RECORDS continue to be gathered for ‘coat type’ 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.

A ‘research’ Breeding Value has been in use by Angus Australia for some years, results from which are published annually.

There are at least two potential reasons why Angus seedstock breeders might start selecting cattle on coat type using an EBV:

The first relates to the appeal of shorter-coated Angus cattle for use in more northerly breeding herds, where adaptation and parasite challenge are important.
The second relates to minimising dags on feeder cattle – typically seen during the winter months when pen conditions can get muddy, and which can be difficult and time-consuming to remove before slaughter.

Angus Australia research and development specialist Liam Mowbray told Beef Central that data on coat type was slowly accumulating.

“We 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,” he said.

Liam Mowbray

Coat score is a moderately heritable trait – 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.

“Coat type is somewhere in the middle,” Dr Mowbray said.

The collection of coat type data would increase in coming years through the introduction of more co-operator herds – some of which are located in Queensland.

“That’s not by mistake,” Dr Mowbray said.

In the United States, similar, but not identical coat measurements are taken, including one called ‘shedding score’, which is reasonably closely correlated to coat type.

The Australian methodology ranks cattle on a 1-7 scale, with one being slick-coated and 7 being ‘woolly.’ 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.

“We’ve now accumulated a lot of trait data, and are definitely in a good position,” Dr Mowbray said.

“There are now about 17,000 records collected over the past five years alone,” he said.

One of the points to consider now was: what would be the purpose of a coat-type EBV, moving forward?

“Like 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’s why we are continuing to collect data.”

“It’s generally considered that cattle with sleeker coats have better heat tolerance, and potentially, tick resistance.”

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, which showed no real genetic correlation problems, but it was still ‘work in progress.’

“Basically, it’s still something than needs to be looked at – but it can be done,” he said.

Some dialogue had already happened with the US Angus industry on comparing the Australian coat-type trait with the US shedding score trait.

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.

“Whether there is science behind that or not, it is still a general observation among a lot of commercial producers in this area,” he said.

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.

There were still a number of hoops to jump through, however – including feedback, industry consultation, consultative committees and board recommendations.

“But as long as the right sentiment is there, there’s no reason why it can’t progress to a full EBV,” he said.

“Bull buyers will often make their own mental notes on skin and coat type, judged from photos alone in a catalogue,” he said.

Angus Australia chief executive Scott Wright offered the following comments on the coat type EBV work.

“From 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,” Mr Wright said.

“We 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.”

An end to clipping bulls for sale day?

New England Angus bull breeder Andrew White from Eastern Plains has some interesting opinions on selection for coat-type.

“It is becoming increasingly commonplace for Angus bulls to be presented clipped for pre-sale photos and video, and on Sale Day,” Mr White said.

“Sometimes 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.”

“However, 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 ‘heat tolerant’).

“Once 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,” Mr White said.

“This ensures a true and more accurate representation of each bull’s natural coat-type.”

As well, it meant the natural variation in coat-type between bulls was readily apparent and easy to discern.

“Importantly, this enables bull buyers to better select for this trait  In reality, if an Angus bull truly is naturally slick-coated, there should be no need for any clipping for this to be evident.”

Seasonal, age variance

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’s Stud & Commercial Angus herds – even in the depths of a Guyra winter.

“Further, coat type varies between seasons and across different age groups in our cattle,” he said.

“Even 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 ‘environmental adaptability’ which may in time, prove to be a trait of more relevance to ‘heat tolerance’ than Coat Type alone,” he said.

The herd’s 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.

“This 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.”

“However, the take home message is that variation in coat type between Angus animals does indeed exist, no matter the season or their age.”

“This infers there is opportunity to make genetic selections for this trait.”

In Eastern Plains’ case, it records and  submits raw coat type score data to TACE, across each year’s complete draft of bulls and heifers at the same time as 400 Day weights are submitted.

“Once 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’re presented clipped or unclipped,” Mr White said.

He warned, however, that a definitive link between coat type and ‘heat tolerance’ in Angus cattle in Australia had not yet been established by formal, published scientific research.

“While 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.”