Page 11 - Hingaia Angus Sale Catalogue ebook

Disclaimer
Whilst all due care and attention has been paid to accuracy in the compilation of this
catalogue neither the vendors, the selling agents or representatives thereof assume
any responsibility whatsoever for the correctness use or interpretation of the infor-
mation on animals included in this sale catalogue.

EBVs EXPLAINED

An animal’s breeding value is its genetic merit, half of which will be passed on to its progeny.
While we will never know the exact breeding value, for performance traits it is possible to make
good estimates. These estimates are called Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs).
In the calculation of EBVs, the performance of individual animals within a contemporary
group is directly compared to the average of other animals in that group. A contemporary
group consists of animals of the same sex and age class within a herd, run under the same
management conditions and treated equally. Indirect comparisons are made between animals
reared in different contemporary groups, through the use of pedigree links between the groups.
EBVs are expressed in the units of measurement for each particular trait. They are shown as
+ ive or - ive differences between an individual animal’s genetics difference and the genetic
base to which the animal is compared. For example, a bull with an EBV of +50 kg for 600-Day
Weight is estimated to have genetic merit 50 kg above the breed base of 0 kg. Since the breed
base is set to an historical benchmark, the average EBVs of animals in each year drop has
changed over time as a result of genetic progress within the breed.
The absolute value of any EBV is not critical, but rather the differences in EBVs between
animals. Particular animals should be viewed as being “above or below breed average” for a
particular trait.
Whilst EBVs provide the best basis for the comparison of the genetic merit of animals reared
in different environments and management conditions, they can only be used to compare
animals analysed within the same analysis. Consequently, NZ ANGUS BREEDPLAN EBVs cannot
be validly compared with EBVs for any other breed.
Although EBVs provide an estimate of an animal’s genetic merit for a range of production
traits, they do not provide information for all of the traits that must be considered during
selection of functional animals. In all situations, EBVs should be used in conjunction with
visual assessment for other traits of importance (such as structural soundness, temperament,
fertility etc). A recommended practice is to firstly select breeding stock based on EBVs and
to then select from this group to ensure that the final selections are otherwise acceptable.
EBVs are published for a range of traits covering fertility, calving ease, milking ability, growth,
carcase merit and feed efficiency. When using EBVs to assist in selection decisions it is
important to achieve a balance between the different groups of traits and to place emphasis
on those traits that are important to the particular herd, markets and environment. One of the

Hingaia Angus Bull Sale 2021 11