Economically Relevant Traits

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Economically Relevant Traits

• Mark Enns
• Colorado State University

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Beef Producers Motivation

• Hobby
• Property tax reduction
• Profit

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Two basic tools of animal breeding

• Selection
• EPD
• Mating
• Mate allocation
• Crossbreeding

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Typical Genetic Evaluation

• Birth Weight
• Weaning Weight
• Milk
• Total Maternal
• Yearling Weight

• Carcass Traits
• Actual REA, BF, etc
• Ultrasound REA, BF, et
• Calving Ease
• Mix of others

If you can measure it, we can produce an EPD for
it
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Typical Genetic Evaluation

• Proven
• Accepted
• Well-used
• Assumption
• More EPD allow us to better characterize the
  genetic potential of animals
• Should be able to make more profitable selection
  decisions
• But

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Sire Summary of the Future?
Feedlot feed consumption Feedlot surv. Pre-wean
surv. Serving capacity Serving proportion Semen
volume Hip height Leg score Length productive
life Doing ability Grand-maternal
weaning Twinning rate Days to 11mm BF Days to 75
Choice Days to carc wt. Hair whorl score Average
daily gain Wt. /day of age Liver weight Resting
heart rate Pulmonary arteriole pressure Brisket
disease rate Bravery Aggression

• Gestation length
• Days to calving
• Calving interval
• Stayability
• Heifer pregnancy rate
• Rebreeding rate
• Calf weaned/cow exposed
• Scrotal circumference
• Pelvic area
• Frame score
• Muscle score
• Udder score
• Docility
• Tick score
• Parasite egg count
• Mature weight
• Maintenance energy
• Feed efficiency
• Drop weight

• Birth direct
• Birth maternal
• Weaning direct
• Weaning maternal
• Total maternal
• Yearling direct
• 600 d direct
• Calving direct
• Calving maternal
• Carcass wt
• Rib fat
• Rump fat
• LMA
• Marb score
• Quality grade
• Retail yield
• Lbs (kg) retail yield
• Yield grade
• Us LMA

Information Overload
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• Proliferation of EPD
• An ever-increasing list of traits
• Many EPD indirectly related to economic goals
• Methods for using EPD to make financially sound
  selection decisions

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EPD and Profitability

• We can combine genetic evaluation to make
• Genetic progress in multiple traits
  simultaneously
• Increase profitability

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Genetic TrendsEconomic Breeding Objective
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Goal

• Produce tools that can make the producer more
  profitable

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Terminology

• Economically Relevant Traits traits that are
  directly associated with a revenue stream or cost
  of production of a commercial operation.

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Indicator Traits traits that add accuracy to
the prediction of ERT by pleiotropy (e.g. genetic
correlation).
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ERT

• Does selecting on a trait directly effect your
  income or cost?

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Economically RelevantProbability Of Calving Ease

• Indicators
• Birth Weight
• Pelvic Area
• Gestation Length
• Calving Ease Score
• ?

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Practically

• Sire A
• Average birth weight of calves is 80 pounds
• Sire B
• Average birth weight of calves is 90 pounds
• Is there a difference, if all offspring are born
  unassisted?

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Double counting

• Birth weight vs Calving Ease EPD
• Getting rid of animals that are better calving
  than you expect for their birth weight

How do we make sense of these EPD to increase
profitability?
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Economically RelevantHeifer Pregnancy

• Indicators
• Scrotal circumference
• Pregnancy observations
• ?

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Unexpected results
Indirect indicator
direct ERT
B.L. Golden
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Relationships between Carcass and Ultrasound
Information
Observed Carcass Data
Observed Ultrasound Data
True Carcass Attribute
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Our desire is that producers use EPDs objectively
in the context of their business goal(s)

• Profit Income Expense

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In our vision

• Have EPD for ERT that allow producers to better
  associate value/cost with genetic improvement

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In the Current Situation

• Must distinguish between traits that are
  economically relevant (ERT) and traits that are
  indicators
• Focus on ERTs for valuing animals
• Use indicator EPD to support ERTs
• Need decision support models to allow us to
  objectively interpret ERTs in a system context

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Examples

• Application (under development)
• Charolais Sire Selector

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EPDs For The Future

• Weaning Direct
• Weaning Milk
• Yearling Weight
• Carcass Weight
• Mature Weight
• Cow Maintenance Feed Requirement
• Docility

• Stayability (LPL)
• Prob of Heifer Pregnancy
• Prob of Calving Ease
• Calving Ease Maternal
• Days to Finish Target

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Different approaches for development of ERT for
the finishing phase

• Universal (constant) target endpoint
• Predetermined data adjustment prior to
  calculation of EPD
• Different (variable) target endpoints
• Random Regression
• No predetermined endpoint (different endpoints
  can be constructed for different circumstances
  using the same st of random regression EPD)

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Why Days to Finish?

• Accounts for costs
• Time value of money
• Yardage
• Cost of feed ?
• Can use existing carcass data
• In concert with a value at finish EPD, will
  account for revenue and therefore overall profit

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Final System
Producer

• Web Delivered
• Flexibility in the system
• Not limited to one target endpoint
• Feeding program
• Marketing program
• Evaluation of profitability
• Prediction of phenotypic outcomes

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Web-based

• 58 of all farmers have access to a computer
  (Drovers and USDA-NASS)
• Greater flexibility

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