Tenderness EPDs

[greenwillowherefords]

Is Hereford the only breed with a tenderness EPD? Last I knew, MC Ranger was the #1 tenderness EPD Hereford bull.

What do you guys think of the tenderness EPD? Is it a good tool? I think it is one of the most important EPDs.

 

[dun]

It's interesting, but to me hardly seriously important. If I had a choice of two identical bulls it would be the final decision tool. But until more bulls are tested it's not realy a viable selection criteria. Angus, but RED and off colored have the Genestar and TenderGene ratings from ABS.

dun

 

[greenwillowherefords]

It's interesting, but to me hardly seriously important. If I had a choice of two identical bulls it would be the final decision tool. But until more bulls are tested it's not realy a viable selection criteria. Angus, but RED and off colored have the Genestar and TenderGene ratings from ABS.

dun

A lot of Herfs are showing up with the Genestar type ratings as well.

 

[dun]

I don;t think it will really start entering the picture until quality grade takes tenderness into consideration. I think they also need to figure out a whole lot more of the parts of the puzzle that contributes to genetic tenderness before it can really be taken too seriously.

dun

 

[greenwillowherefords]

I would still shy away from a bull with a negative tenderness EPD.

 

[dun]

Just for the halibut I checked the AHA EPDs and did't find anything pertaining to tenderness. Where is it hidden?

dun

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Actually, Simmental was the first breed to come up with tenderness EPD's, created by Cornell Univ. I read an article that producers should be careful about using gene test results on individual animals for criteria for choosing animals. EPD's are much more reliable tools than individual tests, because there is a lot more to the meat being tender than one genome. Our EPD's are based on a tenderness gene AND the shear force test. I'm not sure of all the details.

 

[Frankie]

I don;t think it will really start entering the picture until quality grade takes tenderness into consideration. I think they also need to figure out a whole lot more of the parts of the puzzle that contributes to genetic tenderness before it can really be taken too seriously.

dun

I think you're right. Unless you're direct marketing, there's no reward these days for producing tender beef. I don't use bulls based on the tenderness info available through ABS, but it's nice to see a bull I select have a good rating for tenderness.

 

[TheBullLady]

I have to agree.. unless you can market your calves and get more $$ for having the gene, it's not of much value, at least not right now. If you're feeding them out, it might be an advantage on your bottom line, assuming all the other factors (yield grade, ribeye size, etc) are also above average.

 

[greenwillowherefords]

Just for the halibut I checked the AHA EPDs and did't find anything pertaining to tenderness. Where is it hidden?

dun

It is in the preliminary stages I guess, but there IS one. They had an large article explaining it in one of last year's Hereford World issues. At that time, they had only tested about 67 sires' progeny to establish the foundation. The accuracies were related to how many of the offspring were harvested. I don't know offhand where to send you, except I'm sure Jack Ward would have an answer for you.

 

[CKC1586]

http://www.piedmontese-napa.com/BeefTenderness.html

This is an interesting article on the subject of tenderness.

 

[mtnman]

Simmentals have had Tenderness EPD into their 4th year now, I think. Fall 01 if memory serves, but it might have been Fall 02. Based on info from the NCBA carcass Merit project.

mtnman