alexfarms
Well-known member
I have noticed some interesting results coming from the way performance data is sent into the association for calculations of epds. I have felt that my closed line cattle weren't getting a fair comparison when I entered their calves as contemporaries to outcross calves for ratio calculation. At some point I began sending in weaning and yearling weights on the closed bred calves as a separate contemporary group from outcross calves, but I have always sent in birthweights as one contemporary group as long as the gestating cows were fed together. For 2008, I decided to send in birthweights as separate contemporary groups also and WOW does that make a difference! Alot of weight is placed on those birthweights in the calculation of epds. It will take a few years to see how much difference it makes, but I am very surprised at the results so far. It is logical that the inbreeding would lower the birthweights as compared to outcross calves, I just hadn't considered how that would effect all of the growth epd calculations. Is anyone aware of any breed associations, or genetic analysis of any kind, calculating the effect of inbreeding into epd calculations?