DMI

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farmguy

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I see Herefords are now rating dry matter intake on their EPDS. We are in Minnesota and we essentially winter graze all winter which involves the cows eating sorghum sudan planted with cover crops through the snow. This is of course not the best feed. My question is a high DMI a good thing for cattle eating poorer quality feed or does this mean that the cows eat more because they are not as efficient at using what they consume? Thanks for any help or direct to a site I could learn more. farmguy
 
farmguy":2tnqz5el said:
I see Herefords are now rating dry matter intake on their EPDS. We are in Minnesota and we essentially winter graze all winter which involves the cows eating sorghum sudan planted with cover crops through the snow. This is of course not the best feed. My question is a high DMI a good thing for cattle eating poorer quality feed or does this mean that the cows eat more because they are not as efficient at using what they consume? Thanks for any help or direct to a site I could learn more. farmguy
I'd look at it more as an indicator of the quality of dry matter they were eating. Higher quantities can be consumed when feeding higher quality roughage whereas low quality roughage is slow to digest (what little of it will digest), moves through the cow very slowly and limits intake. Starve to death with a full belly.
 
Thanks guys but I do realize the low quality roughage passes slower. But what is the whole idea of DMI value? Do certain animals have a greater capacity in their GI tract? Does a greater DMI value mean they just eat more to gain the same weight? Finally I guess the bottom line is a greater DMI value a good thing in a feedlot animal? Producing faster gains? How about my winter grazing cows? Does a greater DMI value mean they can consume more roughage and do better on poorer feed? I hope I have clarified my questions better, thanks in advance. farmguy
 
Very anxiously awaiting the responses to this. Great questions farmguy!
 
I don't know a lot about DMI epd's, but there are certain cattle that can maintain condition...to a point with less than ideal feed. The term is called "easy fleshing" in some circles. Herefords appear to fit that description naturally. Kind of small and compact, but not too small especially the Hereford crosses. I have a few heifers that I will be breeding in May that are HerefordxAngus crosses....they aren't real tall yet but just thick...I'm looking forward to seeing how they look and perform as cows.
I've noticed that Pharo Cattle has started promoting Hereford bulls in their bull sales the last couple of years.
 
ALACOWMAN":3ksxkqg5 said:
If I were in that situation,Hereford is a good breed to have...a good one with a lot of capacity..can do more with the poor quality grass..

Amen. Capacity for grazing. Racehorse build (barrel body) to maximize on concentrates. Dr. Bob Long did a lot on this work years ago and Dr. Jan Bonsma came in from the grazing side to select more towards capacity. Types of cattle for specific needs or environments and terminal crosses for the feedlots. A way for the cow calf guy to spend less and make more. But an uphill struggle against the current cattle mentality of "do all" cattle. You have to fend for yourself and figure it out for your situation.
 
What's the feed intake EPD?
The Feed Intake (FI) EPD is calculated in the background as a required precursor to the Residual Average Daily Gain (RADG) EPD. Though it is not visible along with the other more commonly known EPDs, it is available in AAA Login to the owner of those animals that have individual feed intake data (i.e. GrowSafe information).
Which $ Indexes will be impacted?
To obtain a better estimate of profitability through the feedyard, the FI EPD will be incorporated into the $F Index. $F and $G (Grid Value) together go into $B (Beef Value). In other words, $B is a terminal index that focuses on profitability through the feedyard and on the rail.
Why now?
When the indexes were first developed in 2004, very little feed-intake information was being collected and the RADG EPD did not exist. At that time, $F attempted to account for differences in feed efficiency by assuming that faster-gaining cattle are more efficient. There's certainly a high correlation between growth and efficiency, but the relationship is not perfect. Today, we have over 13,000 individual animal feed-intake records and more than 100,000 animals have molecular breeding values for dry-matter intake (DMI).
Why is it important?
The goal of the $Value Indexes is to explain expected differences in profit for the various phases of production. Since the cost of feed has a major impact on the economics of cattle feeding, it's important to estimate that cost as accurately as possible.
Also, it's important to note in the last 10 years (since the development of the $-Value Indexes), the Angus breed has an increasing genetic trend for feed intake. Of course, this is expected as we've also seen an upward genetic trend for growth and carcass traits. However, incorporating FI into $F will give us a chance to moderate the trend for FI while continuing to improve for growth and carcass (much like has been done for BW and the other growth traits since the development of EPDs for those traits).
 
Fernowranch":14674wxt said:
Very well said TB.
So does that mean you have to keep track of feed intake and weight gain monthly to have accurate
EPD on your registration.
No most will just pull the number out of the air....much like they do all the other EPD numbers. :hide:
 
farmguy":22virrct said:
I see Herefords are now rating dry matter intake on their EPDS. We are in Minnesota and we essentially winter graze all winter which involves the cows eating sorghum sudan planted with cover crops through the snow. This is of course not the best feed. My question is a high DMI a good thing for cattle eating poorer quality feed or does this mean that the cows eat more because they are not as efficient at using what they consume? Thanks for any help or direct to a site I could learn more. farmguy

Herfefords are known for forage conversion. It only makes sense that the breeders take credit for positive attributes.

With a rise in "grass fed" and "all natural", it is likely a good move on the part of herf breeders.

My question is, how do you quantify? If I had my 80 cows out on my best grass, how do I keep track of how much which cow eats ? To have real numbers, you'd need to isolate each animal and keep track of how much they consumed. There is no way for me to watch any cow 24/7 on pasture. Let alone a whole herd.

Which gets back to what TB said about EPDs.

I'm not going to knock sales pitch. It works. Jargonspeak works. There are people here that will argue sales pitch as fact.

Herefords are great at converting forage. One of the best. That has not changed. But now they call it something different and add acronyms for it, and sell you a bill of goods.
 

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