EPDs: What Do All Those Numbers Mean?

It’s the time of year where mailboxes start to fill up with bull sale catalogs and fliers. It’s always enjoyable to look through the bulls, but it’s known that so much more goes into selecting a herd sire than just a pretty picture. Expected Progeny Differences (EPDs) have been applied to improve the genetics of beef cattle for almost four decades. EPDs are predictions of the genetic transmitting ability of a parent to its offspring and are used to make selection decisions for traits desired in the herd.

This edition of Nebraska Farm Bureau’s Inside Profitability Series aims to give an opportunity to better understand how specific EPD data is derived and how producers can use the information to make better informed decisions. Dr. Matt Spangler, a professor and beef genetics specialist with the University of Nebraska, will walk through EDP numbers and how to put them to work in a way that not only fits producer’s needs, but also enhances profitability.

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