Some Herefords marble better than others. As I understand it, the marbling epd is based on actual ultrasound measurements.  Some individual Herefords measure more marbling than others, just as I expect the Angus do.

Perhaps Angus have been selected for marbling longer than Herefords but it looks to me like we can get there, hopefully without compromising other breed strong points if we are careful. New genetic information is very useful.

Marbling and backfat also seem to go together which is not surprising.

Note the marbling and backfat EPDs versus the breed average for one of my current bulls.

And if you look at the percentile chart there is an incredibly wide range of values for both marbling and fat within the current (2017/2018) Hereford calf crop.

If we concentrate on breeding calves with Marbling EPDs that are towards the upper end of of the marbling percentile chart, it seems like the breed as a whole should increase average marbling relatively quickly.

Here's a picture of this young bull from October.

(IMG009 Bull 33E 101518 (full).jpg)

IMG009 Bull 33E 101518 (full).jpg (238KB - 15 downloads)