Yearling bull sale tips: how to read the data
As we’ve been busy creating the Koanui Yearling Sale Catalogue, we thought it would be helpful to put together some tips for reading the data. This article will hopefully give you some tips for getting the most out of any Yearling Bull Sale catalogue.
We catalogue Yearling Bulls in mob order. This means that we haven’t necessarily brought the ‘best’ to the start of the line up. As with all yearling bulls, changes can occur in a short period of time as they mature. You may find bulls that are best suited to your needs dispersed throughout the catalogue
Every animal in our catalogues include a three-generation pedigree, herdbook number, date of birth, genetic description of its horn/poll status and full table of Estimated Breeding Values. All of this data and pedigree information will help determine what bulls are right for your breeding programme.
All this information already exists online through the New Zealand Hereford Association. This year, we have helped connect the printed catalogue to this wealth of data by including a QR code on every lot. These QR codes will take you to the animal’s page on the Hereford New Zealand website. There, Breedplan EBVs are updated every month so you can access the most accurate estimates.
The EBV table - August 2026 data
Column Headings
The EBVs are grouped according to the type of trait being described.
Row Headings
EBV
EBVs are the best estimates of the genetic merit of the animal for a selection of commercially relevant traits. They are produced from the monthly NZ Hereford Breedplan analysis of pedigree, measured performance data and genetic datafrom genomics. These figures allow buyers to rank the relative performance of Hereford bulls.
% / Percentile Bands
To help you to rankings of our sale animals on their EBVs within the NZ Hereford breed. The % figure beneath the Breedplan EBV for each trait represents where the animal’s individual EBV sits in relation to the average EBVs for all animals born in 2024.
$ Index Values
You will also find a $ Index value table for each animal in the catalogue.
The $ Indexes are a summary of the individual EBVs weighted for different production systems. There are three NZ Hereford $ Indexes. They are Hereford Prime $ Index; Beef Heifer $ Index and Dairy Beef $ Index.
The Hereford Prime and Beef Heifer $ Indexes are for self replacing commercial herds. Hereford Prime focuses on steer and prime heifer production from a mixed aged cow herd. The beef Heifer $ Index is similar but the index is weighted for calving ease to assist with selection of bulls for use on yearling heifers.
The Dairy $ Index is designed to assist with identifying bulls that are suitable for use on mixed aged dairy cows. They are a terminal sire where the self replacing ,maternal traits are not required. Growth and beef production from easily born live calves is the focus here.
Traits Observed
Under the EBV box you will find a row which shows the traits that have been observed for each animal. GL – Gestation length where possible, CE – calving ease, BWT – birth weight, 200WT – 200 day weight, 400WT – 400 day weight, SS – Scrotal size, Fat, EMA – eye music area, IMF – Intra Muscular Fat, the carcase traits are measured by live animal ultrasound scan, DOC – docility and Genomics – DNA genome from 100K SNP tissue sample from the animal has been incorporated into the Breedplan analysis.
Semen and Service Tested
Note all animals have been semen and service tested to the Tararua Breeding Centre Bull Fertility Evaluation Gold standard to Libido, Penile Soundness and Semen Evaluation.
We hope this information helps! As always, if you have any questions about the bulls we have available, or recommendations from our catalogue, get in touch.