Page 11 - Ngaputahi 2021 Catalogue eBook

What does TACE do? TACE uses sophisticated computing technology to adjust
for known environmental effects over a number of
TACE adjusts field measurements (raw data) submitted selection traits.
by the breeder to calculate an estimate of the animals
breeding value (EBV). It uses information from the What are the key features of the
performance of the individual animal as well as its relatives, TACE analysis?
and allows for differences in environment and chance that
animals have been exposed to and that would otherwise Key features of TACE include:
bias our selection decisions. • Calculating breeding values for all animals and
It provides the best estimate of an animal’s breeding value all traits simultaneously, hence its description as a
from the information available. “Multiple Trait Animal Model”.
TACE is a useful aid to selection, not because you are a • Using performance information from relatives and
poor judge of cattle but because when it comes to long progeny, as well as the individual animal.
term memory recall or making simultaneous adjustments for • Using the known correlation between traits to increase
known environmental effects over a number of traits, human the accuracy of measured traits and to calculate EBVs
brain power is no match for a computer. for non-measured traits such as birth weight or weight
Why use TACE to analyse at later ages.
performance records? • The use of “country of origin” performance information
of imported (introduced) animals.
What we see or measure in an animal is influenced by both
environmental and genetic factors. • Adjusting for the effects of differences of nutrition,
age of dam, age of calf and management group
Environmental factors influence the way an animal treatments. These are non-genetic differences that will
may look or perform within a given environment but affect the observed performance of the individual but
not the way his progeny will look or perform within a are not passed onto its progeny.
different environment. Environmental influences include
nutrition (differences between paddocks or properties, • Removing these biases and taking into account the
supplementary feeding, or trace mineral capsules), performance of other animals makes TACE predictions
management such as castration and drenching, grooming more accurate than predictions on visual assessment.
and clipping, gut-fill, ill-health, and parasites. As well as giving you EBVs for your animals, TACE also
Observed differences of performance between animals plots the genetic trend for your herd. This trend shows
resulting from differences in environment can be large, but you the genetic direction of your herd for individual traits
are not inherited by their progeny, and as such can lead from year to year, and also lets you see the effect of
our selection decision astray. environmental changes such as pasture improvement on
your overall herd production.
Genetic factors are the result of genes inherited from the
parents and are the blueprint for future performance, both
of the individual and its progeny.
You buy a bull not for what he looks like but how his
progeny will perform. It is only when environment factors
are either standardised or adjusted for that real genetic
differences become apparent.

2021 Ngaputahi Angus Bull Sale Vision Integrity Passion 9