Livestock & Animal Husbandry
Breeding, Genetics & Performance
Select on data, not on the last bull you liked the look of.
Genetic improvement is the only permanent, cumulative gain available in livestock production, and it is routinely decided on appearance. This module records pedigree and performance, applies Estimated Breeding Values and genomic data to selection, plans matings against the breeding objective, and measures whether the herd or flock is actually improving.
- 12 capabilities
- 4 linked schemes
- Offline capable
- 12
- Capabilities in this module
- 5
- Interactive tools
- 4
- Linked support schemes
- 5
- Data integrations
- 5
- Measures reported
The ground reality
What is actually happening in breeding & genetics in the UK
Northern Ireland has made participation in a bovine genetics programme a conditionality of its main area payment, which brings genetic recording into the compliance domain for the first time. Genomic testing costs have fallen to the point where commercial rather than pedigree herds can justify it, and breed society databases increasingly publish comparable across-breed evaluations.
Figures are as published at the time of writing. Farm policy and payment rates change frequently — verify against the primary source before relying on any number here.
In the field
Breeding & genetics, as it actually looks
Photography from working UK holdings alongside the interface that records it. Every frame below is a commissioned slot: the brief is stated until the photograph is taken.
Breeding & Genetics — a walkthrough
A working pass through breeding & genetics: entering the record once, and watching it appear in the evidence pack, the calendar and the scheme application without being typed again.
- 0:00 What the module is for
- 0:48 Entering the record
- 2:05 Where it appears next
- 3:20 The evidence pack
Photography slots state their own brief until the shot is commissioned, so the layout never shifts when real images arrive.
Capabilities
What Breeding & Genetics does
Every capability below is built on the same underlying record, so entering something once is enough for it to appear wherever it is needed.
Record and plan
- Pedigree recording with sire, dam and full ancestry
- Estimated Breeding Value capture and across-breed comparison
- Genomic test result recording and interpretation
Operate and monitor
- Breeding objective definition weighted to the production system
- Mating plan generation with inbreeding coefficient checking
- Artificial insemination, embryo transfer and natural service records
Comply and evidence
- Semen and embryo inventory with straw-level tracking
- Performance recording — growth, maternal, carcase and health traits
- Genetic trend analysis showing whether the herd is improving
Analyse and improve
- Replacement selection ranking on index rather than appearance
- Bull and ram fertility testing records
- Conditionality evidence for genetics-linked scheme payments
Interactive
Tools you actually use, not screens you read
These are working interfaces inside the module — maps, calculators, planners and dashboards that respond to your own holding data.
Mating planner ranking sire options against the breeding objective
Mating planner ranking sire options against the breeding objective
BuilderInbreeding coefficient checker before a mating is committed
Inbreeding coefficient checker before a mating is committed
WizardGenetic trend chart across generations
Genetic trend chart across generations
ChartSelection index builder with trait weighting sliders
Selection index builder with trait weighting sliders
BuilderSemen inventory tracker by straw and by sire
Semen inventory tracker by straw and by sire
ToolEnd to end
How Breeding & Genetics runs, start to finish
The module is modelled as a state machine, so at any point the business knows exactly which stage every record is at and what has to happen next.
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1
Define the breeding objective
This is where the record starts, and getting it right here removes work at every later stage.
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2
Record pedigree and performance
The platform prompts only for what this stage genuinely needs, and carries everything forward.
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3
Obtain EBVs and genomic results
Conflicts with scheme rules, regulatory windows and existing commitments are flagged here rather than discovered later.
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4
Build the selection index
Capture works offline, so this stage is completed in the field rather than remembered afterwards.
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5
Plan matings and check inbreeding
Everything recorded at this point becomes evidence automatically, in every format that will later ask for it.
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6
Serve and record
This is the stage most businesses currently do twice, once for the operation and once for the paperwork.
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7
Measure progeny performance
Results feed the whole-farm view, so the effect of this stage is visible against the rest of the business.
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8
Review genetic trend and adjust the objective
The cycle closes here, and what is learned is carried into next season's plan rather than lost.
Who uses it
Built around four real jobs, not one generic user
Each of these people needs something different from the same record. The module is designed so none of them has to work around the others.
Suckler breeder
Home-bred replacements
Needs to rank heifers on index rather than on appearance.
Pedigree breeder
Selling breeding stock
Needs full performance and genomic evidence with every animal sold.
AI technician
Service rounds
Needs mating plans and straw allocation on a mobile device.
Breed society
Evaluation
Needs consistent performance recording from commercial herds.
Schemes and funding
Support schemes this module works with
Agrivencia holds these schemes as data, so eligibility, payment rates, caps and windows update the day they change rather than at the next software release.
Bovine Genetics Programme
Improve the genetic merit of the Northern Ireland cattle herd.
DAERA Northern IrelandSuckler Cow Scheme
Improve suckler herd efficiency through a headage payment linked to calving performance.
DAERA ScotlandScottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme
Support the Scottish suckler beef sector with a headage-based payment subject to performance conditions.
Scottish Government EnglandAnimal Health and Welfare Pathway
Fund annual veterinary reviews and capital investment to improve animal health and welfare outcomes.
Defra / Rural Payments AgencyRates, caps and windows change frequently and sometimes without notice. Always confirm against the current published scheme rules before applying.
Measurement
How you will know it is working
The module reports against these measures from the day it is switched on, so the value is demonstrable rather than assumed.
- 01Genetic trend per year
- 02Percentage of herd with EBVs
- 03Inbreeding coefficient
- 04Replacement index versus herd average
- 05Conception rate to planned matings
Traceability
The chain behind one batch
Livestock traceability is statutory, the reporting window is short, and it runs through a different national system in each nation. The record is assembled as the animal moves rather than reconstructed at audit.
BATCH-84923B
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Born on holding
- Who
- Holding of birth
- Evidence
- Ear tag applied and registered
- Held in
- British Cattle Movement Service
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Health intervention
- Who
- Veterinary practice
- Evidence
- Medicine record with withdrawal period
- Held in
- Medicine book
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Moved
- Who
- Haulier
- Evidence
- Statutory movement report within the reporting window
- Held in
- British Cattle Movement Service
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Received
- Who
- Destination holding
- Evidence
- Arrival recorded, standstill applied
- Held in
- Holding register
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Slaughtered
- Who
- Approved abattoir
- Evidence
- Kill sheet, classification and food chain information
- Held in
- FSA
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Sold
- Who
- Buyer
- Evidence
- Batch linked to the carcase and the holding of origin
- Held in
- Platform record
Take the record with you
Obligation calendar
What breeding & genetics asks of you, and when
Windows, deadlines and recurring obligations for England. Set a different nation and the calendar reconfigures; farm across a border and it shows both, reconciled.
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February 1 entry
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3 February: Animal Health and Welfare Pathway
Rolling application.
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March 3 entries
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3 March: Bovine Genetics Programme
Continuous.
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25 March: Build the selection index
A recurring step in breeding & genetics.
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27 March: Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme
Annual claim.
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June 3 entries
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2 June: Define the breeding objective
A recurring step in breeding & genetics.
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5 June: Farming Transformation Fund
Round-based by theme.
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15 June: Sustainable Farming Incentive 2026
Two windows in 2026: window one from 30 June, window two from September.
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August 1 entry
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5 August: Record pedigree and performance
A recurring step in breeding & genetics.
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October 3 entries
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3 October: Suckler Cow Scheme
Opt-in with continuous recording.
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5 October: Farming Equipment and Technology Fund
Round-based, usually open for a defined application period.
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16 October: Obtain EBVs and genomic results
A recurring step in breeding & genetics.
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November 2 entries
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12 November: Improving Farm Productivity Grant
Round-based.
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27 November: Environmental Land Management Capital Grants
Round-based, with rapid allocation once open.
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December 1 entry
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26 December: Countryside Stewardship
Rolling and round-based depending on the tier and option group.
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Questions answered
What people ask about Breeding & Genetics
Does this replace the software I already use?
Not necessarily. Agrivencia integrates with authoritative sources and mainstream packages rather than insisting on replacing them. Where an incumbent does one job well, the platform connects to it; where the job spans several systems and nobody does it, the platform does it.
Will it work where I have no signal?
Yes. Field capture in Breeding & Genetics is offline first, storing locally and synchronising when a connection returns. Only around a fifth of UK farms report reliable signal across the whole holding, so this is a design assumption rather than a feature.
What happens when the scheme rules change?
Scheme rules are held as data rather than code, so a rate change, a cap change or a window closure is a content update that takes effect the same day. The platform also alerts you to what the change does to your own position.
Who owns the data I put in?
You do. The Farm Data Charter gives you a complete export in open formats at any time, and every instance of data sharing requires an explicit, revocable consent that is visible in your account.
Does it work if I farm across a border?
Yes, and that is one of the main reasons the platform exists. A business with land in more than one nation sees one reconciled view rather than two portals, with obligations and deadlines from both administrations in a single calendar.
Can my agronomist or land agent use it too?
Yes. You grant scoped, time-limited access per holding and per module, and you can revoke it in one click. Advisers never get a shared password or a blanket view.
What is the biggest limitation of this module?
Selection on single traits causing correlated decline. Mitigated by index-based selection. We would rather state that plainly than let you discover it after signing.
Documents
Take it away with you
Everything here is printable and works on a kitchen table with no signal. Where a document asks for an email address, it says so on the button rather than after you press it.
Selecting on Index: Practical Genetic Improvement for Commercial Herds and Flocks
The practical handbook for breeding & genetics: what the rules require, what the evidence has to show, and the mistakes that cost people money.
breeding & genetics — evidence checklist
Every document an audit or a claim asks for, in the order it is asked for, with the validity period of each.
breeding & genetics — record template
The record structure the module uses, as a spreadsheet, so a business not yet on the platform can start keeping it correctly today.
Data model reference
Entities, fields and integration points for breeding & genetics, for advisers and software partners.
See Breeding & Genetics running on your own holding
Thirty minutes, using your parcels, your schemes and your enterprises rather than a sample farm. No obligation and no sales script — if it does not fit your business we will say so.
- Free tier available
- No card required
- Your data stays yours