Selection Index reportability

There are two components that determine whether selection index values will be published on an animal within the TransTasman Angus Cattle Evaluation.

1. A selection index value has been calculated for the animal
2. The selection index value meets the required reportability criteria to be published

Component 1 – Calculation of Selection Index Values

Selection index values will be calculated for an animal if:

• The animal is included in the TransTasman Angus Cattle Evaluation (TACE). Broadly speaking, animals will be included in the TACE analysis if they have at least one performance measurement recorded with Angus Australia, or at least one of their progeny has a performance measurement recorded with Angus Australia.
• The animal has a 600 Day Weight EBV with an accuracy greater than 0%.
• The animal does not have “extreme EBVs”. The identification of an animal as having extreme EBVs is a data quality check within the TACE analysis that identifies animals with EBVs that differ considerably from those that would be expected based on the EBVs of their parents.

Component 2 – Selection Index Reportability Criteria

Animals that meet the above criteria will have selection indexes calculated, but whether the selection index value is published is dependent on whether the selection index meets the required reportability criteria.

Reportability relates to a series of minimum criteria that must be me before the selection indexes will be published. Specifically, animals must have a least one EBV in four different “trait blocks” that has an accuracy greater than or equal to a threshold value.

The threshold values used within the TransTasman Angus Cattle Evaluation are displayed in Table 1.

The reportability criteria are in place to ensure the integrity of the selection indexes that are published.

The reportability criteria ensure that selection index values are only available if a sufficient amount of information has been recorded on the animal or its relatives across the range of traits that contribute to the selection index values.