1. accuracy of selection Prentice Hall. Dry matter intake (DMI): Represents the average daily dry matter intake per day consumed in pounds. A female’s genetics also influence the performance of her calves in the feedlot and at slaughter, so traits such as feed efficiency and carcass value are also included in $Cow. 7:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m. CT, American Gelbvieh Association In these challenging times in the beef business, we know that Gelbvieh breeders are always looking for more tools to make their management decisions more efficient and accurate. GE EPDs help to reduce the amount of error between the difference in an animal’s true genetic merit and its predicted genetic merit (in other words, an EPD). Using GE EPDs can help your operation in three ways: Listed below are the definitions of American Gelbvieh Association EPDs and the units in which they are published. This EPD is expressed as a percent, again, with a higher number being more favorable meaning a higher percentage of a sire’s daughters will calve at three years of age, given they calved as first-calf heifers. TM Index = MK EPD + ½ WW EPD. For example, a three year old bull with 90 calves would have EPDs of higher accuracy than a virgin yearling bull. GE EPDs affect two factors in this equation: accuracy of selection and generation interval. Beginning in 2011 with the inception on the Genomic Pioneers Project, the American Gelbvieh Association starting work toward yet another tool that made the EPDs produced in the NCE even more useful to producers. This results in an EPD with a low accuracy calculation. Guide to the American Gelbvieh Association Expected Progeny Differences (EPDs) Expected progeny differences (EPDs) can be used to predict the average performance of a bull’s offspring compared to other calves in their contemporary group (a contemporary group being calves that were born in the same calving season, in the same year, herd, sex, and were managed similarly). For example, Bull A has a DMI EPD of .15 and Bull B has a DMI EPD of -.20, so the progeny of Bull B consume, on average, .35 pound less dry matter per day than progeny from Bull A. Indexes are tools that allow producers to select for several EPDs at once, making selections more efficient than selecting on one trait at a time. Lincoln, NE 68510, ©2019 - American Gelbvieh Association | Managed by EDJE |. Increasing rate of genetic change DNA information is also valuable because it can be collected at birth or soon after and added to an animal’s EPD calculation right away, which gives producers a better idea about that animal’s genetic merit at a younger age. This is an indicator of growth from birth to weaning. A higher value of this EPD is favorable, meaning that a higher percentage of a sire’s daughters get pregnant as first calf heifers compared to other sires in his contemporary group. The American Gelbvieh Association uses all available information to predict an animal’s EPD. The stayability EPD is one of the best measures currently available to compare a bull’s ability to produce females with reproductive longevity. Lincoln, NE 68510, ©2019 - American Gelbvieh Association | Managed by EDJE |. A negative, or lesser value, is more favorable. EPD breed averages updated four times a year. Accuracies range from zero to one, with numbers closer to one being more accurate. Individual animal EPDs are updated weekly by the BOLT powered genetic evaluation system. It follows that EPDs on young animals with very little accuracy have the possibility to change a great deal over time. Breed Average EPD Value Breed Birth Weight Weaning Weight Yearling Weight Milk Angus +1.8 +48 +86 +24 Beefmaster +0.3 +10 +14 +2 Braford +1.1 +1 +17 +3 Brahman +1.7 +16 +25 +6 Brangus +0.8 +24 +44 +11. 1001 S. 70th Street 3. 30-month pregnancy (Pg30): Predicts the probability that a bull’s daughters will become pregnant and calve at three years of age, given that they calved as first-calf heifers. This information includes: individual performance, pedigree, progeny and grand progeny performance, plus available genomic information. Efficiency profit index (EPI): An economic selection index developed to aid producers in selecting for more feed efficient cattle that still have acceptable amounts of gain. This is a benefit to producers because it will allow more progress in their breeding goals in a shorter amount of time. EPD Info. This is an indicator of growth from birth to yearling. The table below is a display of estimated progeny equivalents. EPD Definitions. Reducing risk by reducing possible change *Mature weight EPD (MW): Predicts the average difference in pounds of mature weight of a sire’s progeny compared to their contemporaries. Greater ribeye areas are preferable. American Gelbvieh Association 1001 S. 70th Street Suite 215 Lincoln, NE 68510 Possible change is another measure of accuracy that indicates the amount of future change in an EPD prediction (Bourdon, 2000). The American Gelbvieh Association first incorporated genomic information into the summer 2013 genetic evaluation. Suite 215 *Average daily gain (ADG): Difference in average daily gain in pounds based on an animal’s performance during a feed intake test period. EPD estimates on an animal increase in accuracy over time as observations on an animal’s own performance and that of its descendants are added to the calculation. 2009. This being said, an EPD is by far the most reliable indicator of an animal’s genetic merit due to the amount of information incorporated into the calculation. $Cow: Represents the genetic value in dollars of profit of an animal when retained as a replacement female relative to other animals in the herd. This possible change can add risk when producers use young animals in their breeding herds, because the true merit of the genetics those animals will pass to their offspring is basically unknown. As an index, this value is not reported with an accompanying accuracy. Using this genomic enhanced information as a culling tool can help breeders decrease the generation interval in their herds, thereby speeding the rate of genetic change. Bourdon, 2000. Contest Resources; Contest Forms; Contest Score Sheets; AGJA Leadership. Increasing accuracy The EPDs with an asterisk (*) next to the name are available to members only. Van Eenennaam, A. University of California Extension. Specifically on lowly heritable traits, such as reproduction, genomic data has the potential to greatly increase the accuracy of an EPD prediction. References Increasing accuracy Greater marbling numbers are preferable and are an indicator of higher carcass quality grades. Fat (FT): Differences for fat thickness, in inches, for a carcass over the 12th rib, smaller numbers of fat thickness are preferable as excess fat can be detrimental to yield grade. 4. generation interval. Genomic Enhanced EPDs: Add Reliability to Your Tools for Genetic Improvement. We have already discussed how genomic data improves accuracy by adding another piece of information to EPD calculations. Total maternal (TM): An index that combines growth and milk information as a prediction of the weaning weight performance of calves from a sire’s daughters. On young animals without individual or progeny performance records, genetic merit is estimated in the form of an EPD calculated by taking the average breeding value of its parents (VanEenennaam, 2009). The addition of genomic data to an EPD calculation is comparable to adding another source of information, like progeny or pedigree records.