Target MinUse Males

MateSel allow you to target a minimum use of individual males within each female group. This allows you to specify a minimum value for each Male x Female group combination. MateSel will then aim to deliver a mating list that conforms (as closely as the algorithm can achieve) to these target MinUse per group requirements.

Technical Note

This is done within the evolutionary algorithm (it is not merely a “fix-up” of the final result) and so evolution proceeds for other issues affected by mate allocations. Activating this feature causes an increase in the computing time per generation of the evolutionary algorithm, but this is likely to be well compensated for in terms of fewer generations required for convergence.

Enable MinUse Males

To enable this feature:

1. Navigate to “Settings”
2. Find the “Advanced Grouping” section
3. Check the “Enable ability to target minimum use of individual males within each female group” option

Enter MinUse Males values

Please follow the 3 steps described below:

1. Check the setting “Would you like to target minimum use of individual males within each female group?”
2. Select an Emphasis. We suggest you start with a “Moderate” Emphasis. This Emphasis is used to penalise solutions which cannot give full conformation to the target Minuse values you provide, which is more liable to happen for example at higher Target Degrees where more sires are used, each more thinly spread across female groups. As with other targets with Emphasis/Weightings, this one is applied towards achieving the desired outcome. If you are not happy with the result you need to edit this Emphasis and try a new run. However, be patient and let the job converge well before increasing Emphasis – high Emphasis can reduce rate of convergence for other targets considerably, even though you may satisfy the current issue quickly.
3. Enter the minimum number of individual males to be used for each allowed Male x Female Group combination.

Warning

Be careful how you set MinUse values. Of course, Individual Minuse values must equal or exceed Group MinUse figures as logic dictates. If Individual Minuse for males is set close to (some of) the Group Minuse figures, then there is little room for these targets to move – and indeed there may not be fully conforming solutions possible. If your results do not look satisfactory, try reducing Individual MinUse values for males, and/or the Group MinUse figures. Maybe try a test run with Individual MinUse values set to zero. When using the filter, under “tight” circumstances, Individual MinUse figures may not be met for some individuals.

Monitoring Male Use Across Groups

You can monitor male use across groups by keeping an eye on the “Sire Use Detail” dashboard. Your final solution may not fully conform to the target minuse values you set as mentioned above.