Expected Progeny Differences (EPD) Analysis
Maddie Franke
Introduction
Expected Progeny Differences, or EPD’s, have been around for over a decade and are still used as a major asset for the beef industry today. The discovery of EPD’s first came to be when cattle producers began to notice that the parent’s offspring produced many of the same performance traits as the parents themselves. What first began as visual appraisal evaluations has now grown into a complex system, using pedigrees, phenotypic data, and performance records to estimate the potential and abilities of cattle. Ever since 1993, beef producers have used EPD’s as their first tool of choice when determining the genetic merit and potential of an animal. Expected Progeny Differences …show more content…
This EPD is conveyed as additional weight on the calf at the time it is weaned. This specific Expected Progeny Difference “is an indirect contribution of a sire, through his daughters, to his grand progeny” (Schott). If you take into consideration the Maternal Milk EPDs for Bull A (+17) and Bull B (+12), it is expected that Bull A’s calves would be 5 pounds heavier at the date of weaning than Bull B. Although Bull A’s expected milking ability is higher than that of Bull B, prime EPD’s need to be regulated so that operators can take into account their feed resources and environmental conditions, as well as look for optimum replacement heifers. This means that the higher the milking ability, the more nutritional inputs and labor the cow will need, making it more costly in the …show more content…
This specific type of EPD is reported as an abnormality in the percentage of unaided births. If both Bull A and Bull B were bred with the same set of heifer, Bull B would be expected to have 10% more unassisted births when compared to Bull B. This shows that Bull B would have greater calving ease when giving birth. Two factors come into consideration when calculating the Calving Ease EPD: the differences in birth weight as well as the definite noticed level of calving problems the first-calf heifer has had. This EPD “should be used as the primary tool for avoiding dystocia problems in the cowherd” (Grenier), thus making the calving process for cattle producers much come undemanding.
Birth Milking Weaning Yearling Calving Weight Ability Weight Weight Ease EPD EPD EPD EPD
Maddie Franke
Introduction
Expected Progeny Differences, or EPD’s, have been around for over a decade and are still used as a major asset for the beef industry today. The discovery of EPD’s first came to be when cattle producers began to notice that the parent’s offspring produced many of the same performance traits as the parents themselves. What first began as visual appraisal evaluations has now grown into a complex system, using pedigrees, phenotypic data, and performance records to estimate the potential and abilities of cattle. Ever since 1993, beef producers have used EPD’s as their first tool of choice when determining the genetic merit and potential of an animal. Expected Progeny Differences …show more content…
This EPD is conveyed as additional weight on the calf at the time it is weaned. This specific Expected Progeny Difference “is an indirect contribution of a sire, through his daughters, to his grand progeny” (Schott). If you take into consideration the Maternal Milk EPDs for Bull A (+17) and Bull B (+12), it is expected that Bull A’s calves would be 5 pounds heavier at the date of weaning than Bull B. Although Bull A’s expected milking ability is higher than that of Bull B, prime EPD’s need to be regulated so that operators can take into account their feed resources and environmental conditions, as well as look for optimum replacement heifers. This means that the higher the milking ability, the more nutritional inputs and labor the cow will need, making it more costly in the …show more content…
This specific type of EPD is reported as an abnormality in the percentage of unaided births. If both Bull A and Bull B were bred with the same set of heifer, Bull B would be expected to have 10% more unassisted births when compared to Bull B. This shows that Bull B would have greater calving ease when giving birth. Two factors come into consideration when calculating the Calving Ease EPD: the differences in birth weight as well as the definite noticed level of calving problems the first-calf heifer has had. This EPD “should be used as the primary tool for avoiding dystocia problems in the cowherd” (Grenier), thus making the calving process for cattle producers much come undemanding.
Birth Milking Weaning Yearling Calving Weight Ability Weight Weight Ease EPD EPD EPD EPD