Updated Research Breeding Values for Mature Cow Body Condition and Mature Cow Height for sires are now available.
TO ACCESS THE UPDATED RBVs CLICK HERE
By comparison to the RBVs last published in November 2019, the updated RBVs include a considerably increased number of performance measurements, with 29,454 body condition scores and 11,044 hip height measurements now analysed respectively. A number of improvements have also been made to the analytical software that is used to calculate the RBVs, including the capability to include a greater number of measurements for each individual female, and the publication of percentile band values for each RBV.
The calculation of RBVs for Mature Cow Body Condition (MBC) and Mature Cow Height (MCH) is part of a partnership between Angus Australia and the School of Environmental and Rural Science at the University of New England (UNE) to undertake research into the genetics of traits related to the productivity and profitability of the female breeding herd.
The development of RBVs for mature height and body condition complements the existing Mature Cow Weight and Milk EBV that are published routinely for Angus animals in the TransTasman Angus Cattle Evaluation, providing a more complete genetic description of Angus animals for the traits that are associated with differences in cow maintenance requirements.
With updated sire RBVs now available, development is nearing completion that will enable Angus Australia members to view and download MBC and MCH RBVs for their animals on the Angus Database Search. Further announcements are expected in coming weeks about this.
Should you have any questions, or wish to provide feedback regarding the updated Research Breeding Values for Mature Cow Body Condition and Mature Cow Height, please contact Andrew Byrne, Breed Development & Extension Manager, on (02) 6773 4618 or andrew@angusaustralia.com.au.
