About us
The aim of NZ Animal Evaluation is to identify animals whose progeny will be the most efficient converters of feed into farmer profit.
NZ Animal Evaluation is a subsidiary of DairyNZ. Their job is to develop and deliver the technologies that publish the independent evaluation of all New Zealand dairy animals using the Breeding Worth (BW) index. This is the critical information farmers use to help breed animals that increase both the genetic gain of their herds and their farm profit.
NZ Animal Evaluation’s guiding principles are:
- Establish consistency across all genetic analyses where possible.
- Identify animals whose progeny will be the most effective converters of feed into farmer profit.
- Incorporate state-of-the-art animal evaluation systems.
- Be totally transparent.
How NZ Animal Evaluation works
NZ Animal Evaluation specialises in capturing and analysing data to ultimately enhance the rate of genetic gain in the dairy herd. Both male and female cattle are evaluated for their genetic merit.
Daughters of bulls are assessed and ranked within their contemporary group for a set of important genetic traits that drive profitability.
Information collected by the industry is used by NZ Animal Evaluation to estimate breeding values (BVs). Records utilised include: milk production, somatic cell count, liveweight, body condition, mating, calving and removals, and traits other than production (TOP).Â
Farmers report management, or workability traits, while trained inspectors report dairy conformation and type traits. Approved milk recording companies contribute milk production records.
Breeding Worth
The Breeding Worth (BW) index ranks male and female animals for their expected ability to breed profitable, efficient replacements.
BW helps farmers achieve greater genetic gains faster, which means you can increase your farm profit more and more each year.
The index combines selected genetic traits with the economic contribution of those traits to farm profit. Trait breeding values (BVs) are multiplied by economic values (EVs) in the formula:
BW = BV X EV
The resulting profit index is Breeding Worth (BW), measured in NZ dollars and reported relative to a genetic base benchmark, which is set at zero.
For example, if a bull has a BW of 200, his offspring will receive half of his genetic merit and are expected to earn the farmer $100 more than the genetic base cow per year.
Reliability
The other number that is reported alongside BW is reliability. Reliability measures how much information has contributed to the BW evaluation for an animal. It is shown on a scale of 0 to 100%. For example, reliabilities closer to 100% represent more information on progeny and ancestors being available for that bull.
High-reliability bulls are unlikely to have large shifts in their BW when more daughters are added. In contrast, bulls with lower reliabilities are more likely to have larger shifts in their BW as more daughters are added.
Breeding values
A breeding value (BV) is an estimate of a dairy cow or bull’s genetic merit for a trait. Using breeding values to select cows and bulls to parent the next generation is the most effective way to achieve genetic improvement. NZ Animal Evaluation use practical data collected on-farm to calculate BVs.
Contact us
The LIC International office is based in Hamilton, New Zealand where our small team of dedicated staff help deliver the finest genetics that the NZ dairy industry has to offer. For all enquiries, please contact one of our team below or alternatively, fill out the enquiry form and we will respond shortly.
LIC Switzerland Office
Phone: +64 7 856 0700
Physical address
Livestock Improvement Corporation (LIC)
605 Ruakura Road
Newstead 3286
New Zealand
Postal address
Livestock Improvement Corporation (LIC)
Private Bag 3016
Hamilton 3240
New Zealand
Email LIC Switzerland
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