Mark Johnson, Oklahoma State University Extension Beef Cattle Breeding Specialist, offers herd health advice as part of the weekly series known as the “Cow Calf Corner,” published electronically by Dr. Derrell Peel, Johnson, and Paul Beck. Today, Johnson discusses new Angus Maternal EPDs.
The American Angus Association is regularly updating its genetic evaluations. Later this month three new maternal EPDs will become available for breeders to use in selection programs. These include:
Functional Longevity (FL), this EPD is expressed in number of calves. It is a predictor of the number of calves a sire’s daughters are predicted to produce by the age of six. A higher EPDs is more favorable indicating more calves produced.
Teat Size EPD (Teat), expressed in units of teat score, with a higher EPD indicating a sire’s daughters will have smaller (more optimum) teat size.
Udder Suspension EPD (UDDR), expressed in units of udder suspension score, with a higher EPD indicating a sire’s daughters will have tighter (more optimum) udder suspension.
More details, including the scoring system for Teat Size and Udder Suspension can be found at the reference link given below.
Reference: https://www.angus.org/tools-resources/national-cattle-evaluation/epd-value-definitions
