Sire Selection
BeefTalk: Use the Numbers When Bull Buying
By Kris Ringwall, NDSU Extension Service
The future is now: the bull-buying season.
The future is in the numbers. The future
requires knowledge, so study hard.
For me, bull-buying season means
bull-buying workshops where I can
meet with small groups of producers
to look at numbers, the expected
progeny differences (EPDs). EPDs have
been around a long time, but the
utilization of EPDs is still an ongoing
process as more producers annually
incorporate EPDs into bull selection.
Interestingly, the extent to which EPDs
are utilized on individual operations
varies widely. However, no better
selection tool is available that will help
a beef operation meet future goals.
Just as with buying equipment, the
spec sheet informs potential buyers
what is underneath the exterior
metal, and EPDs inform potential
buyers what is under the hide. The
tires need to be checked and the
feet and legs need to be checked so
you purchase the desired specs.
Bulls are the tools of the trade,
enabling the cow-calf producer to
modify the industry. EPDs can guide
the process, yet EPDs are complex,
so don’t be afraid to seek a better
understanding of the numbers.
Bulls are the tools of
the trade, enabling
the cow-calf producer
to modify the industry.
Bulls and next year’s crop seed have
a lot in common as well. Bulls are
to beef production what seed is to
crop production. Crop producers
engage seedstock growers regarding
information on new varieties, which
come with an extensive amount of
data. When is the last time a crop
producer went out and took a picture
of a field of grain and decided that
would be the variety to grow?
OK, sorry, that was not called for, but
some truth is in the statement. Selecting
bulls only by visual appearance, just
like selecting crop varieties by visual
appearance, means bypassing the
data (information) that provide the
knowledge (power) to effect change
within a beef operation. Just like
crops, bulls carry individual genes
that are sought after and actually
determine the value of the bull. The
numbers tell the story, not the view.
All the bull workshops start out with a
question: Do you like what you see? If
you stand by the fence and look at your
calves, do you like what you see? Is the
view good? The real question is how
to maintain or tweak what is good.
(Sample Bull Selection Worksheet on pg. 31)
28 | FEBRUARY 2018