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RECORDS continue to be gathered for \u2018coat type\u2019 among Angus seedstock cattle that could one day lead to the release of a commercial Estimated Breeding Value for the trait in Australian Angus cattle.<\/p>\n
A \u2018research\u2019 Breeding Value has been in use by Angus Australia for some years, results from which are published annually.<\/p>\n
There are at least two potential reasons why Angus seedstock breeders might start selecting cattle on coat type using an EBV:<\/p>\n
Angus Australia research and development specialist Liam Mowbray<\/strong> told Beef Central that data on coat type was slowly accumulating.<\/p>\n \u201cWe currently get between 1000 and 2000 coat score assessments each year, and a lot of that is supported by the Angus Sire Benchmarking Program progeny,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Liam Mowbray<\/p>\n Coat score is a moderately heritable trait \u2013 the last time the parameters were analysed by Angus Australia it was 0.36. For a lowly heritable trait, more records are required to make it useful, while for highly heritable traits, fewer records are needed.<\/p>\n \u201cCoat type is somewhere in the middle,\u201d Dr Mowbray said.<\/p>\n The collection of coat type data would increase in coming years through the introduction of more co-operator herds \u2013 some of which are located in Queensland.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s not by mistake,\u201d Dr Mowbray said.<\/p>\n In the United States, similar, but not identical coat measurements are taken, including one called \u2018shedding score\u2019, which is reasonably closely correlated to coat type.<\/p>\n The Australian methodology ranks cattle on a 1-7 scale, with one being slick-coated and 7 being \u2018woolly.\u2019 Like any scale this this, the majority of cattle appear in the 3-5 range, but extremes exist on the edges, which is good for genetic selection potential.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve now accumulated a lot of trait data, and are definitely in a good position,\u201d Dr Mowbray said.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are now about 17,000 records collected over the past five years alone,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n One of the points to consider now was: what would be the purpose of a coat-type EBV, moving forward?<\/p>\n \u201cLike lots of traits, there are going to be some seedstock breeders interested in recording data, and others less so. People targeting sales into more northerly areas, for example, may have greater interest in selecting cattle with a sleeker coat. That\u2019s why we are continuing to collect data.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s generally considered that cattle with sleeker coats have better heat tolerance, and potentially, tick resistance.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked whether any antagonisms had been found with other valuable traits like meat quality, Dr Mowbray said it had not yet been examined in depth. A single paper had been published by Angus Australia geneticist Malshani Samaraweera<\/strong>, which showed no real genetic correlation problems, but it was still \u2018work in progress.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cBasically, it\u2019s still something than needs to be looked at \u2013 but it can be done,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Some dialogue had already happened with the US Angus industry on comparing the Australian coat-type trait with the US shedding score trait.<\/p>\n Even where he lived on the North Coast of NSW, coat type was a consideration among Angus bull buyers, for heat tolerance and parasite resistance reasons, Dr Mowbray said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhether there is science behind that or not, it is still a general observation among a lot of commercial producers in this area,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Asked what would be required for the work to move to a full commercial EBV release, he said further data would be the start, together with clear signals from Angus Australia members that they wanted to move that way.<\/p>\n There were still a number of hoops to jump through, however \u2013 including feedback, industry consultation, consultative committees and board recommendations.<\/p>\n \u201cBut as long as the right sentiment is there, there\u2019s no reason why it can\u2019t progress to a full EBV,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cBull buyers will often make their own mental notes on skin and coat type, judged from photos alone in a catalogue,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Angus Australia chief executive Scott Wright<\/strong> offered the following comments on the coat type EBV work.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom my perspective as CEO and that of the board, Angus Australia really believes that coat type is a very important trait for the future with Angus genetics moving into more northern environments,\u201d Mr Wright said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have real interest in angus across the north and this will be a very helpful tool. Most certainly we look forward to this being published as a full EBV.\u201d<\/p>\n An end to clipping bulls for sale day?<\/p>\n New England Angus bull breeder Andrew White<\/strong> from Eastern Plains has some interesting opinions on selection for coat-type.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is becoming increasingly commonplace for Angus bulls to be presented clipped for pre-sale photos and video, and on Sale Day,\u201d Mr White said.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes it may be just the poll, ears, neck and tailhead that are clipped; often, this is where hair is longer and coarser on an Angus bull.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, keep in mind that even partially clipping an Angus bull can alter his appearance so he presents as though he is naturally slick-coated (and seemingly more \u2018heat tolerant\u2019).<\/p>\n \u201cOnce his coat has had a chance to re-grow, the buyer may discover he is actually one of the hairier types. In our case, we do not clip bulls at all for pre-sale photos nor for Sale Day,\u201d Mr White said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis ensures a true and more accurate representation of each bull\u2019s natural coat-type.\u201d<\/p>\n As well, it meant the natural variation in coat-type between bulls was readily apparent and easy to discern.<\/p>\n \u201cImportantly, this enables bull buyers to better select for this trait\u00a0 In reality, if an Angus bull truly is naturally slick-coated, there should be no need for any clipping for this to be evident.\u201d<\/p>\n Seasonal, age variance<\/p>\n Mr White said in-field and personal experience in his Eastern Plains herd had been that observable variation existed in coat type between animals in both the operation\u2019s Stud & Commercial Angus herds \u2013 even in the depths of a Guyra winter.<\/p>\n \u201cFurther, coat type varies between seasons and across different age groups in our cattle,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cEven those animals that present as the hairiest in the mob during the depths of our winter will shed hair and become much slicker in their coat during the spring and summer months. This tendency to shed hair infers a level of \u2018environmental adaptability\u2019 which may in time, prove to be a trait of more relevance to \u2018heat tolerance\u2019 than Coat Type alone,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The herd\u2019s two-year-old heifers that birthed their first calf in July\/August could often be slower to shed their coat coming into spring, Mr White observed.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is probably linked to their increased nutritional requirements as they continue to not only grow themselves, but also lactate and grow their first calves. In contrast, mature, older-aged cows not only present with a slicker coat type in general, but they will also shed their coat earlier in the spring.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, the take home message is that variation in coat type between Angus animals does indeed exist, no matter the season or their age.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis infers there is opportunity to make genetic selections for this trait.\u201d<\/p>\n In Eastern Plains\u2019 case, it records and \u00a0submits raw coat type score data to TACE, across each year\u2019s complete draft of bulls and heifers at the same time as 400 Day weights are submitted.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce a Coat Type EBV is available for Angus animals, buyers will be able to more reliably & accurately select Angus bulls for their genotype or genetic merit in this trait, regardless of whether they\u2019re presented clipped or unclipped,\u201d Mr White said.<\/p>\n He warned, however, that a definitive link between coat type and \u2018heat tolerance\u2019 in Angus cattle in Australia had not yet been established by formal, published scientific research.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile anecdotal experience may suggest that this is the case, keep in mind there is still a considerable amount of research to do to better establish the interaction between coat type, heat tolerance and other production traits in Angus cattle in Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u00a0 RECORDS continue to be gathered for \u2018coat type\u2019 among Angus seedstock cattle that could one day lead…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":301124,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3846],"tags":[111294,111295,111296,267,2343,70,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-301123","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-genetics","8":"tag-angus","9":"tag-coat-type","10":"tag-ebv","11":"tag-genetics","12":"tag-research","13":"tag-science","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114936400111480607","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=301123"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301123\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/301124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=301123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=301123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=301123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Liam-Mowbray1200-1-e1753776816962.jpg\")
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