Major update to the Sussex Cattle Evaluation

 

Another 18,000 Sussex cattle records have been added to Signet’s National Sussex Cattle Breeding Evaluation as part of a recent data sharing project between the Sussex Cattle Society and Signet Breeding Services.

The inclusion of this data will strengthen genetic linkage between herds, enhance our assessment of less well recorded animals and give new breeders entering the Society’s weight recording scheme a better idea of where the breeding values for their animals are likely to start. 

Breed benchmarks will be updated to reflect genetic performance across the breed, not just within active weight recording Sussex herds.

There are likely to be implications for breeders that currently recorded their herd with Signet, with some Signet pedigrees being extended and others corrected to match the Society database. If Signet clients have a query about a specific animal, they should contact Signet ([email protected]) and we can look into the changes in more detail.

The implications of this work will also benefit the National Beef Evaluation, which is run by AHDB. This evaluation uses a dataset that combines BCMS and Signet records, the provision of extra pedigree data into this analysis via Signet will aid the assessment of Sussex cattle for a range of economically important traits. Read more here.

Results that include the new data are expected to go live later in the summer, with members being notified once the new EBVs are available. A similar approach to generate a “whole breed” evaluation is already used in both the Lincoln Red and Luing breeds.

Signet wishes to thank Sue Kennedy for her assistance in providing an electronic copy of the Society’s pedigree records for inclusion in Signet’s evaluation.

If you would like to find out more about the Sussex performance recording initiative or to get involved with recording, please contact Laura Eyles  [email protected]  / 07973 701202.