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EPD's What Do They Mean?
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<blockquote data-quote="Saltydawg" data-source="post: 170053" data-attributes="member: 2944"><p>After sleeping on this I have a few more thoughts.</p><p></p><p> EPD's have to be looked at closely when selecting a bull to use in your breeding program cause you don't always want the "biggest and best" of each category.</p><p></p><p> EPD's can be used to direct your herd in a certain direction over the years.</p><p> They are not nearly as useful when trying to get numbers or performance for a single calf in a typical operation.</p><p> The bull is only 50% of the genetic potential of your animals so you have to match the bull with your cow herd and your feeding program.</p><p> If you put a bull on a poor cow it doesn't matter what his epd's are...that animal is not gonna reach those numbers.</p><p> If you put him on a good cow then its likely he will exceed his own epd's.</p><p> Some cows produce bigger calves than normal so if you put a Bull with a high BW epd on it you are likely to get a monster of a calf.</p><p></p><p> Lets say your herd has a bunch of mommas who milk pretty well.</p><p> Do you really want to use that bull with those high WW and YW weights if he also has a significantly higher milking epd?</p><p> Adding milking ability to cows can drag your cows down over a few years time.</p><p> They may not maintain enough condition to breed back reliably because of the added milking ability.</p><p> Or if you do give enough feed to maintain their condition you just increased your cost which could offset all the gains you made in WW and YW.</p><p></p><p> On the otherhand if you don't think the calves are reaching their potential at weaning it might be very beneficial to increase the milking potential of your cows.</p><p> Your calves would weigh more at weaning and as long as you don't add enough milking ability to run your cows down you'll probably come out with positive results.</p><p></p><p> My herd has different goals than a lot of other peoples.....so odds are pretty good that the bull and epd's best suited to my operation are not what the other guy needs.</p><p></p><p> Before you can make a good judgement on what EPD's you need you have to have a good understanding of where your herd is at and where you want it to go.</p><p> 3000+lb animals is probably not good for most of us but thats what would happen if we all chose our bulls based on max ww and yw.</p><p></p><p></p><p> BTW I am certainly not an expert on EPD's or cattleranching. I put my ideas and thoughts out there to be looked by others because they often point out flaws in my "masterplan" :lol: . It helps me learn.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Saltydawg, post: 170053, member: 2944"] After sleeping on this I have a few more thoughts. EPD's have to be looked at closely when selecting a bull to use in your breeding program cause you don't always want the "biggest and best" of each category. EPD's can be used to direct your herd in a certain direction over the years. They are not nearly as useful when trying to get numbers or performance for a single calf in a typical operation. The bull is only 50% of the genetic potential of your animals so you have to match the bull with your cow herd and your feeding program. If you put a bull on a poor cow it doesn't matter what his epd's are...that animal is not gonna reach those numbers. If you put him on a good cow then its likely he will exceed his own epd's. Some cows produce bigger calves than normal so if you put a Bull with a high BW epd on it you are likely to get a monster of a calf. Lets say your herd has a bunch of mommas who milk pretty well. Do you really want to use that bull with those high WW and YW weights if he also has a significantly higher milking epd? Adding milking ability to cows can drag your cows down over a few years time. They may not maintain enough condition to breed back reliably because of the added milking ability. Or if you do give enough feed to maintain their condition you just increased your cost which could offset all the gains you made in WW and YW. On the otherhand if you don't think the calves are reaching their potential at weaning it might be very beneficial to increase the milking potential of your cows. Your calves would weigh more at weaning and as long as you don't add enough milking ability to run your cows down you'll probably come out with positive results. My herd has different goals than a lot of other peoples.....so odds are pretty good that the bull and epd's best suited to my operation are not what the other guy needs. Before you can make a good judgement on what EPD's you need you have to have a good understanding of where your herd is at and where you want it to go. 3000+lb animals is probably not good for most of us but thats what would happen if we all chose our bulls based on max ww and yw. BTW I am certainly not an expert on EPD's or cattleranching. I put my ideas and thoughts out there to be looked by others because they often point out flaws in my "masterplan" :lol: . It helps me learn. [/QUOTE]
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