Shawn McAvinue asks people inspecting rising 2-year-old bulls at the Earnscleugh Station High Country Genetics annual sale, near Alexandra, how much do estimated breeding values (EBVs) impact their bull-buying decisions?
Estimated breeding values are numerical predictions used in animal breeding to estimate an individual’s genetic merit for specific traits. They help breeders and farmers predict how an animal’s offspring will perform.
Justin Wallis, of Beaumont . . . "Quite a bit. If you are selling to the calf market you want good 200-day weight for the calf sales because they pay per kilo and if you are going for prime steers, you’re going for 600-day weight but you’ve got to have a look the bulls as well."
Doug McCorkindale with son Rob, 8, of Ettrick . . . "I definitely take them into consideration, especially if you want to buy a low birth-weight bull to put over heifers but really, you’ve got to look at the bull to get something you really want. You’ve got to be happy with the look of it, that’s for sure."
Justin Willson, of Luggate . . . "They are the first thing you look at before you go to a sale and then you make decisions from there. We are looking at 200-day growth because we sell calves and we want good, big calves."
Vanessa Hore, of Becks . . . "A lot. I look at the EBVs and narrow down the numbers I want to look at. Data I look at includes milking ability, early growth, scrotals and fats, which are important for keeping condition on cows."
Holly Young, of Poolburn.
"I’m after a good-looking bull with a nice, deep chest and a big bum. We are looking for a terminal bull so I look at its structure first and then look at the data. If you were breeding replacements, you’d be more fixated on data."
Tim Herlihy, of Wairoa, Hawke’s Bay . . . "I look at the bull first, pick out something I like and then see what the figures are like. We are looking for something that ticks all the boxes including 200-, 400- and 600-day weights. We want something that if it is sold as a weaner, they will grow on until they’re killed."
Annie O’Malley with daughters Eva (4, left) and Bonnie, 2, of the Styx . . . "Essentially it’s all about that data, right? The bulls look so similar and we are looking for a low-birthweight bull. That’s important for us so we put more weight on that data. My husband and his dad will be looking at how they walk and how they stand and all those things, but they’ll be looking in the book, it is about the book and those stats they are after and trying to breed into the mob."
Sam Johnson, of Ettrick . . . "We are here for the cheapest one. We’ve only been farming for a couple of years and have just got into cattle. I’ve been mainly sheep and got in-calf heifers in last year. We bought a bull last year but it is still all new to me. They wouldn’t sell inferior bulls here so I buy whatever. We are looking for a low birthweight bull as he will be going over heifers. We had to pull a calf last year and it is pretty grizzly."
Bridget Speight, of Whare Creek . . . "I don’t understand the EBVs . . . I bought three Composite bulls today. We’ve been buying bulls here since day dot of them starting the Composite stud. I bought a bull from a new sire today, as I need a different genetic pool to enter my herd of 500 cows for the hybrid vigour. A lot of the Composite bulls on offer are sired by Copperhead and we already have a lot of his bulls."
