As collegiate athletes enter their respective sport’s draft, efficiency knowledge is usually an element that coaches take a look at to resolve which recruit would be the finest match for the workforce.
In a lot the identical means, anticipated progeny variations (EPDs) might be useful to beef producers in deciding on the correct sire for the herd, in response to Dan Moser, Ok-State beef cattle geneticist and affiliate dean of educational applications for the Faculty of Agriculture.
Moser was a visitor on a current Cattle Chat podcast that addressed a listener query about when to prioritize data from the EPD versus simply wanting on the particular person knowledge for a selected trait, equivalent to weaning weight or yearling weight.
“If the person animal’s knowledge has been submitted to the breed affiliation, then the EPD is at all times going to be extra correct than simply the person efficiency measure as a result of extra data is included in calculating the EPD,” Moser stated. “The EPD calculation will even consider pedigree data from the mother and father and siblings and in some circumstances, it can additionally embody genomics (a DNA check that predicts the animal’s genetic traits).”
Moser stated that even when the EPD has a low accuracy, the trait measurement is already included within the calculation, so producers can simply use the EPD to assemble details about that trait.
How EPDs are calculated varies among the many cattle breeds, so Moser stated producers want to have a look at the doable change desk for every trait to see how a lot threat there might be with a selected degree of accuracy.
“Although the accuracies seem low, by wanting on the doable change desk, producers can calculate the quantity of threat they need to tackle for any given trait,” Moser stated. “The accuracy is reflecting the data that’s accessible on the time of calculation and the prediction could change as extra data comes into the equation.”
An instance of that is when the animal’s progeny’s efficiency knowledge is added to the calculation, Moser stated.
“Whereas the genetics of the bulls don’t change over time, the EPDs change as extra details about the bulls is added to the equation,” Ok-State veterinarian Brad White stated.
Breeding selections can have long-term results on the herd, Ok-State veterinarian Bob Larson stated.
“Take the time to have a look at the info, as a result of the most effective cowherds are constructed with lots of good selections made 12 months after 12 months,” Larson stated. “Simply as in baseball, your purpose is to win lots of video games, however that doesn’t imply you’ll hit a house run on each determination you make.”
To listen to the complete dialogue, hearken to Cattle Chat in your most popular streaming platform.
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