Droughtmaster Group Breedplan

The 2010 Droughtmaster Group Breedplan analysis has included significant changes. The Droughtmaster Society requested a change to the determination of the base for Droughtmaster analysis. The changes have resulted in significant changes in EBV's for most traits and as a consequence it is not possible to compare the 2009 & 2010 Group EBV's for any previous analyses.

Individual Droughtmaster herds have submitted performance records to Breedplan since 1985. All those records have now been combined into one single computer analysis: Droughtmaster Group Breedplan. This allows valid across-herd genetic comparisons to be made, both within and between years, covering many differing environments and management systems.

ESTIMATED BREEDING VALUES (EBVs)
The EBV is the best estimate of an animal's genetic merit for that trait.

ACCURACY (%)
Provides an indication of reliability of an EBV. As more performance information becomes available on an animal (or its progeny, or relatives) then the accuracy of its EBVs for particular traits will increase. For more information and detailed explanations contact Tropical Beef Technology Services phone 0418 268 158.

FERTILITY
SS: Scrotal Size EBV (cm) is an indicator of male fertility in regards to semen quality and quantity. Higher (positive) EBVs indicate higher fertility. SS is also positively associated with female fertility.

GROWTH
Milk: 200-Day Milk EBV (kg) is an estimate of an animal's milking ability. For sires, this EBV is indicative of their daughter's milking ability as it affects the 200 day weight of their calves.
200: 200-Day Growth EBV (kg). This EBv is an estimation of the animal's genetic merit for 200-day growth calculated independently of the maternal milk effect.
400: 400-Day Weight EBV (kg).This EBV gives us an estimation of the animal's yearling weight potential.
600: 600-Day Weight EBV (kg).This EBV is the best single estimate of an animal's merit for growth beyond yearling age.