3/24/2023 0 Comments Animal breeder work environmentShearling weight, Ewe weight*** & Body Condition Score*** Litter size born / reared, Age at first lambing Muscle depth, fat depth, CT lean weight, CT fat weight, gigot muscularity The main ones are shown here:-īirth weight, calving ease (direct and maternal), gestation lengthĬarcase weight, Conformation and Fat class* In the UK EBVs are produced by a number of different service providers. The easiest traits to enhance through selective breeding within a breed (using Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) for example) tend to be those that are most heritable, where large amounts of the variation between animals can be attributed to their genes as opposed to non-genetic environment influences. The degree to which an attribute will be influenced by an animal’s genetics will vary from trait to trait. However, in an optimal environment the upper limits of performance are set by an animal’s genetics and thus the importance of getting the best breeding stock for the enterprise. Livestock performance will always be influenced by both an animal’s genetics and the environment the use of genetics can’t compensate for poor management and for low heritability traits in particular greater short term rewards will be achieved through improved management. How will the enterprise change over time? Will land and buildings remain available? Will labour availability reduce as the workforce grows older? Will the future market be the sale of stores or finished animals? How important is the sale of breeding stock? What genetic attributes will your customers find more important in the years to come? Increasingly, farmers are also starting to think about environmental objectives selecting breeding lines with a lower environmental impact.īreeding improvement is a long process so think about the animals that you will want to farm in the future and their future market. Traits that reduce costs, can be as important as those that increase output. This doesn’t simply mean the traits that will produce the most valuable animal, it means those traits which leave the greatest return once enterprise costs have been taken into account. Set a breeding objective – for the futureįor most farms, breeding objectives will be largely economic identifying those traits that make them the most money. If the cows/ewes in your enterprise already have a number of health challenges and a rapidly aging profile, it might easier and quicker to buy in new females. Consider which areas of performance are best enhanced through genetic improvement and which would be better served by improving health or nutrition.Īssess the current performance of your breeding females and consider the most cost effective way to change them, as well as considering how this might influence the health status of the enterprise? If your breeding females are relatively young and have a high health status, then it may advisable to “breed up” from these animals. Assess the KPI’s for your enterprise and determine what you want to change and how you want to do this either by changing the genetic merit of your animals or the environment in which they are reared. Think about your current system and assess its strengths and weaknesses. Develop a strategy to monitor changes in performance and assess your success over time.Buying in/using AI to introduce new genetics. Consider how changes will be introduced.Selection/Culling within the herd or flock.Using a different breed – Crossbreeding/Breed Substitution.Consider how performance can be enhanced through breeding.In terms of labour, feed, land and buildings.Define the main resource constraints for your system.What type of sheep and cattle do you have at the moment?.Recognising the antagonisms that may exist between them.Define the market you will be producing for in the future.Compare your performance to national benchmarks.Review the current enterprise performance. Here are some of the steps in creating that plan. To help make the right, long term decisions it is worth investing time in the production of a simple breeding plan. While the principle of introducing genetic change is simple, the development of a breeding strategy can be quite challenging – particularly when both the characteristics of the breeding female and their offspring (destined for slaughter) require simultaneous consideration. While changes to the environment, such as an improvement in livestock health or enhanced feed provision, can bring about rapid improvements in performance – improving the genetic merit of your herd or flock can provide a permanent and thus highly cost effective lift to productivity. The physical and financial performance of any livestock enterprise is influenced by the genetic merit of the animals that are kept and the environment in which they are reared. Creating a Breeding Plan for Your Sheep or Beef Enterprise
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