Herefords.US
Well-known member
RD-Sam":3dqjfeeu said:You can't know who to trust until you start dealing with them. Like I said, the EPD's are a place to start, but you do need to see the actual numbers on what you are about to buy. In a case like this person creating groups based on how they perform, they could be off 100 or 200 pounds from what you are really looking for, but they may have high ratios because they were put in a group of lousy performers.
In Line, means they should at least be close to average in their worst categories, and better than in several catagories, else why would you want to buy them in the first place?
I had a lot of experience with the old TPR program, and I came to put a lot of trust in actual performance records and ratios gathered on a within herd basis - and making selection decisions from them. I do think trust can be placed in the EPDs of the highly proven/high accuracy Hereford bulls as well, but that's a really small percentage of the Hereford bulls being used.
On unproven bulls and 99% of Hereford cows/heifers, I don't think their "raw" EPDs mean much at all -other than as a "mythical marketing tool" to those who think they're meaningful. I think I get much more out of the information available on their performance pedigree than what their EPDs show. Add to that the actual data, input from the breeder/owner, as well as knowledge accumulated elsewhere, and raw EPDs become a minor consideration.
I might put a little more faith in the raw EPDs of certain Line 1 cattle, where a significant amount of data has been accumulated over time. But I've also seen Line 1 bulls' EPD numbers move significantly.
To those of you who think raw EPDs have reliability, pick 5 to 10 young Hereford bulls out from the champions and sale toppers of this spring's shows and sales, record their EPDs now, then record them again each time when the adjustments are made - twice a year in the spring and fall -usually around the first of the year and midsummer. After 5 years, when you've recorded the changes, see if YOU still have faith in the reliability of raw EPDs.
I do think EPD accuracy would improve with time and the increased use of proven bulls via AI, but DNA profiling will probably replace it long before much improvement in accuracy occurs via accumulated measurement-related data.
George