 Washington State University, Department of Animal Sciences Charles T. Gaskins, Antonio Elias Calles, Jerry J. Reeves |
Introduction |
| Identifying Wagyu sires
that excel in marbling and growth traits is important in order to engineer the type of
cowherd and progeny that fit the market and overall goals of the modern beef cattle
industry more quickly. Wagyu cattle appear to be able to attain more marbling and produce
lighter calves than other beef breeds raised in the United States. However, not all the
animals have the same genetic ability to produce marbling and desirable growth traits.
Therefore, in order to produce slaughter animals with certain live carcass specifications,
only sires with higher genetic potential for those traits should be used. Expected Progeny Differences (EPDs) are the best estimates that we have of an animal’s genetic potential. These estimates take into consideration all information that is available for an animal. The attached tables give EPDs for several carcass and growth traits for a number of Wagyu sires in the United States. The numerical marbling score and its relationship to the USDA Quality Grading System are defined in the table to the right. All sires listed in the summary had both steer and heifer progeny. These animals were raised in contemporary groups (CGs). A contemporary group consists of all animals of the same sex born in a herd in one year. The number of progeny and number of contemporary groups for each sire are listed in the summary tables for each trait. The reliability of an EPD is indicated by the accuracy (ACC), which is reported as a decimal number ranging from 0 to 1. Values closer to one indicate that the change in the EPD will be small. When the accuracy is closer to zero, a large change is expected. Accuracy is increased when the number of progeny, sires and contemporary groups increase. Values of accuracy are related to possible change in the EPD value. This measurement of error (possible change) in the prediction of EPD values decrease as the accuracy value increases. A table showing the relationship of possible change values with the accuracy values is included below.
Contacts Charles T. Gaskins
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