It’s that time of year when bull sale catalogs hit mailboxes and cattle producers who purchase bulls in the spring begin evaluating the data and new genetic offerings.
Matt Spangler, UNL Professor and Beef Genetics Extension Specialist,
says all potential bull (and semen) buyers need to ask themselves, “What kind of bull do I need?” Producers should understand how their current herd performs and objectively answer these questions, Spangler says.
This includes, but is not limited to:
- Current rates of dystocia
- Current pregnancy rates
- Current age distribution of the cow herd
- Primary reason(s) for cows exiting the herd
- Weight of calves at the point of sale
- Post-weaning performance of calves
- Weight of mature cows
- Annual (variable) cow costs
Spangler says knowing the answers to the questions above helps identify the areas that require the most attention to improve profitability and avoid buying bulls that don’t improve the objective need of the cow herd.
“Buying a bull that’s full of growth potential while needing to moderate mature cow size is a mismatch between what’s needed and what’s purchased,” Spangler says as an example.
After a breeding objective has been formed and the answers to the questions above answered, Spangler says producers should keep in mind these simple steps.
- Choose vendors that sell the product you need and that you trust.
- Choose bulls based on the genetic value they can bring to your herd, utilitizing EPDs, ratios and other measurements.
- Select for more than one trait given more than one trait impacts profitability. Utilize economic selection indexes to do so.
“Value bulls (or semen) based on the potential to generate a return from the investment,” Spangler says. “In other words, if the “best” bull sells for more money than he could generate for your enterprise (based on genetic value and number of cows he would be exposed to, and cull value), then pass on him and buy a different bull that does have the potential for a positive return on investment.”
For profit-motivated cattle producers, utilizing proven tools such as EPD and economic selection indexes seems logical. With that in mind, Spangler suggests avoiding these pitfalls.
- Avoid over-emphasizing calving ease (direct). The emphasis on this trait should be in relation to the degree you experience dystocia problems now.
- If you retain replacement females, keep an eye on mature cow weight EPD if available.
- If you retain replacement females, do not ignore female fertility. Sustained cow fertility (stayability, functional longevity) EPD represent the ability to remain productive in a herd.
- If you use economic selection indexes, use the ones that fit your breeding objective. Do not use terminal indexes if you intend to retain replacement females.
- Know, or ask, what certain EPD/indexes mean and what breed average is. Do not buy a bull assuming he excels for a trait only to later discover that he ranks towards the bottom of the breed.
For those wanting to learn more, Spangler suggests visiting www.eBEEF.org and looking over the Sire Selection Manual.
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