Brown V Board Of Education

1 Pages 303 Words

EPD’s

Expected progeny differences are valuable tools for use in replacement bull and female selection. EPD’s can and should be used by purebred and commercial cattlemen alike since research has shown that they represent the most effective means to make progress through selection.
An EPD is an estimate of what a bull or cow will transmit to their opffspring. They are calculated by breed associations for any animal that has sufficient performance data. The breed associations use pedigree information, the animal’s own performance, and eventually progeny data to calculate EPD’s.
EPD’s are calculated for several traits including birth weight BW, weaning weight WW, yearling weight YW, Milking ability MA, total maternal, direct calving ease, hip height, scrotal circumference, ribeye area, fat thickness and marbeling. BW, WW, YW, and MA, the other traits are reported only by some breeds.
For growth traits, EPD’s are expressed in pounds of live weight, relative to breed average, but a few EPD’s such as calving ease are expressed as ratios.
There are three different types of EPD’s. Production EPD’s express the traits that I’ve been talking about. Carcass EPD’s express traits such as carcass weight , marbling, ribeye area, fat, and % of retail product. The newest kind of EPD is the Ultrasound Body Composition EPD. The Ultrasound EPD is a faster, more cost effective means of collecting carcass trait data as opposed to the more traditional carcass data collection methods.
Although EPD’s have come a long way from where they began, they are still an estimate, and aren’t perfect. There have been cases of bulls that were selected for their low birth weights and they threw very heavy calves.
In conclusion I really think that EPD’s have modernized breeding techniques, and are only going to get better in the future....