Which EBV is most important to livestock farmers?

Calving ease and muscle depth have come top in a survey looking at how beef and sheep farmers use estimated breeding values (EBVs) in breeding programmes.

Also of importance were scan weight, eight-week weight and maternal ability for flocks and mature calving ease, growth weights and scrotal circumference in cattle, with docility also taken into account.

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This is according to a survey of Signet traits in an AHDB Beef and Lamb-funded survey, which showed a trend for sheep farms to select for lamb growth rates and ewe milking ability. Meanwhile, beef producers focus on calving ease and later calf growth rates.

Sheep EBVs	Cattle EBVs
Muscle depth Scan weight Eight-week weight Maternal ability Carcase shapes Lambing ease Fat depth Carcass lean Litter rear ATAN (fat penalty) Litter born Carcass fat Faecal egg count Birthweight	Calving ease Docility Maternal calving ease Maternal weight 400-day weight Scrotal circumference Birth weight Weight-200 day Muscle depth/area Retain yield Calving interval Carcass weight Gestation length Lifespan Cow mature size Fat depth Age at first calving Intramuscular fat (marbling) 600-day weight

Signet breeding manager, Sam Boon said: “New beef traits such as docility and scrotal circumference appear to be in demand, although a degree of caution is required here as neither trait is produced for every beef breed.

“Breeders are placing noticeably less emphasis on fatness within their selection decisions, indicating the progress made in avoiding overfat lambs through improvements in growth rate and the consequential need to optimise selection for leanness/fatness within sheep and beef breeding programmes; a feature already embraced in most modern breeding programmes.”