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EPD's vs Actual Weights
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<blockquote data-quote="SPH" data-source="post: 1222017" data-attributes="member: 20580"><p>Dad and I had a discussion over this issue this weekend as we were going through a sale catalog. While we both value EPD's lately I can't always seem to get him to look more into other factors too. Even within our own bulls for sale I had an example for him as our lowest birth weight EPD of the 4 is 0.7. So I used this example, while I have every bit of confidence that bull with a 0.7 BW EPD is going to be a good calving ease bull for someone, especially since we know both his sire and mother are very good with that his actual BW was 83# while the lowest actual BW of the 4 bulls is 76# and that bull has a 2.9 BW EPD. While 2.9 is still below the Hereford breed average and both of those 2 bulls have pretty good actual BW you can't tell me that just because 1 bull has a lower EPD that means he's going to be a better light BW bull than the 1 with the actual lighter BW.</p><p></p><p>On the flip side of that conversation I gave him another example, what if someone had a bull with a BW EPD at or below breed average but his actual BW was 100# while another bull had a higher BW EPD (let's say a 5+) but an actual BW of 82#. Which bull would you choose for BW and calving ease and he said probably the one with the lower BW EPD. My argument was if the bull himself was 100# at BW I don't care what his EPD is I'd have concerns that his actual BW is going to be a trait passed down to his progeny. But also I do hold some value in the BW EPD because actual BW can be affected by the environment the cow is in too. That bull probably has a high BW EPD for a reason and that's because somewhere in his pedigree there are some trends of higher actual BW's and those traits are also a part of the bull's genetic makeup.</p><p></p><p>Ideally I like to see a bull whose actual BW and BW EPD are in sync as I have more faith in a bull with a mid 80's actual BW and a BW EPD of at or below breed average actually holding true to being a good calving ease bull than I do someone with a higher BW EPD in the 5+ range with an actual BW in the 80's claiming they'll be a good calving ease bull. One thing that always worries me is how accurate is the actual BW# because you have to trust that the breeder is being honest with that number and isn't just fudging it to make it look better. That's why buying from a reputable breeder who uses proven genetics takes out a lot of the risk and guess work when you can feel confident that what they are selling you is accurate.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="SPH, post: 1222017, member: 20580"] Dad and I had a discussion over this issue this weekend as we were going through a sale catalog. While we both value EPD's lately I can't always seem to get him to look more into other factors too. Even within our own bulls for sale I had an example for him as our lowest birth weight EPD of the 4 is 0.7. So I used this example, while I have every bit of confidence that bull with a 0.7 BW EPD is going to be a good calving ease bull for someone, especially since we know both his sire and mother are very good with that his actual BW was 83# while the lowest actual BW of the 4 bulls is 76# and that bull has a 2.9 BW EPD. While 2.9 is still below the Hereford breed average and both of those 2 bulls have pretty good actual BW you can't tell me that just because 1 bull has a lower EPD that means he's going to be a better light BW bull than the 1 with the actual lighter BW. On the flip side of that conversation I gave him another example, what if someone had a bull with a BW EPD at or below breed average but his actual BW was 100# while another bull had a higher BW EPD (let's say a 5+) but an actual BW of 82#. Which bull would you choose for BW and calving ease and he said probably the one with the lower BW EPD. My argument was if the bull himself was 100# at BW I don't care what his EPD is I'd have concerns that his actual BW is going to be a trait passed down to his progeny. But also I do hold some value in the BW EPD because actual BW can be affected by the environment the cow is in too. That bull probably has a high BW EPD for a reason and that's because somewhere in his pedigree there are some trends of higher actual BW's and those traits are also a part of the bull's genetic makeup. Ideally I like to see a bull whose actual BW and BW EPD are in sync as I have more faith in a bull with a mid 80's actual BW and a BW EPD of at or below breed average actually holding true to being a good calving ease bull than I do someone with a higher BW EPD in the 5+ range with an actual BW in the 80's claiming they'll be a good calving ease bull. One thing that always worries me is how accurate is the actual BW# because you have to trust that the breeder is being honest with that number and isn't just fudging it to make it look better. That's why buying from a reputable breeder who uses proven genetics takes out a lot of the risk and guess work when you can feel confident that what they are selling you is accurate. [/QUOTE]
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