Page 5 - DVAuction Online Catalogs

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As you can see, the AGA has made some major changes to the EPDs for Gelbvieh and Balancer® cattle. Those familiar with using Gelbvieh EPDs will
need to change their mindset to use these new numbers. The CE and DCE EPDs are reported entirely differently. In round figures, the EPDs for BW
have increased 1 lb. for BW, 25 lbs. for weaning weight, 15 lbs. for yearling weight, plus 10 lbs. for milk and various other changes up or down for
various traits. In the past, many of our commercial customers in our area found it profitable to use bulls with 3 lbs. or less for BW, 40 lbs. of WW, 75
of YW and Milk EPDs of 15 or higher, to produce market topping steer calves and daughters they could keep by selection out of the middle 1/3 of these
replacement heifers. With the new EPDs, to select for that same bull, he would have EPDs of 4 for BW, 65 for WW, 90 for YW and 25 for Milk. To com-
plicate the matter, the recommendation for Gelbvieh and Balancer® bulls should probably be handled as two separate breeds. For example, a 2 BW for
a Gelbvieh bull is now breed average, however, a Balancer® bull with a 2 BW EPD is in the bottom 25%. Likewise, a Balancer® bull with a yearling EPD
of 97 is breed average, while a Gelbvieh bull with a 97 YW is in the bottom 35% of the breed. (Oh really? Angus influenced cattle have more yearling
weight potential than Gelbvieh. Must be a lot of Gelbvieh breeders who have given up demanding performance for their Gelbvieh seed stock.) Sorry,
couldn’t resist that one.
Here’s the point. EPDs are important and should be used in every sire selection and mating decision because they offer the best non-progeny evaluation
of every animal. Don’t get hung up on non-significant differences. Is he a low growth bull or a high growth bull, a low birth calving ease bull for heifers
or a mature cow bull, or a bull to keep daughters of or a terminal sire? Whatever the case, use EPDs to select bulls that work for your operation and
resources of time and feed which vary significantly from operation to operation, and perhaps within every operation.
How the Bulls Were Developed
The spring bulls selling were early-weaned on August 8 and had received no creep feed after one of the hottest, driest summer in recent history. They
have received a ration of ammoniated wheat straw, failed corn silage, first cutting alfalfa hay silage with DDG and 1# of corn for each 100# of body
weight on a ration designed for 3.25 ADG. The fall bulls were weaned May 12 and then put back on native pasture and fed 8 lbs. of grain until October
20 when they were put on the same ration as the spring bulls. The bulls have performed remarkably well, posting an average ADG of 3.72 for Balancer®
bulls and 3.98 for the purebred bulls on the 109 day test period on the cheapest ration we could balance for them.