Modifications to the Use of Overseas Data in BREEDPLAN

AGBU, September 2004

The upcoming BREEDPLAN runs at the end of 2004 will use the new Version 4.3 software. The most significant change to the software is an enhancement to the procedure for "importing" overseas EBV/EPD information on immigrant animals that have been evaluated in foreign countries, then registered in Australia.

The History

In late 1998, Version 4.1 of BREEDPLAN was released with many new features including the ability to use overseas EBV information on immigrant animals (sires, dams, young bulls and embryos) that have been registered in Australia. The overseas information is used as a 'starting value' for the calculation of the animal's BREEDPLAN EBVs until sufficient data are collected to adequately reflect the immigrant performance here in Australia. Initially the procedure was confined to weight traits only. However, expansion of overseas genetic evaluation systems in recent years has increased the number of traits on which overseas EBVs or EPDs are available. The procedure also had to deal with the fact that, unlike BREEDPLAN, that analyses all traits in the one multiple-trait analysis, EBVs from foreign sources are generally derived from a number of separate evaluations (i.e. in blocks of traits). However as their systems develop, more traits are now being analysed together.

Industry Feedback

Recent feedback from breeders and extension staff suggested that the BREEDPLAN EBVs were over emphasising foreign information at the expense of local information when it became available. Research at AGBU revealed the original method needed to be modified. It was not adequately handling conflicting methods of evaluating multiple traits overseas and changes to the data structure of imported information (e.g. large numbers of embryos with mid-parent EPDs only). The procedure was modified to improve the way emphasis was being placed on the information.

Improved EBV's

All future BREEDPLAN runs (Version 4.3) will use the modified procedure for including foreign EBVs. As a result BREEDPLAN EBVs will be driven more by the Australian performance data, particularly for carcase and mature cow weight traits. Any breed importing overseas data into their BREEDPLAN analyses can expect that some "immigrant" animals, and their descendants, will change in their EBVs as a result of the modified procedure. It is more likely that sires (and their progeny) with very high or very low overseas EPDs will be the ones that change, particularly if they have few (or none) progeny in Australia recorded for a given trait.

The upgrade to BREEDPLAN was required to ensure that the EBVs predict as accurately as possible the expected differences in progeny performance here in Australia. Being able to take advantage of the large bank of information often available on overseas breeding stock is very important in the early years when computing the BREEDPLAN EBVs while they build their numbers of performance recorded Australian progeny