Jeanne - Simme Valley":psv8uf86 said:
The 1 thing I will add is that we do factor in EPDs in our decisions, especially when it comes to CE and BW but it's just 1 of many selection criteria and is not where we start our selection but it may factor into the decision later. We bred and kept semen interest on a bull that by EPD standards is on the higher end for BW but we know enough about the genetics behind him that we think his BW EPD is not an accurate predictor based off the results we've seen. We want a well-rounded package when it comes to meeting phenotype/structure and proven performance in the pedigree with a balanced set of EPDs with some accuracy to them is ideal too. We report all our weights to the AHA along with getting scan data and DNA testing on our sale bulls and scan data on steers we retain ownership of that go to the feedlot which all that helps improve our EPD accuracies. There are some dams and sires we've bred that may have some EPDs that don't tell the whole story because we know the genetics behind them don't reflect what their EPDs are.
The 1 thing I do get irritated with are folks that stereotype certain breeders as EPD chasers without ever stepping foot on and viewing their program in person and getting a good understanding of what and how they are doing things or looking at a fair amount of progeny sired by a bull in person in other herds. It amazes me just how much some think they know so much about certain bulls or programs just because they are marketed or collected by a sire stud and have never actually got out of the bubble the live in and viewed some herds and programs that use genetics they are criticizing. Hate to burst the bubble of some folks that think all bulls in a AI catalogs are spending their days in front of a feed pan or in a cooler getting ready for a show. Most of those bulls actually spend their summers working in a pasture and have semen collected during their down time. We usually buy semen directly from breeders who have proven genetics but this year we bought some semen on a bull offered by a sire stud this year that one of the co-owners lives in state. The bull spends most of his time in the pasture servicing cows in multiple herds including a well respected registered herd as well as some commercial herds too and was part of the National Sire Reference Program in 2014. We've seen pictures of him in the pasture he was working in this summer and he definitely was not a tub of fat in the condition he was in. Several other AI sires we've bought semen on were working sires in the programs that owned them who have been in the business for multiple generations and have a proven track record of breeding good cattle and they are also ones that are reporting their weights which are adding to the accuracies of their EPDs.
The 1 thing you can never get enough of is expanding your knowledge and sometimes that means leaving your comfort zone and getting out and visiting programs you think don't match your description of what you deem important. A lot of those programs that have been in business for multiple generations and have sustained that success for a reason. If they weren't raising cattle desirable to their buyers then they wouldn't still be in business today. You may still leave with the mindset that you wouldn't buy from them but I would bet you'd learn some things that busted some stereotypes you had of them pegged for prior to viewing their operation.
