Herefords Australia National Show and Sale birth weights too high, exec defends

The breed’s National Show and Sale saw an uncommon amount of bulls with above average birth weights, drawing criticism from the industry.

A large number of above average birth weight bulls offered at the Herefords Australia National Show and Sale has been defended as “offering diversity”.

The sale, held earlier this month at Wodonga, catalogued bulls with Estimated Breeding Values for birth weight of up to +11.8kg, almost three times the breed average of +4kg.

Twenty-five bulls had birth weight figures of +7kg or higher, and 72 per cent had a birth weight bigger than the breed average.

And while some buyers commented that a slightly higher birth weight was tolerated to gain growth, less than half the bulls catalogued (55 out of 130) were in the top 20 per cent of the breed for 600-day growth.

The birth weight issue was brought up by the judge of the event, Stephen Reid, who said he had tried to use EBVs “to keep out cattle with holes in them”.

“I have probably shied away from a few high birth weight bulls or those that showed poor carcass data or calving ease data,” Mr Reid said.

“I wasn’t looking for the top 5 per cent of cattle on EBVs and was looking for phenotype as much as anything.”

Herefords Australia chief executive Lisa Sharp said it was not concerning that bulls were being offered with high birth weight figures.

“All traits are monitored, and this guides our education and extension activity to studs and commercial members,” Ms Sharp said.

“The inclusion of Breedplan data in the sale catalogue is to help guide buying decisions.”

Ms Sharp said Herefords Australia in conjunction with the Agricultural Business Research Institute provided information to breeders about all traits, including benefits and any potential risks.

“In the case of high birth weight figures, this may include possible issues with dystocia,” she said.

Ms Sharp said the Wodonga vendor committee and Herefords Australia had “no plans to set Breedplan standards” for the event but would continue to include Breedplan figures and breed averages in the catalogue.

“Breedplan is one important tool for potential buyers, and we encourage buyers to review this data as well as undertake physical assessment of the animals in the catalogue, speak to breeders and agents etc to ensure they select bulls that best meet their individual breeding objectives.”

Southern Beef Technology Services technical officer Catriona Millen said while she would not comment on the Herefords national catalogue, the birth weight EBV that a producer is comfortable with would “vary from situation to situation, depending on the producers’ breeding objectives”.

“For example, calving ease may be of particular importance to those looking for a bull to use over heifers, or those looking to use beef bulls over dairy cows,” Ms Millen said.

“Higher, more positive birth weight EBVs are associated with heavier birth weights, which have an increased risk of a difficult birth compared to lighter birth weights.

“That said, calving difficulty is influenced by a number of factors, including calf shape and the dam calving “will”.”

Ms Millen said those producers seeking to minimise the incidence of calving difficulty, she recommended they consider the calving ease EBVs, as “these take into account birth weight, gestation length and birth difficulty score information collected by seedstock producers”.