Facilitating profit-driven breeding for commercial cow-calf producers

Abstract

Sire selection is one of the most critical decisions that a com­mercial beef cattle operation makes. Many producers look to their veterinarians for advice on genetic selection decisions. Developing a profit-aligned breeding goal is essential in setting up an operation for success. Breeding goals should consider marketing endpoints and opportunities for producers to reduce animal maintenance and development costs. Each producer is different, so breeding goals must be appropriate for the pro­ducer’s environment and management level. A wealth of selec­tion tools exist for producers to maximize genetic progress and reduce risk. Using expected progeny differences (EPDs) for se­lection allows producers to focus selection on an animal’s esti­mated genetic merit. This reduces risk and increases the rate of genetic progress. Breed associations report EPDs on dozens of economically-relevant traits. Selection indices have been devel­oped to weight trait predictions by their economic importance and simplify the selection process. Using an index well-aligned with the breeding goal allows producers to select for increased profitability using a single value. These selection tools, com­bined with effective phenotypic evaluation, can enhance the ability of producers to make an effective bull selection decision.