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<blockquote data-quote="Frankie" data-source="post: 594150" data-attributes="member: 13"><p>Why would anyone slam you for trying to learn about EPDs....and make a few bucks? Not me. We had commercial cattle before we had registered. Many large seedstock operations also run commercial herds.</p><p></p><p>One reason we bought our first Angus bull was because, at that time, Angus was about the only breed pushing EPDs and their use. Frankly, EPDs seemed like a no brainer to newbies in the cattle business like us. Since then, every serious beef breed has come up with their own EPDs and commercial cattlemen have accepted them for making breeding decisions in their herd. </p><p></p><p>We've defended EPDs to commercial producers and spent some time educating commercial producers on EPDs over the years. One incident always stands out in my mind. We had gone to the first production sale of a young couple who had just got into the Angus business. We were already seated in the stands when two potential buyers sat down beside us. They had looked at the bulls, marked several, and were looking the rest of the catalog over. One of them asked if we knew what those numbers meant? You could see a light come on in his head as it was explained that you'd expect the calf sired by a bull with a WW of 15 to weigh 15 more pounds at weaning than a calf sired by a bull with a WW EPD of 0, all other things being equal. They looked back at their bull selections and decided to go back out and look the bulls over again. The stands filled up and we didn't see them again, so I don't know if they bought a bull. But, I'd bet money on it that those guys are using EPDs today to make their bull selections. EPDs aren't <strong>the</strong> silver bullet, but to ignore them is like leaving the screwdrive out of your tool box.</p><p></p><p>Accuracies are very important. It does take generations to collect data for reliable EPDs. No matter how much data is reported, the Angus Assn keeps accuracies on bulls at .85 until they're widely used. That way a breeder can't get the accuracies of his bull's good EPDs up by just reporting his good calves. Generally speaking, we'll wait for a bull to get above .85 before we use him. But with the deep performance pedigrees we see on Angus bulls, you can be <strong>pretty</strong> confident that the EPDs are reliable. And we pay attention to the breeder. IMO, some breeders are more trustworthy than others. </p><p></p><p>You don't say what breed you're raising, but EPDs on Angus aren't based on one herd. EPDs are compiled by the AAA and use data from breeders across the US.</p><p></p><p>I'd encourage you to join the breed association, spend some time reading all their literature on the breed, attending state and regional meetings of the breed, perhaps even serve on a Board. Attend whatever sales you can get to. Introduce yourself to people, look over bulls of various bloodlines, talk to commercial bull buyers. Raising registered stock can be a lot of fun and we've made money in the business. It's changed a lot over the 20+ years we've been doing it, but it's been a rewarding experience. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big grin :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Frankie, post: 594150, member: 13"] Why would anyone slam you for trying to learn about EPDs....and make a few bucks? Not me. We had commercial cattle before we had registered. Many large seedstock operations also run commercial herds. One reason we bought our first Angus bull was because, at that time, Angus was about the only breed pushing EPDs and their use. Frankly, EPDs seemed like a no brainer to newbies in the cattle business like us. Since then, every serious beef breed has come up with their own EPDs and commercial cattlemen have accepted them for making breeding decisions in their herd. We've defended EPDs to commercial producers and spent some time educating commercial producers on EPDs over the years. One incident always stands out in my mind. We had gone to the first production sale of a young couple who had just got into the Angus business. We were already seated in the stands when two potential buyers sat down beside us. They had looked at the bulls, marked several, and were looking the rest of the catalog over. One of them asked if we knew what those numbers meant? You could see a light come on in his head as it was explained that you'd expect the calf sired by a bull with a WW of 15 to weigh 15 more pounds at weaning than a calf sired by a bull with a WW EPD of 0, all other things being equal. They looked back at their bull selections and decided to go back out and look the bulls over again. The stands filled up and we didn't see them again, so I don't know if they bought a bull. But, I'd bet money on it that those guys are using EPDs today to make their bull selections. EPDs aren't [b]the[/b] silver bullet, but to ignore them is like leaving the screwdrive out of your tool box. Accuracies are very important. It does take generations to collect data for reliable EPDs. No matter how much data is reported, the Angus Assn keeps accuracies on bulls at .85 until they're widely used. That way a breeder can't get the accuracies of his bull's good EPDs up by just reporting his good calves. Generally speaking, we'll wait for a bull to get above .85 before we use him. But with the deep performance pedigrees we see on Angus bulls, you can be [b]pretty[/b] confident that the EPDs are reliable. And we pay attention to the breeder. IMO, some breeders are more trustworthy than others. You don't say what breed you're raising, but EPDs on Angus aren't based on one herd. EPDs are compiled by the AAA and use data from breeders across the US. I'd encourage you to join the breed association, spend some time reading all their literature on the breed, attending state and regional meetings of the breed, perhaps even serve on a Board. Attend whatever sales you can get to. Introduce yourself to people, look over bulls of various bloodlines, talk to commercial bull buyers. Raising registered stock can be a lot of fun and we've made money in the business. It's changed a lot over the 20+ years we've been doing it, but it's been a rewarding experience. :D [/QUOTE]
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