Frequently asked questions

The National Beef Evaluations (NBE), as the name suggests, uses national data. Unlike other sources of available beef EBVs, the NBE takes into account calving records of all GB cows available on BCMS, alongside using the available abattoir data of over 16 million animals to assess carcase traits.

This means that if there is enough data to analyse for an individual, we can provide a result for any bovine, of any breed and whether or not they are crossbreds. There is no requirement to be pedigree registered. Most of the national data we use comes from commercial farms and from a variety of breeds. Meaning the evaluations are relevant across all systems from dairy farms to commercial farms and pedigree livestock systems.

EBVs are a measure of the genetic merit of your animal. Each EBV is given in the units of the trait, so a carcase weight EBV of +10kg means that the animal has the genetic potential for a carcase weight which is 10kg more than the average for beef animals. Their calves will inherit half of this (and half from their other parent).

Bars to the right show an animal is better than average.

  • For traits we want to increase (e.g. productive lifespan or calf survival), bars to the right are more positive, meaning higher genetic potential.

  • For traits we want to reduce (e.g. age at first calving or days to slaughter), bars to the right are more negative, again meaning better genetic potential.

  • There are some traits which some farmers want to increase but others might prefer a decrease. This is particularly the case for Fat Class. For these traits, bars to the right simply show a higher value, so for fat class, a bar to the right means the animal has the genetic potential for a higher than average Fat Class.

Alongside each EBV, we also give the accuracy (Acc). This is a percentage between 0-100%. Higher values mean that the estimated breeding value is more likely to close to the true genetic merit. We only publish EBVs with accuracies above 30% for carcase traits and 25% for maternal traits. We get higher accuracies when:

  • We have more performance data for the animal and more of its relatives.

  • We can better account for non-genetic factors. This is easier to do when animals are kept on larger farms.

  • The heritability of the trait is high. This means that genetics plays a larger role in the trait.

Don’t panic. We use new data from BCMS, abattoirs and breed societies to publish new and updated EBVs multiple times throughout the year. To find a list of dates, click here.

We only publish EBVs with accuracies above a certain threshold (30% for carcase, 25% for maternal traits). This is so we can be reasonably confident that the EBV we provide is a good representation of the animal’s genetic merit. More data tends to increase accuracy so animals which don’t currently meet the threshold are likely to be published over time.

If your herd is particularly small or your animals have few relatives, it is harder for us to estimate their genetic potential and so it may take longer, or even not be possible for us to produce accurate EBVs.

Ideally, both sets if they have reasonable accuracy values. The existing EBVs are important tools for bull selection; the new traits provide an additional level of insight for those traits on which producers are paid.

In the same way as current pedigree breeding evaluations. Individuals reared together on the same farm at the same time are grouped into what we call contemporary groups. Genetic linkage between these groups is then used to compare their relative genetic merit.

For the across breed chart, the value of 0 is the average genetic merit of beef cattle that were born in 2017. You can now also view a with-in breed chart, where the mid point is equal to the average genetic merit of cattle of that specific breed, born in 2017.

The aim of this work is to advance within-breed selection. All beef cattle have EBVs expressed relative to the same genetic base, so comparison between any beef breed is possible.

1. Always put sire details (UK ministry number) on the passport

2. If you are selling bulls, ask your clients to put sire details on the progeny’s passport.