deep in the southeastern corner of Idaho | The EPD's start out as 1/2 the sire and the dam. It is called the interim EPD.
When data starts to come in on that calf it changes. Usually Birth weight and Calving ease scores accompany the calf at registration.
Then comes data from weaning and Yearling weights. Each time data is entered again it changes the calf's EPD's +/-
Then a producer can do Genomics on each calf and that has an effect similar to that individual having offspring of its own. Each trait is different on number.
These are called Genomic enhanced or GE-EPD's. They are the most accurate. DNA can be taken after the calf is a couple of days old so you dont have to wait on the other data to be submitted. It will also verify if the correct parents have been recorded.
Most all breeds do weekly runs so the EPD's can change weekly. Also the EPD's will change as data comes in from other herds that have relations to your calf such as 1/2 sibs, aunts, uncles, cousins there are detailed formulas that take a lot of factors in when EPD's are derived.
The important figure to look at is the ACC (accuracy) it will start at about .05 with the interim EPD and go to about .45 up on the GE-EPD. The higher the accuracy the less there is a chance for variation in the EPD.
Edited by ICC 10/30/2025 08:27
|
Determining EPD’s of a calf by sire and dam
