As the bull selling season progresses, physical appearance will form an important part of many producers’ selection decisions.
However the assessment of each bull will have started well before sale day. From weaning onwards, seedstock breeders make decisions about which bulls to retain, develop and ultimately offer for sale based partly on their physical appearance and structural soundness.
Many beef producers will recognise the expression that when looking at an animal, “70 percent of what you see is a result of what’s gone down his neck.” It canContinue reading “Weekly Genetics Review : Selecting on the Wrong 70pc”
The risks of single-trait selection are frequently discussed in the beef industry. Most producers know that focusing on one trait in isolation rarely delivers balanced outcomes, however there is aContinue reading “Trends to be aware of in commercial cattle breeding”
Selecting new bulls is a process most breeders undertake each year. However, the process is not always a comfortable one, and in some cases, producers find it to be aContinue reading “Weekly genetics review: Approach your bull buying activity like you are recruiting staff”
The introduction of the Mature Body Condition EBV represents one of the most significant advancements in Angus genetic evaluation in recent years. This powerful tool allows producers to select forContinue reading “Unlocking Genetic Potential for Feed Efficiency and Reproductive Success”
The 2025 Spring Bull Series is returning to screens once again, just in time for the Spring joining season. An event that connects the entire breeding community, it is perfectlyContinue reading “2025 Spring Bull Series”
Are you a young person passionate about agriculture and ready to dive into the heart of New Zealand’s beef industry? Beefing It Up is an immersive workshop tailored for aspiringContinue reading “Register for the Beefing It Up Youth Workshop”
Ngāputahi Station is now owned and run by Forbes and his son Angus, and there are three generations living on the property. Forbes’ granddaughter lives on the finishing farm and helps out with cattle work in her spare time — she has a young family. Forbes lives across the river from the main farm and still works at Ngāputahi every day.
Recently, during the 2024 TACE Enhancements, the mature cow height and mature body condition traits transitioned from RBVs to EBVs. These traits are only available on animals recorded with Angus Australia – AngusPRO.
Profit drivers for beef producers are commonly linked to growth and carcass traits. However, to continue to make more informed selection decisions for overall herd profitability, consideration of mature cow traits that impact the performance of the cow herd will be essential. Mature Body Condition score (MBC), Mature Cow Height (MCH), and Mature Cow Weight (MCW) should be considered for their impact on the efficiency of the cow herd and tailored to your environmental conditions and market demands.
Mat Bailey from Bailey Scanning has been on a quest to bring better technology to the scanning world. In 2024 he travelled to America where he was certified under the Ultrasounds Guidelines Council (UGC) at Texas A&M University, as well as completing a Centralised Ultrasound Processing (CUP) Lab training programme at Iowa State University.
