Boost profit by using available genetic resources

Dr Japie van der Westhuizen, general manager of SA Stud Book, describes how to make use of animal genetic resources to select for sustainable profit in beef cattle from a stud and commercial perspective.

- Dr Japie van der Westhuizen,

Any genuine scholar of animal breeding will know how to distinguish between records and objectives, and how to optimally use them.

Some people tend to confuse recording (and the resultant prediction of genetic merit) with breeding objectives, and even mating plans. Figure 1 illustrates the differences among breeding objectives, selection based on genetic merit and mating plans.

Selection has no purpose unless a proper breeding objective is formulated and pursued. Such an objective must be built on the individual relative economic contributions of each of the measurable traits and properties considered for measurement and recording.

Market forces and price structures should play a major role, but other profit drivers, such as biological efficiency and expected correlated responses of selection, should also be considered. This should then result in the drafting of selection indices and other selection criteria to consider selection candidates (to be the parents of the next generation).

There is no compromise for accurate and thorough measurement, assessment and recording of the traits contributing towards the breeding objective. All proper genetic merit predictions rely on proper recording.

The next very important step in attaining the objectives is to rank all selection candidates on their genetic merit for the selection indices stemming from the objective, and to cull those not fitting to be parents for the next generation.

This step also involves the scanning of the wider population (breed), especially for males that can accelerate the pace to achieve the objective.