Maternal Matters: EBVs and Indexes for suckler herds

It is important to consider estimated breeding values (EBVs) and indexes in your breeding decisions regardless of whether the progeny is destined for the food chain or to enter the breeding herd.

However, it is arguably even more vital to consider the parents’ EBVs when breeding replacements for the suckler herd. The resulting progeny will potentially stay in the breeding herd for a significant amount of time, passing their genetics down to future generations of breeding females, so decisions made today will likely still affect the performance of the herd for years to come.

If you would like to order hard copies of our manuals on Choosing bulls for Better Returns or Breeding, selecting and managing beef replacement heifers, please contact publications@ahdb.org.uk or call 0247 799 0069.

Unfortunately, there is no single source of EBV data for the whole of the UK beef sector, as different breed societies contract different service providers to run their genetic evaluations. A list of the most common providers is below. This list is not exhaustive, so if you can’t find the information you need for a specific breed, please ask your local AHDB Beef & Lamb Knowledge Exchange Manager or contact the relevant breed society.

Replacement heifers set the foundation for a profitable suckler herd. If you ignore your breeding and replacement strategies, then underperforming females could enter the herd and cost you financially in the longer term.

An animal can never outperform its genetics, even given the perfect production environment, so ask yourself: are your herd’s genetics your most limiting factor?

Watch our discussion with Seth Wareing and Paul Westaway on the topic of replacement heifers and how they approach setting the foundation for a profitable suckler herd. 

Looking further afield, watch our webinar with Rick Funston from Nebraska focusing on replacement heifer development.

Using the AHDB National Beef Evaluations when you make breeding decisions will help you breed efficient cattle that meet the needs of your target market.

We now publish estimated breeding values (EBVs) for five commercial carcase traits:

• Days to slaughter
• Carcase weight
• Carcase conformation
• Carcase fat class
• Average daily carcase gain

Maternal traits will be coming later in 2021, so please return to these pages regularly. These will be:

• Age at first calving
• Longevity
• Calf survival