Page 11 - Red Hill Farms Red Angus and Simmental Annual Bull Sale 2017
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Red Angus Guide to EPDs



        HB ...... HerdBuilder Index – Need bulls for developing   CEM .... Calving Ease Maternal – Another number to
        a profi table cowherd and maximizing the value of   pay attention to if you are retaining heifers. Selecting
        marketed progeny? Select a bull with a high HB value.  bulls with a high CEM will increase the probability of
                                          those daughters calving unassisted.
        GM ...... GridMaster Index – If you market all of your
        calf crop and want to increase the value of that calf   STAY.... Stayability – The most important trait if your
        crop, select a bull with a high GM value to maximize   goal is developing cows that stay productive, thus
        your profi t.                      increasing your profi tability. Bulls that have a high
                                          Stay EPD are expected to sire daughters that remain
        CED ..... Calving Ease Direct – Breeding Heifers? Select   productive in the herd until at least 6 years of age.
        bulls with a high CED to increase the probability that
        the heifers will calve unassisted.  MARB .. Marbling Score – Select bulls with high MARB
                                          EPD to increase the number of progeny that grade
        BW...... Birth Weight – Predicts differences in birth   Choice or Prime.
        weight. BW is included in the CED EPD, so simplify
        your decisions by selecting bulls based on CED instead   YG ...... Yield Grade – Marketing calves on a grid?
        of BW.                            Placing selection pressure on YG EPD will decrease
                                          the number of YG discounts on grid-marketed
        WW ..... Weaning Weight and YW ....Yearling Weight –   progeny.
        Predicts differences in weight at weaning and yearling.
        While selection based on these growth measures can   CW...... Carcasss Weight – Selecting bulls with a
        increase your payweight, be cautious what the bull’s   high CW EPD will increase the weight of the hanging
        other EPDs are.                   carcass, which directly impacts revenue.
        Milk .... Milk – Predicts differences in weaning weight   REA ..... Rib Eye Area – Need to add muscle? Select
        of daughter’s progeny due to milk production.   bulls with a high REA EPD to increase rib eye area,
                                          which favorably increases Yield Grade.
        ME ...... Maintenance Energy – Selecting bulls with a
        lower ME EPD will decrease the amount of feed his   FAT ..... Backfat – Need to reduce waste in carcasses?
        daughters will require to maintain body weight.  Select bulls with a low FAT EPD to reduce backfat,
                                          which favorably increases Yield Grade.
        HPG..... Heifer Pregnancy – Retaining heifers? Select
        bulls with a high HPG to increase the percentage of
        exposures that result in a calving observation.

        FRAME SCORES:  Frame size in cattle is an extremely important trait, and deciding on the
          frame size needed in the next herd bull should be one of the major criteria for selection.
          Unfortunately, frame scoring is NOT an exact science. If cattle are on halter and easy to
          handle, frame scoring can be quite repeatable. However, when measuring frame score in
          the chute while collecting other yearling data, the measurements are not as repeatable
          as desired. We have decided to break the frame scores into thirds for the bulls this year.
          For example, a 4 frame score would have been between 4.33 and 4.66 in the past while a
          4 - would have been between 4.0 and 4.33 and a 4 + would have been between 4.67 and
          4.99. Stated another way a 4 – is a low 4, 4 is an average 4 and 4 + is a high 4.

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