Up to 50 cattle producers are expected to attend an open day on March 14 at the Franc Angus Stud, near Beaufort, to get a closer look at using genetic traits as a buying and selling tool for cattle.

Zoetis southern genetics specialist Andrew Bodycoat will discuss the benefits of the HD50k DNA cattle testing in Franc Angus sires for sale and how other commercial producers can use the technology.

Franc Angus Stud adopted HD50k this year for the first time to more dependably predict genetic merit in young, unproven angus cattle.

“We’ve really just done our first lot of bulls,” Mr Franc said. “We take the tail hair off and then the hair gets sent away for analysis. It is another tool for buyers to use so they can buy with confidence.

We have been proactive with our bloodlines in the past but buyers have bought based on what they look at and structure.

“We have bought using your traditional EBVs (estimated breeding values) but we’ve never sold individual bulls using the system before.”

Zoetis HD50k is a high-density DNA panel where more than 50,000 DNA markers are genotyped for each animal in order to predict genetic merit and enhanced EBVs for 16 performance traits. These traits include calving ease, birth weight, weaning and yearling weight, and carcass weight.

The information drawn using the system is intended to save time and money by providing accurate information for more precise selection and mating decisions on young animals, to verify the parentage of bull calves, and to add greater accuracy to the EBVs of replacement sires.

The test also offers buyers greater confidence in the purchase of young bulls with an additional source of information in the form of per cent ranks, to complement existing phenotypic and pedigree records.

HD50k can also be used as an additional selection tool for heifers to identify elite females within herds to use as replacement breeders.