Page 10 - Loonan Stock Farm 43rd Annual Production Sale Private Treaty Auction Feb. 3, 2018 Red Angus & Simmental
P. 10

Simmental Herdsires



                                                                HSR DAKOTA BEEF U653
                                                                BD: 3/11/08          Registration #2454850 Polled

                                                               WS BEEF MAKER R13          [ HOOKS SHEAR FORCE 38K
                                                                                            DCR MS RIBEYE N72

                                                               HSR MISS SUNRISE S351 [      MLC DAKOTA SUNRISE P32
                                                                                            HSR MISS REALITY N13
                                                                CE   BW WW  YW  MCE  M  MW   ST  DOC  CW  YG   MA   BF   REA  API   TI
                                                                12.8  2.2  91.9 147.3  7.4  17.2  63.2 18.0  10.7 60.6  -0.28  0.33  -0.027  1.30  163.2  91.6
                                                               •  HSR Dakota Beef U653 topped the Dakota Xpress Sale in North Dakota at $12,000 when
                                                                  we bought him.
                                                               •  Dakota is moderate framed, deep bodied and had a 114 WW ratio and a 112 YW ratio.
                                                               •  He makes a great combination on our own many Earthquake daughters, ranking in the top
                                                                  1% for WW, YW, ADG, CW, REA, APR and TI, top 5% for MMW, 2% ST, 10% MA.
                                                               •  Dakota not only has breed-leading EPDs, but his calves are impressive here.
                                                               •  The four consignors at the Dakota Xpress sale commented, “He’s better than the A.I.
                                                                  bulls.” So before we could get him picked up, they collected him and divided the semen.

                                                               RFS CLINT C45

                                                               BD: 3/19/15      ASA Reg. #3040615        Homo Polled

                                                               ELLINGSON COMPLETE A358    [ R PLUS HARD ROCK 145X
                                                                                            ELLINGSON MS AMIGO X5


                                                               RFS MISS Z198              [ RFS T46
                                                                                            RFS MISS Z198
                                                                CE   BW WW  YW  MCE  M  MW   ST  DOC  CW  YG   MA   BF   REA  API   TI
                                                                6.9  4.1  69.5 100.5  9.2 14.8  49.5 7.4  10.6  35.5  -0.33  -0.08 -0.064  0.83  97.2  63.7
                                                               •  Lots of eye appeal in his calves that exhibit thickness
                                                               *  He has four of the top fi ve calves in 205-day adjusted weights out of 39 head.



            UNDERSTANDING AND USING ASA’S SELECTION INDICES
                                                   By Wade Schafer Ph.D.
          API. The API evaluates sires being used on the entire cowherd (bred to both   breeding programs. Though increasing growth is invariably a good thing in
        Angus fi rst-calf heifers and mature cows) with a portion of their daughters   terminal sires, its strong association with mature size makes it less desirable
        being retained for breeding and the steers and remaining heifers being put on   in replacement female sires, as increasing mature size increases cowherd
        feed and sold grade and yield. All EPDs, with the exception of tenderness, are   maintenance requirements. Keep in mind that the positive benefi ts of increased
        taken into consideration in this index.                growth in sires’ steers and cull females are accounted for in the API. Neverthe-
          API puts heavy emphasis on bulls with good STAY (an estimate of the   less, the index is telling us that the extra cost of maintaining larger cows
        likelihood of a bull’s daughters staying in the herd). This should come as no   outweighs the benefi t of increased growth in other areas of the system.
        surprise; research has consistently shown that reproduction trumps all else in   Even so, the API is evidently fi nding sires with more carcass weight than
        economic importance. STAY improves your bottom line by lessening the need   would be expected given their growth potential. (The top 25 average in the
        for replacement females. Reducing your requirement for replacements allows   95th and 90th percentiles for weaning and yearling weight, while reaching the
        you to market more young, high-value females, cuts your costs for heifer   70th percentile for carcass weight.)
        development and changes your herd’s age structure so a larger portion of your   From the top 25, it is evident that more weight is placed on marbling than
        females are in their most productive years (5 through 10).   yield grade. This is likely because there is no fi nancial incentive to improving
          Direct and maternal calving ease also get substantial weighting in the API.   yield grade unless there is a problem (i.e. yield grades reach 4); for the most
        This is because they are strongly associated to calf survivability and, to a   part, due to Simmentals superior yielding ability, SimAngus half-bloods see
        lesser degree, female longevity. Given that milk is essentially neutral in the   few discounts for yield grade.
        index (the top 25 API bulls are only in the top 40% for milk), we can conclude   TI. The TI is designed for evaluating sires’ economic merit in situations
        that the benefi ts of increased weaning weight due to milk is negated by the   where they are bred to mature Angus cows and all offspring are placed in the
        additional cost associated with increased milk production.   feedlot and sold grade and yield. Consequently, maternal traits such as milk,
          It may be diffi cult for breeders to accept that the API places downward   stayability and maternal calving ease are not considered in the index.
        selection pressure on growth, as it is counter to the direction taken in most
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