Benefits of multibreed genetic evaluation
BREEDPLAN has been the cornerstone of genetic improvement in the Australian beef industry for more than 40 years, with the resultant genetic improvement generating an estimated $11.6 billion in additional profitability on a net present value basis.
While one of the industry’s most successful technology and innovation investments, BREEDPLAN Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) have been limited to allowing the genetic merit of animals to be compared within a single breed.
The establishment of multibreed genetic evaluation is the next evolution in Australia’s national beef genetic evaluation ecosystem and aims to address this limitation, maintaining the ability for breeders to select animals within a single breed, while introducing additional capability where the genetic merit of animals can also be directly compared across breeds.
Benefit 1. Breeders are provided with better tools for genetic improvement
Multibreed beef genetic evaluations will deliver a suite of new selection tools that allow beef breeders to directly compare the genetics of animals both within and across breeds, presented as Australian Cattle Breeding Values, or ACBVs, Australian Cattle Genomic Values, or ACgVs, and Australian Cattle Genetic Profiles, or GenProfiles.
Together, these tools will provide beef producers with more informative measures of an animal's genetic merit, helping accelerate rates of genetic gain, and delivering additional improvements in productivity, profitability and sustainability throughout the beef supply chain.
Benefits for commercial beef producers
Multibreed beef genetic evaluations are particularly advantageous to commercial beef producers.
Using Australian Cattle Breeding Values, commercial producers will be able to directly compare the genetics of bulls from different breeds, enabling them to better utilise the genetic variation that exists both within and across breeds. This will be of particular value to commercial producers who are operating crossbreeding programs.
Multibreed beef genetic evaluation will also provide commercial producers with access to new genomic tools not previously available from single breed genetic evaluations.
Australian Cattle Genetic Profiles will provide commercial beef breeders with an across-breed, genetic benchmark of their herd, better informing bull purchasing decisions and enabling commercial herds to track genetic progress over time.
Similarly, the availability of Australian Cattle Genomic Values, or ACgVs, will provide commercial beef breeders with an across-breed genomic prediction of an animal’s genetic merit based on an animal’s genomic (or DNA) profile, facilitating precision selection of replacement heifers in a commercial breeding operation, along with precision sorting and/or marketing of steers into lines suitable for the different paths in the beef supply chain.
Benefits for seedstock beef producers
While commercial producers are expected to gain significant value, seedstock breeders will also benefit from a multibreed evaluation system, with the ability to market genetics more effectively to commercial operations running different breed types. For example, seedstock breeders will be able to objectively demonstrate the genetic merit of their bulls to producers with a different breed of females. This creates new opportunities for seedstock producers to access a broader customer base and clearly communicate the value of their genetics.
Multibreed genetic evaluations are also advantageous to seedstock breeders with composite and crossbred animals, which are often poorly represented or excluded from traditional single breed evaluations. Multibreed genetic evaluation provides a framework for analysing these animals alongside straightbred populations, ensuring that all seedstock animals can be incorporated in national genetic evaluations, irrespective of breed.
Benefit 2. Consolidation of evaluations enables faster product innovation and improved service delivery
Over 20 single breed genetic evaluations are currently conducted in Australia using BREEDPLAN software. Multibreed genetic evaluation consolidates these single breed analyses into a small number of core genetic evaluations, reducing duplication, and greatly improving the efficiency of product and service delivery.
Consolidated, multibreed genetic evaluations enable resourcing to focus on maintaining and enhancing a limited number of genetic evaluations, supporting faster and more agile technology adoption, more frequent enhancements, and better integration of new tools.
Additionally, the availability of new, across breed genomic tools for commercial producers makes the national, industry wide genetic evaluation available to a larger number of beef producers, with the resultant economies of scale introducing potential to reduce the price of genetics products and services.
The outcome is a stronger and more sustainable national genetic evaluation ecosystem that provides greater value to breeders, commercial producers, service providers, and the broader beef industry.
Benefit 3. A standard industry language for describing genetic credentials of commercial animals is established
Multibreed genetic evaluation creates a common language for describing the genetic credentials of commercial animals, independent of breed, establishing a framework for animals to be sold with an industry recognised description of their genetic merit.
With the genetic credentials of commercial animals better described, and feeding forward with animals as they move through the supply chain, the link between genetic merit and animal performance is strengthened, ensuring genetics are valued accordingly by the beef supply chain
This will better drive demand for superior genetics through the introduction of clearer price signals, transitioning the breeding industry from the current ‘push’ model, to an operating environment where the beef supply chain rewards genetics that are more closely aligned to market requirements, driving additional genetic improvement across the industry. See graphic below.
Benefit 4. Past investment by MLA and industry partners is realised
Over many years, significant investments have been made by Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA), and industry partners to collect sufficient data to underpin the design and delivery of commercial, multibreed beef genetic evaluations. Since 2016 alone, approximately $40 million of R&D investments have been made, including the renowned Repronomics and Southern Multibreed Beef projects.
The establishment of multibreed genetic evaluations ensures the value of this industry-funded research is fully realised, turning research investments into tangible outcomes that deliver improved productivity, greater sustainability, and enhanced profitability across the beef supply chain.