AngusPRO Scoops Commercial Advantage
AngusPRO cattle are registered with Angus Australia, and recently, this has given them a commercial advantage with the addition of two new EBVs to utilise – Mature Cow Body Condition and Mature Cow Height.
AngusPRO cattle are registered with Angus Australia, and recently, this has given them a commercial advantage with the addition of two new EBVs to utilise – Mature Cow Body Condition and Mature Cow Height.
Profit drivers for beef producers are commonly linked to growth and carcase 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 Cow 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.
Current selection practices often rely on traits measured in younger animals, such as live ultrasound and carcase fat depth, to infer Mature Cow Body Condition and the ‘doing ability’ of females.
Mature Cow Body Condition (MBC) EBVs provide estimates of genetic differences between animals in the body condition of mature females. Mature Cow Body Condition EBVs are calculated from a subjective assessment of an animal’s body condition and are expressed in score units. Higher Mature Body Condition EBVs indicate an animal is expected to produce daughters with more body condition as mature females.
Mature Cow Height (MCH) EBVs provide estimates of genetic differences between animals in the height of mature females. Mature Cow Height EBVs are calculated from height measurements taken at the hip and are expressed in centimetre units. Higher Mature Cow Height EBVs indicate an animal is expected to produce daughters that are taller as mature females.
Using Percentiles for Selection
Angus bulls sold within New Zealand are registered in two different databases – Angus Australia (AngusPRO animals) and Angus New Zealand. The TACE (TransTasman Angus Cattle Evaluation) percentiles in sale catalogues are only relevant to the population they are compared against, meaning you can compare one AngusPRO animal against another, but these percentiles can’t be compared across different breed societies, i.e. animals registered with Angus New Zealand.
It is, however, important to note that the TACE EBVs themselves are comparable. For most EBV traits, the direct EBV is comparable to establish expected progeny performance differences, however, where the animal sits in reference to the rest of that population (its ranking) can be substantially different across the Angus Australia and Angus New Zealand societies. Let’s look at the breed average for IMF. Angus Australia’s 50th percentile is +2.4, whereas Angus New Zealand’s 50th percentile is +0.9 (February 2025 TACE analysis). If you’re selecting bulls based on percentiles, please ensure you are aware of the population they’re compared with, or check the actual EBV figures carefully.
