USEFUL TOOLS FOR THE BEEF INDUSTRY
PRESENTED BY
DEVON GENETICS AUSTRALIA

Devon Genetics Australia is pleased to offer the industry some useful tools that will find use in everyday beef cattle management. The tools are for use in better management of the beef breeding herd. There are also some conversion tools for use by North American users of this site.

Conception Date Calculator

Use this calculator to determine the date of conception from a known calving date. This tool can help verify that a chosen bull, whether an AI sire or a cover bull is the correct sire of a calf.

Where a calf is born out of season, it is necessary to know the date of conception and the whereabouts of the dam at the time of conception to establish likely paternity.

The first step is to enter the calving date and then decide on the type of cow (because of the variation in the gestation amongst beef cows). Devon cows for example are moderate size and mid maturing types.

Calculate Conception Dates

Calving Date Calculator

Use this calculator to determine a future date of calving, from a known joining date.

The first step is to enter the date of conception and then decide on the type of cow (because of the variation in the gestation amongst beef cows).

Calculate Calving Dates

Prediction of Calving Date from Pregnancy Diagnosis

After cows have been diagnosed as being “in calf”, it is useful to know the expected calving date. An experienced operator should be able to determine the number of weeks in calf with some accuracy.

Use this calculator to estimate the calving date, the number of days to calving and the date of conception.

Calving Date Prediction Calculator

Cow Heat (Oestrus) Calculator

This calculator lets you determine the date of the next three heats or oestrus cycles of a cow, once she has been observed in standing heat or has been inseminated.

Cow Heat Calulator

Progeny Performance Calculator

Use this calculator to predict the EBV for a selected trait for the progeny of a DGA sire and DGA dam.

DGA Progeny Performance Calulator

Progeny Performance Calulator
(using DGA sire and your cow(s))

Some Useful Beef Industry Data and Conversions

To convert to North American units, multiply world unit by the conversion factor

Measurement	Unit of measure	North American conversion	Examples
Cattle weight	kg	1 kg = 2.24 lb	A 1 t Bull is 1000 kg or 2240 lb
Height	cm	1 cm = 0.394 in	A bull at the shoulder is 125 cm or 49.25 in
Fat Depth	mm	1 mm = 0.039 in	A yearling carcase with 12 mm rump fat is 0.468 in
Eye Muscle Area (EMA)	sq cm	1 sq cm = 1.155 sq in	A 2 year old Devon bull with120 sq cm EMA has a Rib Eye of 18.6 sq in
Growth Rate	kg/day	1 kg/day = 2.24 lb/day	A steer growing at 1.7 kg/day is 3.92 lb/day

 

Conversion of Performance Indicators: EPD to EBV

A brief description of the relationship of an EPD to an EBV follows for visitors to this site from countries using EPD's. Nearly all cattle producing countries use the metric system for measurement. Weights are taken in kilograms, linear distance such as scrotal circumference is measured in cm and area such as EMA (Eye Muscle Area [Rib Eye in the US]) is calculated in sq cm. The EBV produced is the genetic indicator for the trait measured. To calculate the expected EBV for progeny, each parent contributes half its genetics or half the EBV to the progeny.

The calculator to convert EPD's to EBV's requires information from recording systems that use EPD's.

EPD to EBV Conversion Calculator