Genetic evaluation of pedigree beef cattle in Great Britain

Abstract

In order that genetic progress in British beef breeds could be improved, performance traits have been recorded by the Meat and Livestock Commission for many years. A large number of pedigree beef herds have recorded with the Meat and Livestock Commission during this period. Until recently, these records were only made use of via within herd contemporary comparisons such that the results for animals could not be compared across herds or time.Through the use of Individual Animal Model Best Linear Unbiased Prediction (BLUP), differences between herds and contemporary groups within herds can be accounted for provided there are genetic links between herds and contemporary groups. As a result of the small pedigree herd size in Great Britain, typically less than 20, sires are often chosen from outside the herd in order to reduce inbreeding. This practise has resulted in there being a relatively high level of connectedness between contemporary groups and this enables the BLUP procedure to disentangle management and genetic effects.