studs when marketing their animals.

Herds with as few as 10 cows can get meaningful EBVs however they need a tight management program to ensure that all of their animals are included.

The basic mechanism by which BREEDPLAN works is to compare the performance of animals to other animals in the same group. Where there is only one animal in a group there is nothing that it can be compared with and therefore its performance cannot be used. Calves are only analysed in the same group if they:

• were bred in the same herd,

• are of the same sex,

• were born within 45 days (for birth and 200 day weight) or 60 days (for 400 and 600 day weight) of each other,

• have been run under the same conditions,

• and have been weighed on the same day.

An analysis group must therefore have a minimum of two animals that meet these criteria in order to be used in the BREEDPLAN analysis. There are a number of strategies that breeders can use to ensure that the performance of calves will be included in effective analysis groups.

Restricted calving periods : as calves are only included in the same analysis group if they are born within 45 or 60 days of one another, it is essential that small herds have as shorter calving period that is practical. 6 to 8 weeks is ideal.  

• Run all calves under the same management conditions: where possible all calves should be run under the same conditions and weighed on the same day. If calves are to be split into different groups it is useful to weigh the whole group before it is split. For example, it is possible to take 200 day weights anywhere between 80 and 300 days of age, so you can weigh all male calves as a group before a portion of them are castrated.

• Inclusion of commercial animals: Many breeders have a small stud herd run in conjunction with commercial animals which can be recorded along side the pedigree animals. This allows a greater number of animals to be included in the same analysis group. This can also be achieved by analysing together the performance of animals from two stud herds that are run on the same property.

• Use more than one sire: Another important factor to consider is that a herd should use more than one sire in any joining program. BREEDPLAN requires at least 2 sires to be represented in an analysis group if the performance of the progeny is going to contribute to the calculation of EBVs for their sire. Where AI programs are used they should be timed so that AI sired calves are born at the same time as calves sired by natural joining.

• Supply recipient dam details: Herds that use embryo transfer need to identify the breed and age of the recipient dams of ET calves. If the breed of recipient dams is not supplied ET calves are split into single animal analysis groups and therefore their own performance cannot be used. If possible recipient dams should be of the same breed.

27 : What do I get back from Breedplan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Go to Top

BREEDPLAN gives you updated reports whenever additional information is submitted. The reports include:

In addition, each report details the number of progeny and, for sires, the number of daughters progeny analysed. A genetic trend report details annual genetic progress being achieved within the individual herd/breed for each trait.

28 : Can I record calves that have been fed or managed differently . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Go to Top

Yes. Calves that have been treated differently, for example run in different paddocks, or have received a feed supplement, can be compared as long as you record them as having been managed differently from their peers. There is a column on the recording form for different management groups.

29 : How long does it take before my EBVs are meaningful

EBVs are a useful estimate of genetic merit from the time you analyse your first records, however their usefulness increases as your databank build up - remember, the EBV is the best possible estimate from the available information, so the better (more) the information the better the estimate.

It takes about 3 to 5 years to build up a really useful bank of records. Group Breedplan speeds up the process by increasing the pool of progeny being analysed.

The real benefit comes when you have a complete generation of Breedplan records, that is when animals first recorded as calves become parents themselves. Then the EBVs increase in accuracy and predictive power considerably.

30 : Should I record calves from only my better cows . . . . . . . . . Go to Top

No. The value and accuracy of Breedplan relies on building up a complete profile of herd performance.

Selectively recording animals will deny you a true picture of what is happening in your herd. It will give you a distorted base set unreasonably high or it may undervalue your better sires whilst overvaluing the lesser sires, and may make your genetic trend appear lower than it actually might be.

For example if you have 30 bull calves each from 2 sires and you cull 20 calves from one sire because of unsatisfactory performance, but do not record them, then the only information that Breedplan has for that sire is from the 10 good calves.

When the records are analysed, the average performance of these 10 calves will probably be higher than the average performance of the 20 calves from the better sire. You will say that Breedplan has got it wrong when in fact Breedplan got it right - from the information that you submitted

Breedplan makes the best estimate from the available information, and if the submitted information is biased then so will the resultant estimate be biased.

Therefore it is important to record at least a first weight for steered and cull calves as well as those calves that you keep on. Record the outcome of all matings, even if the calf was born dead or did not make it through to weaning. There is no charge for recording dead calves.

31 : Can records from past calf drops be included . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Go to Top

Yes, past records, or back data as they are called, can be included and will build up the performance profile of your herd, and establish your herd base, more quickly.

In general, if you are starting to record with the current calf drop, it would be advisable to add records from the parents and grandparents of these calves, if available. Adding records from more distant ancestors will not increase the accuracy of EBVs to any great extent.

32 : What back-up help is available if I join Breedplan . . . . . . . . . Go to Top

Angus Australia provide a professional advisory service to members and commercial breeders. Breedplan also provides the services of a National Coordinator who is available to provide technical support. State Department of Agriculture beef cattle extension officers can help you with day-to-day problems.

Click here for the contact details of people that can offer you support.

33 : When I buy a cow with EBVs, do the EBVs go with the cow

Group EBVs are directly comparable with EBVs from any other herd (of the same breed), in this case the herd of the purchaser. After an animal is transferred to another herd, EBV calculations takes into account information about that animal and its relatives in both the original and the new herd.

The Web reportability of EBVs for animals in the ownership of Full members depend on Breedplan membership. If you are not a Breedplan participating member the EBVs will not display on the Web.