The Trait that keeps us in the cow business... FERTILITY EPD The Fertility EPD (FERT) predicts differences in the calf crop per- centage expected from a bull’s daughters! High Fertility EPD bulls will build cow herds with consistently better breed back and deliver a higher percentage of calves to the weaning pen. Higher Fertility also lowers cow herd culling requirements which reduces replacement rates; which in turn reduces cow herd depre- ciation costs and provides a larger percentage of the heifer calves that can be sold. As you would imagine, these more desirable outcomes drive HUGE differences in profitability, so the Fertility EPD has tremendous impact on $Profit and $Ranch. The Sale Catalog Data Explanation on the top of page 6 shows where the FERT EPD is presented in the sale catalog. The exam- ple below is useful for better understanding the trait units of the FERT EPD. FERT EPD Example:
**Calving Ease Stars** For several decades, ranchers have come to count on our Halfmann Red Angus bulls to deliver reliable calving ease. Some need a bull that can be used on heifers that calve out in big country and don't get a lot of attention. Others want to get all the growth and carcass value they can, and enough calving ease to use on well developed heifers that are close to headquarters and observed at calv- ing. These bulls have the genetics for pay-weight, carcass merit and cow herd building traits to be useful in the cow herd as they mature and outgrow the heifers. Annually, we get questions about which bulls we'd recommend to our customers for various scenarios involving breeding and the subsequent calving of virgin heifers. It is with these folks' questions in mind that we have developed a star system to help in this decision making process. The chart below provides detail as to how this calving ease star system can be used. Stars Explanation ***** Elite Calving Ease - 5 star bulls would be the best choice for large commercial heifer breeding projects and/or calving out in bigger country with less attention or management. **** Good Calving Ease - 4 star bulls would be good choices for well developed british breed and composite heifers that will calve closer to facilities and will be checked regularly. *** 3 star bulls should work for Bos indicus influenced heifers that have greater maternal calving ease. ** 2 star bulls are great choices for "wet" 2-yr-olds and mature cows, but we do not recommend using them on heifers. * 1 star bulls are approximately "breed average" for calving ease and low birthweight. While we don't recommend them for heifers, they are great for cows and often a great value. Bulls with zero stars are below breed average for calving ease and birthweight, and should only be used on mature cows. Our Calving Ease Stars should not be compared to systems used by other seedstock oper - ations. They are for “within herd” use only. They incorporate information from Calving Ease EPDs, Birthweight EPDs and phenotypic birthweight variation.
Bull A has a FERT EPD of 2.5 Bull B has a FERT EPD of 1.1 1.4
We would expect the daughters of Bull A to produce on average 1.4 more calves over their first 8 years of production than the daughters of Bull B.
7 OCTOBER 1, 2025 - AT THE FARM - MILES, TEXAS
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