Rollout of Beef Genomic Breeding Values
AUSTRALIA - A new project launched by the Beef CRC and MLA to kick-start the commercial rollout of the Beef CRC’s genomic predictions for Australian beef cattle has been oversubscribed by breeders seeking to participate.Beef CRC CEO Dr Heather Burrow said the
number of subscribers to the 3000 young animal
project reflected growing confidence in the industry
in the value of genomics to predict commercially
important traits.
“With the genomic prediction equations
developed from the new 700K SNP chips, we will
deliver a world-first product to identify the genetic
qualities for hard-to-measure production and
reproduction traits across breeds,” Dr Burrow said.
The owners of the 3000 animals will be the first
in Australia to receive the new Australian blended
genomic breeding values for their animals.
The project invited beef breed societies and
breeders to participate in the genotyping of 3,000
young animals to predict their breeding value using
the new genomic prediction equations. Around 110
breeders representing 11 different breeds applied to
be part of the project, which was over-subscribed.
The collection of samples for genotyping began
in January 2012.
Dr Hans Graser, Director of AGBU, who is
coordinating the project through the Beef CRC, said
the 3000 young animal project partially supported the cost of genotyping for breeders as part of the
rollout of genomic predictions for Australian beef
cattle.
“The accuracy of these genomic predictions
will vary across breeds and across traits,” Dr Graser
said. “We are still in the process of calibrating their
accuracy for all BREEDPLAN traits. They will be
tested using the industry sires which were genotyped
in 2011.”
If shown to be robust, the predictions will help
commercial bull-buyers to identify which bulls are
most suited for their production systems with greater
confidence. They will also improve the accuracy of
all BREEDPLAN traits.
The accuracy of the new blended genomic
breeding values, which include hard to measure
traits such as carcase and meat quality, net
feed intake and male and female reproductive
performance in tropical cattle, will be released by Beef CRC Chief Scientist Professor Mike Goddard at
the Beef Australia 2012 International Beef Cattle
Genetics Conference in Rockhampton on Monday 6
May.
Dr Burrow said the value overall to the industry
was to improve the accuracy of selecting the next
generation of young sires.
“Once the genomic predictions have been
calibrated in BREEDPLAN, the technology will help
Australian producers increase their rates with genetic
gain,” she said.
“The critical thing is that this product has been
developed and tested on Australian animals in
Australian production systems.”
Dr Burrow said the inclusion of genomic
information would continue to improve breeding
accuracies with increased levels of performance
recording in industry herds.
Dr Burrow said delivering the genomic prediction
equations was a key milestone of the third round of
Commonwealth funding for Beef CRC.
TheCattleSite News Desk