Guideline to Form BEEF
You are kindly asked to fill in a Form BEEF for all official traits (weaning weight, carcass traits, conformation etc) as they are recorded in your country, and submit the form to the Interbull Centre (interbeef@slu.se ). Please follow these guidelines as closely as possible when filling out the form in order to accomplish this and in order for form to be as homogeneous across country as possible.
General guidelines:
- Write in English
- Provide details on genetic parameters in Appendix BEEF
- Do not modify the form, i.e. keep all appendices even if they are empty
- Use one form per trait or group of traits
- Be detailed, but concise
- Quantify answers wherever possible
Give as detailed information as possible, but remember that some information is better than no information!
Use the ICAR breed codes in this link.icar_breed_codes
Use the traits and trait abbreviations in this link beef_trait_abb
Specific guidelines:
DATA COLLECTION |
|
Country (or countries) |
Give the complete name. Write all country names if joint evaluation. |
Trait name |
Give complete name of the trait |
Breed(s) |
Give the complete name of the breed(s). If a breed is evaluated together with a different breed, write the breed of evaluation in parenthesis. |
Trait definition |
Indicate how the trait is defined (e.g. weaning weight as weight at 200 days, weight at 210 days etc). |
Method and frequency of measurement |
Indicate source of data (e.g. scale, chest circumference etc) and how often data is collected |
Who does the performance recording? |
Breed associations, breeders, national association, as specified by ICAR general rules of performance recording |
Method of collecting data |
Explain briefly how records are collected |
Which animals get recorded? |
Please indicate if the recording involves pure breeds only or if it includes pure and crossbreeds. |
Is birthday recorded? |
Indicate yes or not. |
Is day of recording available? |
Indicate yes or not. |
Is the data adjusted and/or selected? If yes please describe the methodology applied |
Indicate yes or not. If yes, please provide the name of each adjusting factor together with a detailed description of the methodology used to adjust the data. If data is selected please provide a detailed description of the methodology used. Give reference(s) if available. |
Time period for inclusion of data |
Give a date, e.g. since 1985 etc. |
Criteria (data edits) for inclusion of records |
e.g. acceptable limits for phenotypic expression, missing pedigree, status of herd/animal, etc. |
Is embryo transfer applied? How are ET animals identified? Is recipient mother ID recorded? |
Indicate if the technique is, rarely or widely, utilized. Provide a sample of all possible different ID typologies for ET animals in Appendix II Beef, as they are currently identify in your country. Please indicate, also, if the recipient mother ID is recorded. |
How do you treat incomplete data? |
e.g. if herd is missing would the whole record get deleted or it would be kept assigning it to a common herd id? Please specify all possible scenarios that apply. |
MODEL |
|
Model used for genetic evaluation |
Use abbreviations listed in the attached list of abbreviation to define the type of model used. (e.g. ST-AM-FR-DAM-MPE) |
Environmental effects |
State nature of these effects (e.g. continuous, discontinuous), number of levels, and in parenthesis how they are treated (e.g. fixed=F, random=R). |
Use of genetic groups and relationships |
Is the relationship matrix modified in any way? What is the grouping based on? Birth year? Country of origin? Etc? |
Genetic parameters in the model |
Give ALL genetic parameters assumed in genetic model (h2, σ2p, r , c2, etc.) in Appendix I BEEF. |
Adjustment for heterogeneous variance in evaluation model |
Indicate whether heterogeneous variance is adjusted for in the model. If yes, please provide the methodology applied together with reference(s), if available. |
System validation |
Explain the validation process: check on data quality /model, trend estimations ... |
Definition of genetic reference base Next base change |
How is the genetic (reference) base defined: cow or bull; Fixed or rolling; birth year, calving year or proof year; etc. |
Assessment of index quality (computation of reliability, connection) |
Briefly state how reliabilities are calculated, what the criteria are to define connected herds. Include references if available. |
PUBLICATION |
|
Expression of genetic evaluations |
EBV, ETA, etc. If standardized, please provide standardization formula and factors |
Criteria for official publication of evaluations |
Minimum reliability or number of daughters / herd, etc. |
Number of evaluations / publications per year |
1, 2, 3 …? Which month(s)? |
Anticipated changes in the near future |
State the nature and the date of the anticipated / planned change. |
Key reference on methodology applied |
Please name the key references, which are used as the basis of the current genetic evaluations. |
Key organization : contact person, address, phone, fax, e-mail, web site |
Be explicit. |