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A Discussion About EPDs
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<blockquote data-quote="Tom Underwood" data-source="post: 380370" data-attributes="member: 5097"><p>George,</p><p></p><p>Thanks for posting the quotes from my site. I also appreciate all of the discussion. As you'll note, even the title of the article is "Why we're paying less attention to EPD's." I still pay attention to EPD's, just less attention. There are many other things that I weight more heavily.</p><p></p><p>By the way, I did share my thoughts with the AHA, and I learned a bit from them. I'll post the dialog a little later if I have the chance.</p><p></p><p>To me, EPD's do a very good job of summarizing characteristics within my herd of cows, especially cows that are a result of more than one generation of my breeding. They nicely summarize the relative statistics of my 5+ year-old cows.</p><p></p><p>For my main cow herd, my EPD's are slightly above breed average. I have tried for years, however, to buy a moderate-framed heifer or cow with good conformation that can perform in the top 10% of my herd. Despite always buying cows with EPD's above my heard average, less than 10% of purchases have become top 10% performers in my herd. I have the data to prove it, and I don't believe that it is merely a run of bad luck.</p><p></p><p>My theory is that a good cattleman can recognize a good cow before the EPD's move to show she's a good cow. The bull side of the equation is different, but subtly biases reside there also.</p><p></p><p>I do, on the side, have a cattle herd in which I ignore EPD's. I stress that this is a small experiment, not my primary herd. It has occurred to me that the best-tasting fish species are the slowest growing, the most expensive woods are slower growing, and the more flavorful vegetables tend to grow more slowly. It may all be coincidence, but for curiosity's sake, I have built an experimental herd where my sole focus is on great tasting, tender beef from easy-keeping cows, regardless of growth. I do ultrasound and send in the DNA samples on this herd, and I feed out steers and eat the beef. It's a very slow process, but I'm relatively young and only a few years into it. FYI, I think I own a cow in this herd with the lowest EPD's among all active cows in the Hereford breed. She's not a miniature cow. <a href="http://www.herfnet.com/online/cgi-bin/i4.dll?1=232B21&2=232F50&3=56&5=2B3C2B3C3A&6=5A5D5C262625232226&9=5E5A59" target="_blank">http://www.herfnet.com/online/cgi-bin/i4.dll?1=232B21&2=232F50&3=56&5=2B3C2B3C3A&6=5A5D5C262625232226&9=5E5A59</a></p><p></p><p>Tom</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Tom Underwood, post: 380370, member: 5097"] George, Thanks for posting the quotes from my site. I also appreciate all of the discussion. As you'll note, even the title of the article is “Why we’re paying less attention to EPD’s.” I still pay attention to EPD’s, just less attention. There are many other things that I weight more heavily. By the way, I did share my thoughts with the AHA, and I learned a bit from them. I’ll post the dialog a little later if I have the chance. To me, EPD’s do a very good job of summarizing characteristics within my herd of cows, especially cows that are a result of more than one generation of my breeding. They nicely summarize the relative statistics of my 5+ year-old cows. For my main cow herd, my EPD’s are slightly above breed average. I have tried for years, however, to buy a moderate-framed heifer or cow with good conformation that can perform in the top 10% of my herd. Despite always buying cows with EPD’s above my heard average, less than 10% of purchases have become top 10% performers in my herd. I have the data to prove it, and I don’t believe that it is merely a run of bad luck. My theory is that a good cattleman can recognize a good cow before the EPD’s move to show she’s a good cow. The bull side of the equation is different, but subtly biases reside there also. I do, on the side, have a cattle herd in which I ignore EPD’s. I stress that this is a small experiment, not my primary herd. It has occurred to me that the best-tasting fish species are the slowest growing, the most expensive woods are slower growing, and the more flavorful vegetables tend to grow more slowly. It may all be coincidence, but for curiosity’s sake, I have built an experimental herd where my sole focus is on great tasting, tender beef from easy-keeping cows, regardless of growth. I do ultrasound and send in the DNA samples on this herd, and I feed out steers and eat the beef. It’s a very slow process, but I’m relatively young and only a few years into it. FYI, I think I own a cow in this herd with the lowest EPD’s among all active cows in the Hereford breed. She’s not a miniature cow. [url]http://www.herfnet.com/online/cgi-bin/i4.dll?1=232B21&2=232F50&3=56&5=2B3C2B3C3A&6=5A5D5C262625232226&9=5E5A59[/url] Tom [/QUOTE]
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