Star ratings
&
Selection Help
***
Our exclusive Star Rating System is designed
to help summarize all of the data and simplify
your selection process. It takes into account
all information available, along with some
cowboy common sense to rate each bull in the
areas of Calving Ease, Growth, and Carcass.
These ratings are consistent throughout
the catalog so that you can even compare
across breeds. EPDs are the best tools for
selection within a breed. However they are not
comparable across all breeds yet.
The more stars they have, the better they are
in that trait. Each bull is rated 0 to 5 stars in
each trait. Our Five-Star rating is the same
as it has been in the past and designates elite
bulls in each category. For Growth, Carcass
and Maternal the bull has to be in the top half
of the industry to even get 1 star. A Five-Star
rating is only given to the cream of the crop,
the most ultimate.
Use the individual EPDs and their respective
percentile ranks to most accurately determine
which bulls can help you best meet your
specific needs. For example
when looking at the Growth
Rating, if you sell your
calves at weaning time
then you should look more
specifically at WW EPD.
For Carcass, if you need
more quality grade then put
more emphasis on Marbling
EPD.
You may notice that our Calving Ease ratings
are much more conservative than what
many breeders and breed associations may
recommend for use on heifers. We believe it is
better to be safe than sorry. This doesn’t mean
that you never have to assist one at calving,
because sometimes calves are born backwards
or have a leg turned back. Even the best and
most proven Calving Ease sires in the industry
will get a big calf every once in a while. Our
goal is to help eliminate calving difficulty to
the best of our ability and therefore help you
manage risk.
This year we added a Maternal section in the
RedAngus breed. RedAngus has been a leader
in accurately measuring reproductive, female
fertility, heifer pregnancy and Stayability.
Therefore we started this new Economically
Relevant Trait (ERT) for Stars with Red
Angus and the more stars they have the better
replacement females we believe they will
produce.
This Star Rating System is simply a tool to
help you quickly find the bulls that fit your
needs. Then you can take more time studying
the details to find the bulls that best fit your
more specific needs.
Feed and water is at one end of the pasture, while the
only shade is 1/2 mile away....up a big, rough, rocky
West Texas hill. Making this trip each day during the
scorching heat of summer develops these bulls into
hard footed, muscle-toned and physically fit athletes...
ready to turn out and work for you, where ever you
live.We affectionately call it “Two A Days”.
Bull Development
14
***
Calving Ease Rating
5 ***** Star Ultimate Calving Ease for any breed of heifers & cows
4 **** Star Elite Calving Ease for any breed of heifers & cows
3 *** Star Superior Calving Ease for well developed heifers and all cows
2 ** Star Excellent Calving Ease for heifers with Brahman influence & all cows
1 * Star Good Calving Ease for heifers with 50% or more Brahman & all cows
Growth Rating
5 ***** Star Ultimate Growth
4 **** Star Elite Growth
3 *** Star Superior Growth
2 ** Star Excellent Growth
1 * Star Good Growth
Carcass Rating
5 ***** Star Ultimate Carcass
4 **** Star Elite Carcass
3 *** Star Superior Carcass
2 ** Star Excellent Carcass
1 * Star Good Carcass
Maternal Rating
5 ***** Star Ultimate Replacement Females
4 **** Star Elite Replacement Females
3 *** Star Superior Replacement Females
2 ** Star Excellent Replacement Females
1 * Star Good Replacement Females
