Here’s why you should use indexes rather than single-trait EPDs
Impact your profitability with selection indexes.
April 26, 2018
By Lynn Gordon
Beef producers raise cattle for many reasons, But without profitability, a production system is not viable or sustainable.
At least that what Darrh Bullock thinks. “There are different methods of how we reach profitability, but it is the end goal,” the animal science professor at the University of Kentucky told producers on a recent webinar hosted by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and eBEEF.org. The webinar — Show me the money, EPDs for profit — discussed the advancement of genetic evaluation from single EPD traits to the use of a selection index.
One way to define profitability is net return. Among the ways to increase net return and impact profitability are selection indexes, the genetic evaluation tool producers can use to help with multiple trait selection.