“If we made EPDs and indices incredibly easy to drive and continue to improve them, would we have better adoption of them?” asked Kari White, Ph.D., Neogen genetic evaluation scientist. White discussed the economic selection indexes offered by American breeds during the 2021 Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) Symposium June 24 in Des Moines, IA.
A selection index is a cumulative number that combines EPDs and weights on those EPDs into one number with the idea that it is easier to select for several traits at a time in a more consistent direction than to select based only on one number.
Neogen’s focus on education shows the complexities of selection index systems but allows for continuous improvement and makes them easier to use, and it allows intuitive producers to adopt selection indexes.
White looked more closely at the Milk EPD and reminded producers that it is maternal weaning weight, and it is not intuitive about milk. Milk has an inverse relationship to direct weaning weight; as direct weaning weight pounds increase, the maternal component decreases. Neogen has created selection indexes for the American Brahman Breeders Association, International Brangus Breeders Association, Beefmaster Breeders United and Santa Gertrudis Breeders International.
“Selection decisions can never be made in a vacuum; there are always unintended consequences,” White explained. “A user of selection indexes should care less about the coefficients for the traits and more about how the index correlates to economically relevant traits.”
To watch the full presentation, visit youtu.be/DLq9YvmgJUM. For more information about the symposium and BIF, including additional presentations and award winners, visit BIFSymposium.com. — BIF
