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Fixed Genetic Base for ABCs - 2000
One major change for the year 2000 is moving to a fixed genetic base for ABCs to:
 | improve
marketability of BIO evaluated animals (bulls, heifers, cows and calves)
| improve the
competitive advantage of BIO customers | |
This change should be made because:
| all other major
centres producing genetic evaluations are on a fixed base
| BIO’s numbers are
on a drastically different scale to those seen from other sources
| BIO’s current
method makes cattle difficult to market because of the small and
negative numbers | |
Comparison of ABCs on Bulls Evaluated in 1999 on a Rolling Base and Fixed Base
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GVFA 85H |
Angus |
-1.4 |
-1.4 |
13 |
43 |
5 |
20 |
30 |
80 |
|
MVF 17H |
Blonde |
2 |
2 |
9 |
39 |
2 |
17 |
31 |
81 |
|
GPSY 6H |
Charolais |
2.5 |
2.5 |
27 |
57 |
7 |
22 |
49 |
99 |
|
SSG 3H |
Gelvieh |
-1.5 |
-1.5 |
26 |
56 |
16 |
31 |
59 |
109 |
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ANCT 564H |
Hereford |
2.5 |
2.5 |
25 |
55 |
-8 |
7 |
56 |
106 |
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WSU 14H |
Limousin |
2.4 |
2.4 |
11 |
41 |
8 |
23 |
27 |
77 |
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DBL 119H |
Salers |
-.9 |
-.9 |
10 |
40 |
13 |
28 |
20 |
70 |
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GSFS 18H |
Simmental |
2.6 |
2.6 |
14 |
44 |
10 |
25 |
36 |
86 |
Background
Historically, genetic evaluation of Canadian beef cattle has used a "rolling base". The current base used by BIO is a three year rolling base. For example, the average ABC of an animal born in 1999 for weaning gain would be 0.
The majority of beef cattle in the world are evaluated on a fixed base. With a fixed base, the base is actually "fixed" for a certain year or average over a few years. A fixed set of animals (for example, animals born in 1972) will have evaluations (EPDs and ABCs) average 0 every year. As genetic progress is made, the average evaluation on current animals continues to move in a positive direction.
Currently, most fixed base evaluations around the world have average evaluations between 30 and 60 for growth traits. Many producers become used to seeing evaluations of a certain magnitude in sire catalogues and from sire summaries. When buyers see smaller numbers on BIO evaluated animals, they may incorrectly conclude that BIO evaluated animals are inferior. In fact, these animals may be far superior if they were presented on a base in the range to which producers are used to seeing. Moving to a fixed base for ABCs will solve this problem quickly.
Common Questions and Answers
Q.Besides bulls, will this change to a fixed base affect cows and heifers?Q.What happens to the data I have in HERD-LINK?ABCs provided for ALL animals evaluated by BIO will be on a fixed base. This includes calves, heifers, bulls, steers and bulls evaluated through any of Herd Recording, HERD-LINK, Bull Evaluation and Heifer Development services.
All your HERD-LINK genetic evaluations will be updated in the new year. After you send us your 1999 data, we will forward your updated data to you.
Q. Will I still be able to rank my animals the same way?
Yes, the magnitude of difference between animals will not change. Producers will still be able to rank bulls evaluated in the Bull Evaluation Program for each trait using percentile ranks that were introduced last year. Using percentile ranks, producers can determine easily if an animal is below or above average for a given trait.
Q.What about EPDs?
For the year 2000, EPDs will remain on a rolling base.
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©
2001, Beef Improvement Ontario |