the
BEEFMASTER Pay Weight
a publication dedicated to serving commercial cattlemen and produced by Beefmaster Breeders United SPRING 2018
Vol. 4, No. 1
Section 1
www.beefmasters.org
How to Compare EPDs Across Breeds By Robert Wells, Ph.D., Noble Research Institute Have you ever wondered which bull breed you should use in your operation? How do you make the right choice that will align best with the type of cow you own and your goals? These are common questions from producers. You cannot look at the registration papers of bulls from two different breeds and make accurate direct comparisons of expected progeny difference (EPD) traits because every breed has a different scale and base for each trait. Fortunately, researchers at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center (U.S. MARC) in Clay Center, Nebraska, publish annual adjustment factors so EPDs can be compared across 18 beef breeds. The table above contains adjustment factors to compare EPDs of individuals of
different breeds, based on studies by the U. S. Meat Animal Research Center (MARC), Clay Center, Nebraska. Adjustments for some breeds are not available if they are not in the MARC database. The base for comparison is Angus.
These factors should be added to an individual EPD for direct comparison with an individual EPD of a different breed. For instance, consider
an Angus sire with Weaning Weight EPD of +50 and a Charolais sire with Weaning Weight EPD of +25. The Charolais adjustment factor is +34, so the adjusted value for the Charolais sire is +59 (25 + 34), 9lb heavier than the Angus sire’s +50 (which is not adjusted since Angus is the basis of comparison). Or, compare a Gelbvieh sire with Milk EPD of +23 with a Hereford sire of +20. The Gelbvieh adjustment factor is +4 and the Hereford adjustment factor is -18; the result is the Gelbvieh sire’s adjusted value is +27
(23 + 4) and the Hereford adjusted value is +2 (20–18), 25lb below the Gelbvieh. These factors are not breed comparisons. They are adjustments to allow comparison of individuals of different breeds. Breed comparisons can be seen on the website http://beef.tamu. edu in the list of publications under “Genetics & Selection”. Look for “2017 SireBreed Comparisons for EPD Traits”. Registry association breed averages can be seen in another publication on the above website under “2017 Breed Averages for EPD Traits”. Other EPD values calculated by some breeds (but for which no across-breed adjustments are available) include various combinations (depending on the breed) continued on page 4
Beefmasters: Delivering Heterosis Since 1930 By Bill Pendergrass, Beefmaster Breeders United Requested in-home March 1- 10, 2018
In reference to crossbreeding, the past decade has experienced a focus almost exclusively on the terminal side of the business, playing a major role for commercial breeding programs. While this terminal emphasis has benefited the consumer, cattle feeder and packer; it has not done anything to progress the genetic improvement of maternal traits, which benefits the cow/calf sector to a much higher degree than carcass
traits do. In a sense, the cow/calf producer could almost ask the question “who is doing anything for the rancher?” For the first time in years the industry has started discussing the deficiencies existing throughout the nation’s cowherd. Beef cow efficiency wake up calls are occurring from brutal reality. As ranchers take the heifer mates of outstanding steers, that excel in the yard and on the rail, and try to make them
work as mamas out on range conditions, it does not work. Often times these heifers’ mature weight is larger than what typical pasture conditions will support, leading to reproductive failure and early culling, which drastically increases annual costs - the largest input for every rancher. Simply put, the value of maternal genetics are being overlooked until the rancher realizes too late that they need an infusion continued on page 18