EPD & Index Definitions
Big Picture Premiums HVF home raised fed cattle last year went 80% Choice and 20% Prime on the grid picking up over $100 premium per/head. These were the culled siblings to many of the genetics for sale to you. Grid premiums are a part of the Big Picture Commitment.
CE
Reported as the difference in percentage of calves being born unassisted out of first-calf heifers, with higher values representing greater calving ease.
BW
Reported as the difference in pounds of calf birth weight.
WW
Reported as the difference in pounds of progeny weaning weight.
YW
Reported as the difference in pounds of progeny yearling weight.
ADG
Reported as the difference in post-weaning pounds gained on a daily basis.
MCE
Reported as the difference in percentage of daughters calving unassisted as first- calf heifers. Reported as the difference in maternal pounds of weaning weight from an individual’s daughters due to milk. Reported as the difference in probability of a sire’s daughters staying in the herd until 6 years of age, given that they calved as a 2-year-old. Reported as the difference in yearling-age progeny temperament, represented as a difference in probability that progeny will be scored as a 1, rather than a 2–6 on the docility scale (1 = docile disposition; 6 = extremely aggressive).
MILK
STAY
DOC
CW
Reported as the difference in pounds of progeny carcass weight.
YG
Reported as the difference in progeny USDA Yield Grade score units (1–5).
MARB
Reported as the difference in progeny carcass marbling score.
BF
Reported as the difference in inches of external backfat at the 12th and 13th rib.
REA
Reported as the difference in square inches of ribeye area between the 12th and 13th rib. Evaluates sires for use on the entire cow herd (bred to both Angus first-calf heifers and mature cows) with the portion of their daughters required to maintain herd size retained and the remaining heifers and steers put on feed and sold on a grid (carcass grade and yield). Evaluates sires for use on mature Angus cows with all offspring put on feed and sold on a grid (grade and yield).
$API
$TI
How do I read EPD? An EPD is not a measure of that animal's own genetic ability, but rather its ability as a parent. Thus, it is expressed as progeny differences. This means that you should only compare the difference between EPD in candidate animals. For example:
Bull A: Has a CE of 12 and a WW of 50 Bull B: Has a CE of 8 and a WW of 70
Total Herd Enrollment (THE) We are proud participants of the American Simmental Association’s Total Herd Enrollment (THE) program. THE enhances the impact and utility of our data submitted for genetic evaluation, which in turn improves the EPD accuracy across our whole operation. By submitting data on our dams and entire calf crops, more accurate genetic predictions are received by us and our customers. If we compared the difference between both candidate bulls for Calving Ease (CE) and Weaning Weight EPD (WW), then we would expect on average 4% less incidence of difficulty during calving of direct progeny from Bull A compared to Bull B. We would also expect progeny from Bull B to weigh on average 20 pounds heavier compared to progeny from Bull A at 205 days of age. Don’t forget that dam genetics will cause differences in performance of the traits as well. For more questions, please reach out to us ahead of the sale, or find us on sale day.
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