I have found that EPDs can be fun to look at however not very reliable. There are some charts on the Angus Association web site that shed some light on this. Even before you look at any of this information think about the dairy industry where milk gets measured by a milk tester with calibrated equipment. The only thing the beef industry has like this is our Ultra Sound and Carcass data collection. Most of our data is collected by the farmer and use what ever we have for equipment. Our data is flawed before we even start to look at the numbers.
Adjusted Weights and Measurements by Year
www.angus.org/Nce/AHIRAvg.aspx
Year Birth Weaning
bulls heifers bulls heifers
1984 79 74 537 484
2018 79 74 668 604
This chart shows the weight averages since 1972. Just looking at birth weights for 1984 and 2018 one would think the birth EPDs should be close to the same for those two years but they are not. The Genetic Trends chart doesn't match up with the Weights and Measurements www.angus.org/Nce/GeneticTrends.aspx
EPDs are a floating target, as a bull gets older the EPDs will suffer because of this. If you use older more proven bulls your numbers will suffer, however your actual pounds on the scale may be better www.angus.org/Nce/GeneticTrends.aspx
The Heritabilities chart shows that even with correct EPD numbers there is a good chance they won't pass through to the next generation www.angus.org/Nce/Heritabilities.aspx
After looking at some of these charts and other information listed on the Angus website my conclusion is trust your eyes first when looking at cattle, then ratios and then look at EPDs if you still want to. We have a long way to go to get our numbers to where the dairy industry is.
Adjusted Weights and Measurements by Year
www.angus.org/Nce/AHIRAvg.aspx
Year Birth Weaning
bulls heifers bulls heifers
1984 79 74 537 484
2018 79 74 668 604
This chart shows the weight averages since 1972. Just looking at birth weights for 1984 and 2018 one would think the birth EPDs should be close to the same for those two years but they are not. The Genetic Trends chart doesn't match up with the Weights and Measurements www.angus.org/Nce/GeneticTrends.aspx
EPDs are a floating target, as a bull gets older the EPDs will suffer because of this. If you use older more proven bulls your numbers will suffer, however your actual pounds on the scale may be better www.angus.org/Nce/GeneticTrends.aspx
The Heritabilities chart shows that even with correct EPD numbers there is a good chance they won't pass through to the next generation www.angus.org/Nce/Heritabilities.aspx
After looking at some of these charts and other information listed on the Angus website my conclusion is trust your eyes first when looking at cattle, then ratios and then look at EPDs if you still want to. We have a long way to go to get our numbers to where the dairy industry is.
