Page 8 - DVAuction Online Catalogs

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Economically Relevant Trait’s for Profitability
Did you know that Calving Ease and Fertility are at least three times more important than any other trait? Open
cows and dead calves pay no bills. If you have a 20 head cow herd, just one more cow conceiving and one less
calf lost at birth is worth $100/head in increased revenue to you at the current market. The average of the bulls
in this sale will rank in the top 20% of the breed or above for Calving Ease and Stayability.
Calving Ease is measured by Birth Wt. EPD and Calving Ease Direct EPD (CED). A lower BW EPD indicates
lower birth weights and a higher CED indicates better calving ease. (CED combines birth weight with a direct
observation of calving difficulties). While the benefit of increased calving ease is obvious in reducing calving
difficulties, there are other advantages that dictate that calving ease bulls should be used on cows as well as
heifers. Birth weight is highly correlated to mature cow size. Use of lower birth weight bulls on cows is the
surest way to keep cow size in check and insure moderate sized efficient cows for the future.
Stayability – The surest measurement of fertility. In simple terms it is a measure of a bulls daughters’ ability
to conceive every year until the age of six. Miss and she will receive a negative observation which affects
Stayabiltiy EPD. A higher number is better. Red Angus is the only major breed able to measure fertility in this
manner due to the use of THR (Total Herd Reporting).