Do fertile bulls breed more fertile progeny?
BRAHMAN NEWS SEPTEMBER 2007 Issue #156 New Beef CRC research is investigating whether fertility traits in bulls, such as scrotal size, semen quality and various hormones and proteins are linked to fertility traits in both their male and female progeny. Dubbed the Beef CRC “Male Indicators Project”, data are currently being collected from nearly three and a half thousand bulls donated by Beef CRC collaborators from industry (Northern Pastoral Group of Companies and individual seedstock breeders from Central Queensland) and CSIRO to determine the links between the fertility of males and females. The goal of the project is to discover better predictors of female fertility in bulls, in much the same way as dairy bulls are selected to improve the milking ability of their daughters. If predictor traits can be identified in bulls early in life, then selection for female fertility will become easier for beef producers, not only because of the earlier selection and greater selection pressure in
