68th SOUTHEAST MISSOURI ALL-BREED PERFORMANCE TESTED BULL SALE
Farmington Livestock Auction, Farmington, MO
Friday, March 25, 2011

EPD Percentile Rankings for Production Traits

Go to breed sites for the Charts

Percentile rankings are provided on all bulls.  This concept ranks bulls within a breed for a similar birth year.  The percentile rankings describe where a bull falls within a breed for the EPD traits listed.  A bull with a yearling weight EPD rank of 10 will be in the top 10% of his breed for yearling weight. 

The important thing when evaluating EPD's is to emphasize those traits that you would like to correct in your herd.  Selecting a bull to be used on first calf heifers will have totally different EPDs than one to be used as a terminal sire with all offspring going to market.  Thus, you must spend as much or more time evaluating your own herd's strong points and deficiencies prior to considering which bulls to purchase. 

Calving Ease Direct (CED):  Calving ease direct EPD is expressed as a percentage of unassisted births, with a higher value indicating greater calving ease in first-calf heifers.  It predicts the average difference in ease with which a sire’s calves will be born when he is bred to first-calf heifers. 

Calving Ease Maternal (CEM):  Calving ease maternal EPD is expressed as a percentage of unassisted births in first-calf heifers and predicts the average ease with which a sire's daughters will calve as first-calf heifers when compared to daughters of other sires. 

Birth Weight (BW):  Birth weight EPD is measured in pounds and is a predictor of a bull’s ability to transmit birth weight to his offspring within a breed. A bull with a low percentile ranking would be expected to sire calves with the LIGHTEST birth weight and can be used on replacement heifers.  Bulls with high rankings for birth weight will result in calves with the HEAVIEST birth weight and should be used on mature cows.  Remember that EPDs are within breed comparisons, and breed calving differences should be considered. 

Weaning Weight (WW) and Yearling Weight (YW): Both weaning and yearling weight EPDs are expressed in pounds.  Those bulls with lower percentile ranks would be expected to sire calves with the HEAVIEST weights while high rankings will result in calves with the LOWEST weight gains. 

Maternal Milk (Milk or MM): Maternal milk EPDs are expressed in pounds.  They are defined as a predictor of a sire to pass on milk and mothering ability to his offspring.  It is part of the calf’s weaning weight that is attributed to milk and mothering ability.  It is extremely important that the level of milk you need in your herd must MATCH THE ENVIRONMENT (level of NUTRITION and MANAGEMENT).  If your calves are light at weaning due to a lack of milk production in the cows then one might want to consider selecting a bull with a higher level of maternal milk.  On the other hand if cows are thin and you have difficulty breeding females (especially first and second calf heifers) then one might want to select a moderate or lower maternal milk bull.  Milk EPDs are ranked from the MOST (low percentile rank) to LEAST (high percentile rank), with neither of these being desirable for ALL situations. 

Go to breed links to see current EPD  Percentile Breakdown within each Breed.

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		University of Missouri Extension Perry County Perryco@missouri.edu Updated 11/10/08