Black Velvet Cattle
FYI’s
BIRTH WEIGHTS
We recommend you not use birth weight very much in your selection decision. The BW EPD is a much better indicator of what’s
in the calf genetically, and in natural calves, his own birth weight has been factored into his BW EPD. Studies have shown EPDs
to be as much as nine times more accurate than ratios or raw weights as a selection tool.
We believe in breeding heifers to low BW EPD bulls, with a CED of +7 or higher. CED is only a measure for use in breeding
heifers and is not meant to be a measure for breeding cows. It seems to us that the Angus breed has gotten a bit carried away
with the concept of birth EPDs, when it comes to breeding cows. Our experience is that a big, stout calf at birth is usually the big
stout calf at weaning. So remember that a +8.0 BW EPD in an Angus bull is equivalent to a +2.8 BW EPD in Simmental or a -1.3
BW EPD Charolais according to the 2010 Across Breed EPDs of the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center.
Also, an old University of Missouri study showed that cows will naturally try to produce a calf that weighs about 7% of her own
body weight. Seven percent of a 1,000 pound cow is 70 pounds, but 7% of a 1,500 pound cow is 105 pounds. Our cows are by
no means small, and our average mature cow weight is close to that 1,500 pound figure.
EPD EVALUATION
We have the following abbreviations throughout this sale book with regard to EPDs. Remember that an EPD is an estimate of
how future progeny will perform, relative to other Angus cattle with EPD values. The accuracy figure, just after the EPD, indi-
cates the possible future change in the EPD. The higher the accuracy, the less likely the EPD will change appreciably.
Remember that no EPD is absolute. It simply allows you to compare genetic differences in sires. As an example, if you were to
use a high accuracy +30 WW EPD sire in your herd, and the weaning weights average 550 pounds, then you could expect a
high accuracy +40 WW EPD sire to sire calves averaging 560 pounds, if used in exactly the same situation. A sire with a +6.0
BW EPD should sire calves averaging four pounds heavier at birth than a sire with a +2.0 BW EPD.
BW - Birth weight, expressed in pounds.
WW - Weaning weight, expressed in pounds adjusted to
205 days of age.
Milk - Influence of the dam, due to her milking ability, on
weaning weight, expressed in pounds of calf weaned.
YW - Yearling weight, expressed in pounds adjusted to
365 days of age.
CW - Carcass weight, expressed in pounds at a given end
point.
MB - Marbling, expressed as a portion of a marbling score
(one point of marbling score = 1/3 quality grade).
REA - Ribeye area, expressed in square inches, at a
given end point.
FT - Fat thickness, expressed in inches, at a given end
point.
SC - Scrotal circumference, expressed in centimeters, at
a year of age.
CED - Percentage of unassisted births when a sire is
mated to virgin heifers. Higher values indicate more
unassisted births.
CEM - Percentage of unassisted births as first calf heifers.
DOC - Percentage increase in number of progeny scoring
1 (most docile).
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Value . . . starts at home.
Value . . . starts at h
Value . . . starts t home.
Value . . . starts at home.
Before your calves leave home,
enroll them in either of these
value-added programs:
Before your calves leave home,
enroll them in either of these
value-added programs:
Before your calves leave home, enroll them in either of these
value-added programs:
Before your calves leave home, enroll them in either of these
value-added programs:
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VerifiesSource,GroupAgeandGenetics
VerifiesSourceandGroupAge
VerifiesSource,GroupAgeandGenetics
Veri
Verifi sSource,GroupAgeandGenetics
VerifiesSourceandGroupAge
VerifiesSource,GroupAgeandGenetics
VerifiesSourceandGroupAge
Enroll your calves TODAY!
Enroll your calves TODA
Enroll your calves TODAY!
Enroll your calves TODAY!
AngusSource is a USDA Process Verified Program
for Angus-sired calves that documents source,
group age and a minimum of 50% Angus genetics.
A second tier of the AngusSource PVP called
Gateway verifies source and group age only. To
enroll in AngusSource or Gateway, producers must
submit the complete AngusSource/Gateway Producer
Participant Enrollment Form/Agreement and
complete the training and cattle enrollment process.
Once calves are enrolled they are identified with an
official program tag and an AngusSouce or Gateway
Verification Certificate is generated listing the source,
age and genetic (AngusSource only) information for
the lot. All cattle enrolled in AngusSource and
Gateway that are process v rified will have the
following shield displayed
on their Verification
Certificate.
For more information visit
