Angus Australia has announced the launch of Angus SteerSELECT.
This new product, available now, provides beef producers with confidence in determining the genetic potential of their Angus steers, allowing for more informed decisions across the beef supply chain.
Angus SteerSELECT delivers genomic-based genetic predictions for Angus steers covering the key trait areas of growth, feedlot performance, carcase attributes and resilience.
It has been developed for Angus steers that are 87.5 per cent, or higher, Angus content.
Angus SteerSELECT has been specifically developed to cater to Australian beef production systems, using extensive research and data gathered through Angus Australia’s reference population, which now includes over 300,000 genotyped animals.
This ensures that the tool provides the most accurate genetic predictions for Angus steers.
Angus Australia’s CEO Scott Wright explained that the launch of Angus SteerSELECT added to Angus Australia’s portfolio of genetic-focused tools for Australian and New Zealand Angus breeders and Angus beef supply chains.
This product builds on Angus Australia’s long history of providing world leading genetic evaluation solutions.
Mr Wright further highlighted the collaboration behind the tool:
“Angus SteerSELECT is the culmination of five years of collaboration between Angus Australia and the CSIRO, Australia’s National Science Agency,“ he said.
“Importantly, it leverages the genotype and phenotype reference population data curated by Angus Australia, including the rich dataset from the Angus Sire Benchmarking Program.”
Angus Australia’s general manager of Genetic Improvement Christian Duff explained that Angus SteerSELECT complemented the genetic selection tools already available, particularly Angus HeiferSELECT.
“Angus SteerSELECT provides genetic predictions across nine key traits important for Angus steer production.
“This is coupled with an overall Angus Steer Value (ASV), which encapsulates the overall genetic worth of each steer.”
He added that the tool also offered sire verification (where possible) and genomic breed composition to further enhance its value for producers.
“Angus SteerSELECT can be accessed directly from Angus Australia or via our collaborating partners Zoetis Animal Genetics and Neogen Australasia,” Mr Duff said.
Angus SteerSELECT was developed and validated in the commercial environment, enabling greater precision in sorting and/or marketing of Angus steers into lines suitable for the different paths within the beef supply chain.
Rangers Valley’s Livestock Procurement manager William Schmidt said:
“We are excited about the possibility of being able to individually select commercial progeny for specific feeding programs.
“By identifying individual animal’s genetic potential, we hope to reduce our production cost of feeding cattle that are not suited to our long-fed programs.“
