EPD vs Actual Performance

[lucky7chief]

A friend and I have been debating which value is more important when looking at a bull. He said he won't look at a bull if actual weaning weight is less than 700 lbs. I say that doesn't matter as much as EPD for weaning weight because there are many variables such as creep feeding, pasture quality, etc. What are everyone's opinions? Which do you place more emphasis on?

 

[branguscowgirl]

I believe that you are correct. If you are only looking at an actual wt., you are not looking at the whole picture. There can be a huge variation in how the animal was fed.
I won't even pretend to know a lot about EPDs. But I do know that much.

 

[cbcr]

Both need to be taken into consideration. Management can make a difference as you say, was the calf creep fed, how good was the grass or other available forage, etc.

Looking at the weaning weight or any other trait, more important is maybe how he ranked with the other calves.

EPDs are important, but only as another selection tool.

 

[strihafarms]

You also have to take into consideration if the calf was an ET calf that can greatly affect individual performance.

 

[max]

I'd rather look to the adjusted weaning weight than the actual. At least the adjusted takes the age and possible creep into consideration, along with the cow age. But I tend to lean towards looking at the EPDs first, and the actual data second.

 

[bse]

Strihafarms how does being an ET calf affect individual performance?

 

[wbvs58]

I would be more interested to see how the bull ranked against his peers all under the same conditions but in reality this is what EPD's are calculated on, the performance relative to their peers rather than absolute weight.
Ken

 

[strihafarms]

Being an ET calf y0u don't get an accurate maternal production. Most ET programs that I have seen use bigger, heavier milking cows as recips.

 

[Lazy M]

Being an ET calf y0u don't get an accurate maternal production. Most ET programs that I have seen use bigger, heavier milking cows as recips.

Buddy of mine bought a black angus bull for heifers last year. It's CE was 11 and a BW of .5 but actual birth weight was 94lbs. I told him that I didn't know about this one, and he better watch the heifers really closely..so far out of 25 heifers he's had 13 calves and they've all been tiny. Probably under 75lbs. I'm beginning to be a believer in the epds.