By Austin Snedden, Ranching Contributor, Valley Ag Voice
I don’t think they still have the magazines in the seat backs of airplanes, but when they did, I was always amused by the gadgetry they were peddling. You could find appliances and tools that were marketed to do 15 different things. Who wouldn’t be impressed with a margarita blender that could also be used as a lawnmower and fax machine? How about a pair of shoes with LED headlights and automatic backup beepers? Although I enjoy plenty of modern luxuries, I realized that I am in the small minority of folks who would prefer a simple item that did its job well and didn’t have all the extra bells and whistles. It matters very little to me if someone wants to purchase a household item like a combination dart board and dog grooming kit, but when this mentality filters into beef cattle genetics, it can be financially detrimental to a lot of folks in the industry.
In the commercial cattle business, uniformity is the most desirable thing to maximize the value of your cash crop. Uniformity tells a story that is very attractive to cattle buyers. It is an indicator of predictability, consistent gain, and a manageable window for the entire lot to finish on feed. The danger comes when the seed stock side of the industry puts a number to almost every possible trait — producers naturally try to maximize every number. There is no doubt that quantifying genetic measurements has given us tools to make improvements because, after all, we can’t improve things we don’t measure, but using this vast array of genetic measurements must be done judiciously. A seed stock breeder is not pushing the limits of EPD values. There is the perception that they are not progressive, but often, being progressive pushes out a product to the commercial industry that is unproven and produces income-damaging inconsistency. We can push biology slowly towards improvement when it comes to genetic improvement, but when we push fast in multiple different directions to change many different traits, we end up with a lot of inconsistency.
Academia, teamed with purebred breeders, has overly promoted maximizing the whole suite of EPD traits instead of finding the optimal range that promotes consistency without challenging the extremes of biology. Take a bull from any breed. His EPDs are in the top 10% for low birth weight, top 10% for yearling weight, top 10% for reduced dry matter intake, top 10% for maternal, top 10% for ribeye area and marbling, this genetic funhouse of a bull is a recipe for great disappointment in his progeny. This example bull has genetic markers all over the spectrum of the breed population and has close to maximum value on multiple traits that are historically antagonistic to each other. An ultra-low birth weight bull that is supposedly an ultra-high yearling weight bull will produce a group of progenies with a large variation compared to the progeny of a bull that is moderate for birth as well as moderate for YW. The same can be said for other antagonistic traits like maternal and carcass.
Given that uniformity and consistency are the number one drivers for income in your steers and your cowherd, we should look to take positive steps towards genetic improvement and avoid quick leaps that often result in stumbles. When shopping for your next bull, study the breed population, what the breed is doing well, and what traits need to be improved on. If the cows of a breed are plenty big, maybe breed average or even below is plenty good when looking at YW EPD. If birthweights are plenty low and you aren’t seeing calving difficulties, maybe the breed average for BW is plenty good. If you are looking to improve feet and soundness, maybe look at the EPDs after you look at the bulls. If you are looking to improve longevity and fertility, talk to the breeder about their culling regimen and willingness to retain older cows. There is a bull out there for you, and the best one for you probably isn’t the one claiming to be many different things. The calves will tell the story.
