The cattle industry has been using a process called Expected Progeny Difference (EPD) for over 40 years.
The goal of any breeder is to improve each successive generation for certain traits, so they are more profitable than past generations. There is now additional information that can be added to the EPD, so cattle breeders can get more insight into what a new herd bull can bring to a cowherd. But there is so much, it is causing information overload? A beef cattle specialist explains a simpler method to improve your herd in the program below.
AUDIO: Profit Matters 4-6-18
Dr. Jared Decker, University of Missouri assistant professor, helps producers get their minds around EPD technologies and how they can use it to improve their decision-making process when it comes to genetic selection. Decker spoke with Ron Hays, of Radio Oklahoma, about reducing the complexity of genetic evaluation as it relates to genetic purchases for cattle operations.
?We?ve had EPDs around for 40 years,? Decker said. ?If we talk to beef producers, they?re still making their selection decisions based on the actual performance. We?ve still got issues of maybe too many producers in the industry not buying into the old tool of EPDs and then we?re starting to layer on top that DNA testing and selection indexes and all of these things. If you?re not careful, it can sound real complicated, real quick.?
All that being said, Decker says his message is simple – if you use the right tools, you can make the decision process much easier. He points to economic selection indexes now available, a tool that essentially boils down all the other information reflected in the complete set of a bull?s EPDs and ranks it among other bulls in terms of profit.
Decker explains this is most helpful to producers who may not fully grasp all that EPDs reflect on a bull?s genetic potential. By using the $ Index, a producer will have just one number to compare and understand the potential economic value a bull may bring to their operation, and effectively simplify the entire process.
?The thing to keep in mind at the end of the day is that we need to be making our selection decisions based on genetics, because when we go to buy that bull, we?re not bringing his environment home with us,? Decker said. ?We?re bringing his genetics home with us. He?s really just a package delivering that genetic potential to our next calf crop. We really need to focus our decisions on the genetics of the bull.?
