This week on Angus Underground, your hosts, David, Joe, and Korbin are discussing the hot topic: to EPD or not EPD.

Expected Progeny Differences (EPDs) tend to be one of the most controversial subjects amongst Angus breeders. It is often expressed that there are only two sides to the debate: pro or anti EPDs but David, Joe, and Korbin argue that there’s a third party: the middle ground; that EPDs can be used as a secondary selection tool or a comparison tool between herds.

In this episode, Joe, David, and Korbin discuss how the middle ground of EPDs, the pros and cons, and when (and when not) EPDs are worth examining. They speak about how EPDs are calculated (and how they can change as more data comes in), how EPDs are misused, how they use EPDs, the traits they have confidence in vs. those that they do not, the EPDs they are skeptical of, misconceptions, the two different philosophies on genomics and how they have caused a further divide within the industry (similar to EPDs), alternative proposals to EPDs, and ultimately, answering the question: to EPD or not EPD?

Mentioned in this Episode:

Shady Brook Angus Farm

Beef Leaders Institute

The Montana Bred for Balance Bull and Female Sale — Nov. 13th, 2021

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Quotes:

“My hope is with this segment that we navigate through [the nuances of EPDs] and try to share with folks that there is a middle ground. There is a middle ground of folks trying to breed the right kind of cow for their customer and then also try to provide some sort of genetic advancement through Expected Progeny Differences as well.”

“The truth … is generally somewhere in the middle.”

“There are premises that are built into these algorithms that I think are flawed [with EPDs]. And one of the premises is that the next generation is always better than the first. And I have a problem with that because I think that there are some bulls from history that we can go back and still use as tools … within our Angus breed.”

“If you have the highest-dollar maternal female in the breed and you are IBFing her to a yearling bull that’s the highest-dollar maternal bull in the breed, I think you’ve got to check yourself on that one, frankly. That just seems … totally antagonistic to the intent behind what I see in a maternal index as.”

“I’m certainly not anti-EPD but I would urge each of you to think about what direction you want your program to go, what best would get you there … and seek out someone locally that’s successful, that you trust, and that operates in a similar environment to you and gain as much knowledge as you can there.”

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