Executive Summary
and done a good job producing high quality
seedstock for the commercial cattle producer.
Carcass traits look to be similar with Limousin
faring well in yield grade, ribeye, backfat, and
carcass weight. The one exception is the marbling
EPD, which the breed needs to continue to focus
on without single trait selecting to improve its
commercial demand. The good news is this can
happen at a faster rate in the BOLT system if
producers elect to gnomically enhance their cattle
and utilize the information that is available to
them in future mating selections. Many Limousin
producers are actually aggressively doing this and
it shows on their individual genetic trend herd
comparison averages comparing their herd against
the breed as a whole in the DigitalBeef system.
The NALF staff and the board appreciate your
patience with the switch to the BOLT system
had some initial start up problems in the first
two weeks. Not all of the Angus external EPDs
where getting included that were in the Limousin
herdbook the initial week at IGS and have since
been incorporated into the weekly evaluation
releases. Genomics where included on the
majority of the Limousin cattle but a smaller
percentage were getting kicked out early in the
evaluations which is being incorporated now.
Members will still need to incorporate and turn
in accurate performance and ultrasound data to
enhance and increase their accuracies on EPDs
in spite of the increased value of the genomics.
The BOLT system is still a 3-fold EPD generation
system that utilizes genomics, performance data
and pedigree data to increase the actual value
and accuracy the generated EPD for each trait.
It has not been as easy with any change, as there
are some shifts on individual cattle that where
both positive and negative as it identified some
winners and losers in the new system. As a whole,
there was not a high percentage of reranking on
most traits, but a new system that
actually upgrades the technology
used to generate EPDs for a more
accurate reporting system is
going to have some shifting and
movement. There was no reason
to switch systems if no change
was experienced and accuracy did
not actually improve for breeders.
The NALF staff and board would
like to wish all Limousin breeders
a Happy Thanksgiving as we
rapidly head towards the National
Western Stock Show for 2019! We
look forward to the upcoming
year and a successful bull sale
season this upcoming Spring.
Please call the NALF office if you
have any questions as we move
forward into the new year! I
10 | NOVEMBER 2018