Calf Plans: The Challenge of Integrating Unknown Bulls into Genetic Evaluations

Managing genetic evaluations with limited information

PUBLISHED IN June 5, 2024

GREENWICH, NY – Welcome back to the Beef Proposals column! After a short hiatus, we are excited to resume providing you with valuable insight and practical guidance for your beef production operations. In this issue, we address a pressing issue facing many producers: how to incorporate bulls purchased with limited genetic information into genetic evaluations of breed associations. Join Chip Kemp, Director, ASA and IGS Commercial and Industrial Operations, as he explores the options and implications for manufacturers navigating this complex landscape.

Background

A producer recently purchased a group of yearling bulls to use as cleaners for an established artificial insemination program within their herd. The bulls were purchased from a semen company that, in addition to its core business of serving the AI ​​industry, generates a limited number of standing bulls each year. This semen company is committed to responsible use of heterosis, breed complementarity and data. However, the genetic selection efforts by this firm are conducted within a privatized program that does not allow the buyer any detailed information on the pedigree or breed or genetic understanding of the bull at the EPD level. When the producer went to include bull information in the genetic evaluation of their breed association, they faced a challenge.

Question: what are the options for a producer regarding the inclusion of unknown bulls in the genetic evaluation of a breed association?

Answer

Actually, this manufacturer is in a difficult situation.

Without the necessary knowledge of origin and breed, it will be difficult for this animal to be responsibly included in more serious genetic evaluations. There are no shortcuts in reliable genetic evaluation. Whenever we remove certain types of information, we decrease the accuracy of any EPD prediction. On the other hand, more knowledge and insight means more accuracy. To be clear, this does not mean that the EPD will become either more or less favorable, but rather that we can more accurately predict calf outcome with more accuracy. Accuracy ranges from 0 to 1.0. In practice, we never reach 1.0, but the closer to 1 the better. The most ideal result is a favorable EPD with a high accuracy value.

What information is desired? 1) Pedigree and breed composition are vital to accurate prediction. They allow bonding with other related animals, which in turn allows greater predictive value to be derived from those relationships. 2) Phenotypes (actual measurements of actual traits) provide serious insight into an animal’s genetic potential. They inform a lot for a reliable genetic evaluation. 3) Genomics, as discussed in previous articles, is not magic. By themselves, they provide predictive value with low accuracy. However, when combined with pedigrees and phenotypes, they form the three-legged base of modern, serious genetics efforts.

In the situation of this producer, we do not have any of this information to place within the genetic evaluation. Many breed associations simply will not allow these bulls into their evaluation. Period. In other situations, an association may allow the producer to make some basic assumptions about parentage to at least meet the registry entry threshold. However, understand, the accuracy of the prediction will essentially be 0. It means that, even if the bulls are genetically superior animals (which is likely to be the case in this circumstance), it will take a significant amount of data that their descendants reach a point. of own superior EPD because the bulls are a “black box” of information that acts as an anchor in the EPD of the progeny.

I want to be clear about something. It is almost certain that the semen company responsibly used all or a mixture of these data points to understand the bulls that were sold. There is not necessarily a question about the genetic merits of the brothers. In fact, the brothers were provided with a privatized index of genomic selection. While the database that produced this index is likely to be significantly smaller than the databases of large breed associations or certainly the larger multi-breed genetic evaluation options, it is still likely to be in superior genetics. The problem is that there is none of the information needed to work when the owners of these bulls seek to import them into the association’s databases. The information gap makes them completely unknown and totally unpredictable for the users and any possible estimates with which they work.

What is the answer?

The short answer for this producer is likely not what they want to hear. They are at the mercy of their particular breed association. This association is within their right to eliminate animals from consideration for their genetic evaluation or they may allow entry as I describe above, all the while knowing that the predictive value is extremely poor.

The Long Term Answer

If you are interested in having the pinnacle of genetic awareness in your beef operation, whether you are a seed producer or a trader, then you need to think long and hard about whether the risk of the unknown is worth the reward of buying the bull. Maybe it is. Maybe it isn’t. This is a business decision that each manufacturer will make for themselves.

Your top cattle genetics questions answered

We love getting questions like these about Plans of beef column. Be sure to ask your questions through this form and check back each week for interesting information to let you take control of your meatball operation. Remember, you are in the driver’s seat of your operation, make sure you have all the information you need to take the path that leads to the greatest success.