Reproduction, Growth, Carcass Traits - Can We Have It All?

Part 3. By Mark Gardiner, Gardiner Angus Ranch, Ashland, Kansas

In the earlier segments of this article, I discussed how my dad, Henry Gardiner, tried to improve our herd by using prize winning bulls, but did not have much success. That is until the first Angus Field Data Report (Sire Summary) was published. Using that report, he was able to make sire selection based on genetic merit for selected traits.

I also explained how, through the use of EPDs, our weaning weights went from 546 pounds in 1980 to 847 pounds in 1999. Gardiner cattle also improved their feedyard performance, increasing average daily gain by 1.51 pounds/day from the late 1970s to 1999.

In this final segment, I'll detail how we select for sires, based on all of this information.

Reproduction

Don't forget, reproduction is still the number one performance trait. Remember that fertility is a lowly heritable trait.

According to Dr. Richard Saacke of Virginia Tech, semen evaluations can only account for 50 percent of the variation of fertility between bulls. On the female side, the environmental differences between neighbors may have more affect on cowherd fertility than differences in their genetics. I would love to place selection pressure on fertility that would allow me to effectively select bulls or cows with higher fertility, but I also think we should realize that we are dealing with very low heritabilities on fertility traits.

Heterosis will have more of an effect on reproductive traits than genetic selection during two of my lifetimes. Therefore, I believe it is important to place a heavy emphasis on fertility as a threshold trait. In other words, make cows conceive during a time restricted breeding season. It is important that cows work for you and not vice versa. Cows that do not work under their job description, need to find a job elsewhere.

We have been able to make genetic progress and maintain a cow herd that is reproductively efficient. Since 1964, Gardiner Angus Ranch has had a total AI program with no clean-up bulls. Since the inception of this program, the heifers were given 30 days to conceive, or they exited the herd. The cows have always been bred on a 60-day breeding season. Since 1964, our pregnancy rate (pregnancy rate = total cows that conceived divided by total cows serviced) has been 95 percent or greater. The bottom line is: we didn't have to compromise reproduction to achieve genetic improvement.

Conclusion

I have heard it said that EPDs are just a fad and they will not last long. Well this fad is well into its 21st year. Data-based selection will become more and more a part of the beef cattle industry. As value-based marketing becomes more of a reality, it will be impossible to survive in the beef cattle business without a reliable database that allows cattle breeders to react to economic signals.

We believe in EPDs. Our goal has always been to produce a live calf that will grow as rapidly as possible to market weight and then quit growing. We believe that you cannot have too much growth as long as that growth is in the "right package." We use eighteen EPD traits to select our sires.

We put a lot of selection pressure against birth weight; most of the bulls we use are in the 2.0-pound range or less for birth weight EPD. We also put a lot of selection pressure against mature size, so we select sires that are below breed average for the yearling hip height EPD, and below breed average for the mature daughter weight and height EPDs. After applying the previous selection criteria, we select bulls with as much yearling weight as possible.

Then we select bulls with adequate milk EPD. In general we keep our milk in the 15-20 range, but we do select some bulls with less milk for our customers who get less rainfall. Next, we look at the carcass EPDs. We want the sires to be positive for marbling, ribeye area, and percent retail product. We want the sires to be negative for the fat EPD.

Finally, we use the scrotal EPD to make our sire selection. We would prefer to select bulls that are positive, but we do use some bulls that are negative for scrotal EPD. We only select sires that fit the above criteria and are high accuracy bulls (>.80) for these EPD traits (progeny proven). This is not a complicated system, but it does require discipline. We believe it is very effective, based upon what it has accomplished for us.

I'm a living example of the economic reality of EPDs. Gardiner Angus Ranch would have gone bankrupt weaning 525 pound 10-month-old steer calves. There would have been no ranch for us to come home to if my Dad had not chosen to use EPDs. I would like to thank Roy Wallace and John Crouch for all their help over the years and for helping implement data based selection. I would particularly like to thank Henry C. Gardiner for his tenacity to never give up, and the foresight to recognize the economic reality of EPDs, and especially for implementing the Gardiner Angus Ranch breeding program. My Dad and I have many "discussions" about our sire selection, but I usually end up reminding him "I'm only implementing the program you taught me."

Reproduction, Growth, and Carcass traits, can we have it all? Yes!