11 October 2023
By: Johan Norval
Profitable beef production received a boost through SA Stud Book’s new development level for breeding objectives for stud and commercial beef herds, with the integration of all relevant information.
Dr Japie van der Westhuizen, Stud Book’s CEO, says a tailor-made application that will practically make its entire Logix system accessible to beef producers will be announced soon. Logix IQ for beef cattle is a revolutionary development already in a testing phase.
Stud Book manages the recording and genetic improvement of the stud animals of 75% of South Africa’s recognised beef cattle breeds.
“One of the ongoing problems is still making data recording as efficient as possible for beef producers, enabling them to make the right decisions, including selecting replacement heifers that will be more profitable than the current cows,” says Van der Westhuizen.
Stud Book’s genomic programme, based on the latest methodology, single-step genomic best linear unbiased prediction (gBLUP), is already successfully applied by eight beef cattle breeds.
“It allows breeders to confidently select animals and make them available to the commercial market because the accuracy in predicting the genetic merits of bulls is beyond doubt, and all animals have also been tested for the presence of genetic markers for desired and undesired single-gene traits,” says Van der Westhuizen.
The inclusion of genomic information in efficient selection programmes is no longer new to Stud Book; it is the standard that must be met.
“Assisting with the correct decision-making for the selection and purchase of bulls, which will make a difference in the profitability of any beef cattle enterprise, remains one of Stud Book’s top priorities,” says Van der Westhuizen.
Stud Book participants use a new readable catalogue format that provides the option to include a photo of the auction animal.
Stud Book’s cow selection values enable producers to select bulls as herd sires that breed profitable daughters. An analysis of the cow value in selection programmes shows clear differences in the profitability of cows differing genetically in value.
