Placing EPD Categories When Purchasing

[Chuckie]

When you are going through sale books, (without seeing the cattle) what order do you place the EPD's. Considering all the cattle are sound without problems that will effect the cow or offspring, but not 1st place material at a show. (Cattle to upgrade your quality of stock and increase the weight) I am looking at the yearling weight first, then check to see if the same cow has a low birthweight. If it shows a high birthweight, then I don't put it as a first choice, it goes to the back. What is the next category that makes a decision if some of the cows pretty much are equal in EPD ratings without seeing them? I know the last thing will be to look at the cattle at the sale, and if there are some defects that I think will affect it or the calf, I will pass it by.

 

[Jake]

Yearling weight, weaning weight, and birth are all equally important to me. Milk is up there then scrotal. We don't track or carcasses so we don't really worry much about those epd's....

 

[dun]

We don't sort by any one EPD. If they don't meet ALL of the selection criteria they are ignored/skiped over.

dun

 

[la4angus]

We don't sort by any one EPD. If they don't meet ALL of the selection criteria they are ignored/skiped over.

dun

Dun
What is the epd #'s and % accuracy that you look for?

 

[dun]

Depends on the breed, and when buying heifers the accuracy is alwasy low. But the parents and their EPD accuracy enters in.

dun

 

[Frankie]

When you are going through sale books, (without seeing the cattle) what order do you place the EPD's. Considering all the cattle are sound without problems that will effect the cow or offspring, but not 1st place material at a show. (Cattle to upgrade your quality of stock and increase the weight) I am looking at the yearling weight first, then check to see if the same cow has a low birthweight. If it shows a high birthweight, then I don't put it as a first choice, it goes to the back. What is the next category that makes a decision if some of the cows pretty much are equal in EPD ratings without seeing them? I know the last thing will be to look at the cattle at the sale, and if there are some defects that I think will affect it or the calf, I will pass it by.

I like to see AHIR data on Angus cows that I'm interested in buying. How many calves weaned at what ratio. If it's a heifer, I like to see that info on her dam. I'm also not interested an any cow/heifer that isn't AI sired out of a cow that's AI sired. I want a balanced set of EPDs, all above breed average, except maybe milk.

 

[greenwillowherefords]

I want the EPD's to be backed by real performance by the individual and its sire and dam. The EPDs can be lower than breed average if I think that new information will or should change them. That said, once the new tenderness EPD is fully in effect, I would have to put it on an equal basis with BW, WW, YW, and MM.

 

[Chuckie]

Well so far, I haven't found the perfect heifer yet. Some are showing these weights: below birth weight 1.0, 95 on the yearling weight, 26 on the milk and SC n/a. The parents score high on their EPD's. But some of the heifers run 2.5 bw, 19 milk, 80 yealing weight and a lot of sc n/a's. But the parents seem to be average and above. The 19 milk seems low when I am finding 22 and above. What is the number that is average for Angus on milk?

 

[Frankie]

Well so far, I haven't found the perfect heifer yet. Some are showing these weights: below birth weight 1.0, 95 on the yearling weight, 26 on the milk and SC n/a. The parents score high on their EPD's. But some of the heifers run 2.5 bw, 19 milk, 80 yealing weight and a lot of sc n/a's. But the parents seem to be average and above. The 19 milk seems low when I am finding 22 and above. What is the number that is average for Angus on milk?

Angus EPD averages on milk is 18 for current sires and 16 for current dams. There's another figure for non-parent bulls and cows. I don't know what it is, but it's probably around those numbers. Milk is about the only EPD below aveage that doesn't bother me. We run our cows mostly on native grass pastures, rotational grazing, no supplement as long as the grass is good. We've found that cows with milk EPDs in the teens work best for us. We have had a few cows with milk in the 20s that were able to produce a big calf and get bred back. If you live in an area that has a lot of rain and you have plenty of forage, higher milk EPDs generally mean a heavier calf at weaning. Is the sale catalog you're looking at online? If so, someone here might be able to discuss the good/bad points of what you're interested in. Scrotal EPDs are important. For those heifers with no scrotal EPD, you might be able to look up their sire on the http://www.angus.org site and get some info there. Good luck....

 

[Chuckie]

I went to the Sydenstricker sale, placing the cattle in order of the EPD's that I wanted first, without seeing them. I checked out the parents and was satisfied with what I found. I picked out about 20 bred heifers and about 30 young heifers. All of the ones that I picked out for the first places, went more for what I was willing to pay. The first one went at $8,000 and of course it took my breath! It bothers me when they get to the 5th cow before they get to your 1st picked cow and the price is too high. I wish they could sell in order to how I had them picked! Maybe I can suggest that at the next sale I go to! :lol: But I am pleased with what I brought home. I bought two bred heifers and one younger heifer. The two bred heifers are due to calve in early February. I didn't see one cow that I would have turned down. I had a really good time. I felt like a kid in a candy shop.

 

[Frankie]

I went to the Sydenstricker sale, placing the cattle in order of the EPD's that I wanted first, without seeing them. I checked out the parents and was satisfied with what I found. I picked out about 20 bred heifers and about 30 young heifers. All of the ones that I picked out for the first places, went more for what I was willing to pay. The first one went at $8,000 and of course it took my breath! It bothers me when they get to the 5th cow before they get to your 1st picked cow and the price is too high. I wish they could sell in order to how I had them picked! Maybe I can suggest that at the next sale I go to! :lol: But I am pleased with what I brought home. I bought two bred heifers and one younger heifer. The two bred heifers are due to calve in early February. I didn't see one cow that I would have turned down. I had a really good time. I felt like a kid in a candy shop.

I'm jealous. I have wanted to go to Sydenstricker's sale for years, but it never works out. We went to a sale one year and bought some bred heifers because the price was right. Then they ran some bred cows through that we really wanted, at a better price. But we didn't have any money left. They just don't run them through the ring in the order I want.

 

[Chuckie]

There is always next year's sale. It is the Saturday before Thanksgiving each November. I am like you on the sale order. The ones we like the best, first, then the others. I did like the one's I did purchase, but, I did see more later that I would like to have had bought too. I actually went to only purchase two. I think if I ever find a genie in a bottle and he grants me three wishes, one of them would be that I could go to another sale and be able to raise my hand any time I wanted to. Well for at least 10 heifers and a bull. Maybe this could be a new reality show and I can be on it.