British Limousin Cattle Society technical manager, Alison Glasgow.
Genetic evaluations of pedigree Limousin cattle will be doubled to increase the accuracy of breeding values.
The British Limousin Cattle Society said the move, which sees the number of genetic evaluations rise from three to six each year, would ensure Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) and Genomic Estimated Breeding Values (GEBVs) were as accurate as possible.
The society’s technical manager, Alison Glasgow, said it would enable timely marketing for breeders and ensure commercial farmers were given up-to-date information when selecting stock. “The EBV and GEBV evaluations are now based on the performance records of over 590,000 pedigree cattle and a further 310,000 abattoir records from Limousin-bred cattle beyond that,” added Ms Glasgow.
“Providing the most robust and relevant breeding values for the UK in as timely a manner as possible are key principles of the society and are serving pedigree and commercial producers well”.
The next genetic evaluation update will be published in November. Evaluations in 2019 will run in January, March, May, July, September and November.
