Genetics > Genetic Edge > 2008 Animal Evaluation Update
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2008 Animal Evaluation Update
As most of you are already aware, the July Animal Evaluation run included an update to the group of cows (1995-born rather than the previous 1985 year group) that is used as the Evaluation’s new standard from which all animals are compared.
The average BVs and indexes for this 1995-born group of cows has been set as the new NZ ‘Base Cow’. Due to the higher genetic merit of the new Base Cow group (compared with the original 1985 figures) the BVs and indexes we see for individual cows and bulls are now much lower than they were before the July AE run. The important point to note is that any drop you see is occurring to all animals equally; for example, BW has been lowered by 61 points across the board, Protein BV by 15.7kg and so on. This means that although individual indexes and BVs have altered, cows within the herd (or bulls on the RAS list) have not changed their rankings at all. AmBreed staff are very pleased to see the introduction of this update to the Genetic Base at AEU, as it will keep the picture of true genetic gain in better perspective if gains are continually compared to a more realistic Base Cow. From here AEU plans for the future involve updating the Base Cow every 5 years – this will keep us in line with evaluation processes in other important dairying countries. This will have the important effect of ensuring that New Zealand dairying data is meaningful on the international stage. For more detailed information regarding the Genetic Base Change please visit the Genetics page of the AmBreed website www.ambreed.co.nz or go directly to AEU www.aeu.org.nz Important AE run dates for the remainder of 2008
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