Improving the carcase attributes of your herd through selection

摘要

During the 1990's, the beef ndustry experienced a shift in emphasis from selection purely on growth and adaptation to concen-trate more on the genetics of carcase and beef quality. Selection for increased carcase yield and carcase value has become anincreasingly important objective for cattle breeders. So how do we evaluate and identify animals for use within our breeding programs that have desirable genetics for the important carcase attributes? In answering this question, we should consider the merits of three alternatives - visual appraisal, raw scan information and BREED-PLAN carcase EBVs.