The Official Spring 2007 Sire Summary
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Maine-Anjou PO Box 1100 Platte City, MO 64079-1100 (816) 431-9950 • fax (816) 431-9951 E-mail: [email protected] • www.maine-anjou.org The Official Spring 2007 Sire Summary Foreword Table of Contents The Spring 2007 Sire Summary represents the ninth official run Maine-Anjou National Cattle Evaluation..................................1 of the Multiple-Breed International Cattle Evaluation (MB-ICE) Criteria for Listing ....................................................................2 system, and the seventeenth edition of the Maine-Anjou National Possible EPD Change by Accuracy...........................................3 Sire Summary. Standard Errors of Prediction Table ..........................................3 This issue features carcass EPDs published for the Maine-Anjou What are EPDs? ........................................................................3 Example Listing & Trait Definition ..........................................4 breed. The carcass EPDs are listed in a special supplement to the Percentile Breakdown of Maine-Anjou EPDs ..........................5 Maine Anjou Sire Summary following the listing of Young Sires. Star Percentile Breakdown for AMAA .....................................7 The carcass EPDs are the result of the MB-ICE Carcass System, Maine-Anjou Genetic Trend .....................................................7 which has several key features making it extremely useful to Maine Percentile Breakdowns of MaineTainer EPDs ..........................8 Anjou breeders. First, the MB-ICE Carcass system is the first multi- Genetic Trends for MaineTainer Cattle.....................................8 breed carcass evaluation. Similar to the weight trait evaluation, MB- Questions & Answers..............................................................10 ICE Carcass Evaluation accounts for breed composition differences. Glossary..................................................................................11 Second, this genetic evaluation uses both carcass and ultrasonic Main Sire List .........................................................................12 phenotypes in a multiple trait genetic model. Paired traits are analyzed Young Sire List .......................................................................25 in four evaluations. Traits are paired in these groups: Carcass Weight Carcass Trait List ....................................................................37 and Scan Weight, Marbling and Percent Intramuscular Fat (IMF), Inactive Sire List .....................................................................41 Fat Thickness and Ultrasound Fat Thickness, Rib-eye Area and Ultrasound Processing (CUP) lab which then forwards interpreted Ultrasound Rib-eye Area. Percent retail cuts is computed as a linear scan data to AMAA. Ultrasound body composition measurements index of Carcass Weight, Fat Thickness and Rib-eye Area EPDs. of a sire’s progeny are an economical and reliable way to gather useful Third, the evaluation incorporates external Angus and Red Angus information for estimation of the sire’s carcass trait genetic merit. Ultrasound EPD data for sires with progeny in the MB-ICE evaluation. The carcass records included in the evaluation for the Maine Anjou The information contained herein is compiled from records in the American Maine-Anjou Association office submitted by individual members and non- breed are the result of the breed’s participation in the NCBA Carcass members. The American Maine-Anjou Association, its officers, directors Merit Project and continuing contribution of records from the AMAA and employees assume no responsibility for its contents or the use or sanctioned AMAA National Maine-Anjou Influenced Steer and interpretation of information published herein, although the American Heifer Feeding Trial. Ultrasound body composition measures on Maine-Anjou Association has made efforts to accurately report information yearling bulls and heifers are submitted by breeders to the Centralized on the animals contained herein. Maine-Anjou National Cattle Evaluation In the seventeenth edition of the Maine-Anjou National Sire the evaluation, has seen an influx of Angus and Red Angus genetics Summary, the EPDs for animals recorded in the Maine-Anjou herd used in the development of percentage or composite animals. Many book have been computed using the Multiple-Breed International of the sires used in this manner are either high accuracy AI sires or Cattle Evaluation (MB-ICE) system developed by scientists at have more progeny and pedigree information in their native breed Cornell University and the American Simmental Association. The genetic evaluation. It makes sense to leverage this genetic data to AMAA entered into an agreement with the ASA which enabled the increase the precision and accuracy of genetic predictions generated AMAA data base to be combined with the data bases of the American by the MB-ICE system. EPDs for Angus sires and Red Angus Simmental Association, Canadian Simmental Association, and the sireswith progeny in the MB-ICE database and an external Yearling American Chianina Association for genetic evaluation. Weight EPD accuracy of 0.30 or higher, were incorporated into the The MB-ICE system has the following advantages to earlier genetic genetic evaluation that produced the EPDs published in this sire evaluation systems used by the AMAA: summary. 1) The MB-ICE system represents the best scientific techniques The MB-ICE system has two basic components. A model for describing differences in the breeding values among animals describing factors influencing an animal’s record and a system of with different genetic backgrounds; equations built on the model which provides predictions of genetic 2) The MB-ICE system provides comparisons among all animals merit using a procedure called Best Linear Unbiased Prediction in the database regardless of their fraction of Maine-Anjou breeding; (BLUP). The EPDs were calculated using a multiple trait model 3) The MB-ICE system provides a better biological description of that included random effects for birth weight direct, weaning weight Maine-Anjou and Maine-Anjou influenced cattle by a) including direct, weaning weight maternal, weaning permanent environment, the differences between Maine-Anjou genes and genes coming from and post-weaning gain direct. The fixed effects included management other breeds; b) adjusting for heterosis generated by crossing Maine- group, breed of founder, age of dam, direct heterosis, and maternal Anjou and other breeds; and c) factoring out differences due to age heterosis. of dam effects among cows with different breed backgrounds; Management Group 4) The MB-ICE system has recently been improved by In the MB-ICE system, all calves are placed in the same incorporating the ability to utilize genetic predictors (EPDs) from management group as long as they are the same sex born in the same other breed genetic evaluations. Maine-Anjou, like other breeds in (continued on following page) 1 • 2007 MAINE-ANJOU SIRE SUMMARY Maine-Anjou National Cattle Evaluation (continued from page 1) herd and season, and managed together and treated alike. Compared Year 2002 born Maine Anjou EPD averages to previous Maine-Anjou evaluations, the requirement for same following base adjustment. percentage Maine-Anjou has been dropped in the MB-ICE analysis. Trait Average The differences due to breed and heterosis are handled by the breed Birth Weight . .2.80 of founder and heterosis effects. Weaning Weight . .39.50 Breed of Founder Yearling Weight . .78.50 The phrase, Breed of Founder, is used to indicate that a random Maternal Milk . .19.30 sample of genes from various breeds are not needed to evaluate breed Maternal Weaning Weight . .39.00 differences. The breed of founder effects are developed by tracing Carcass Weight . .1.59 pedigrees and determining the most distant animals (founder) in Percent Retail Product . .0.31 each pedigree. A time trend is included in the breed of founder effects Marbling . .0.20 to account for the genetic trend present in each breed group. The Fat Thickness . .0.00 MB-ICE system uses two sources of information to evaluate breed Rib-eye Area . .0.17 differences: 1) Estimates derived from the published crossbreeding Aside from making the EPDs easier to use by commercial studies; and 2) the actual breed information in the data. producers, the new Maine Anjou base helps Maine Anjou seedstock Age of Dam producers to overcome an unfair marketing disadvantage in the The MB-ICE system provides age of dam adjustments using the seedstock industry. In the past, EPDs of Maine Anjou were lower cow’s age in days and based on her breed background and sex of than those of other beef breeds due to differences in each breed’s her calf. The age of dam effects are estimated directly by the MB- EPD base. The lower EPD values of Maine Anjou led some ICE system so the age of dam factors are adjusted for the other commercial producers to incorrectly believe that Maine Anjou effects in the evaluation. For birth weight direct and post-weaning animals didn’t perform as well for various traits as some other breeds gain direct, the breed differences included in the age of dam do. Making a base adjustment will hopefully correct this adjustments are used to account for maternal breed differences. misconception and even the playing field between Maine Anjou and For percentage or crossbred cows, the age of dam adjustment is a other breeds. weighted average of the breeds represented in the dam. It is important to realize