The old adage “You get what you pay for” has never been truer, as evidenced in bull sale analyses across the country.
Genomically tested bulls give producers greater confidence, and those benefits can impact their cowherd for years. “My goal is for my clients to have a healthier herd and a more profitable business. Having GE-EPDs on that bull takes much of the guesswork out of bull selection. The bull makes up half of the herd and as a producer begins keeping back heifers, he becomes more than half,” shares Dr. W. Mark Hilton, DVM, PAS, diplomate ABVP (beef cattle) and founder of West Lafayette, Ind.-based Midwest Beef Cattle Consultants.
With risk management in mind, reports show producers are willing to pay more for an animal they know much more about. According to the American-International Charolais Association (AICA), the average price for AICA-registered bulls with GE-EPDs sold this spring was $11,604, which was $3,330 more per head than non-tested bulls. Similarly, American Gelbvieh Association‘s 2026 sale results showed genomically enhanced bulls brought $1,649 more than non-tested bulls — this is a significant 130% increase in year-over-year value over 2025 bull sale results.
The 25-Calf Advantage
The industry is seeing more discerning producers who will buy only bulls with GE-EPDs because they can better predict what the bull will sire.
“A bull with GE-EPDs has an increased accuracy in his EPDs equal to a non-GE-EPD bull that has sired approximately 25 calves. If I polled 100 beef producers that I work with and ask, ‘Would your confidence improve if you bought a bull that had already sired 25 calves or one that had sired no calves?’ One hundred percent of them would say, ‘I have more confidence in the bull that sired 25 calves versus the one that sired zero,’” Hilton says.
These bulls aren’t bringing in more money just because a little symbol in the catalog says they have GE-EPDs. Hilton says seedstock producers prioritizing GE-EPDs are attracting a more discerning buyer.
“To me, it’s a huge benefit to people selling bulls,” Hilton explains. “Personally, we have worked to produce bulls that check a lot of boxes for a lot of producers. They are bulls that will be an investment in their herd and actually make them money. If they spend $10,000 on a bull with me, I want them to make a profit on the calves out of that bull.”
Hilton’s Checklist for Bull Sale Prep
The best bull depends on the producer’s goals. Bull selection involves more than picking one based on eye appeal. Here are Hilton’s top suggestions to help producers make the most of their next bull selection.
- First, call the seedstock producer and let them know your goals.
- Be prepared to have answers to the following questions:
- Is this bull for heifers, for cows or for both?
- Are you planning to keep back replacement females?
- What’s the average genetic makeup of the herd?
- What’s the market and are you selling feeder calves or selling finished cattle on the grid?
- Are you selling freezer beef? Niche markets will have key traits of importance and the tenderness score is key for producers that sell freezer beef. They don’t want a bull that’s down there in the 1 or 2 range; they want a bull that’s a 5 or higher, so they keep getting rave reviews from their customers.
“If their herd is 75% or more of one breed, they don’t need that breed; they need something that’s going to add hybrid vigor,” explains Bob Weaber from Kansas State University. He says at current prices, they’re putting the advantage of a crossbred cow over a straight-bred cow in a commercial herd at $400 per cow, per year.
“We can’t overlook that,” he stresses. “We need hybrid vigor in the cow herd.”
Genetic Variation and Making Your Best Bull Decision
“There are 1 billion possible combinations from a sire and another 1 billion possible combinations from a dam, which means there are 1 quintillion possible combinations of genes in a full sibling calf crop,” explains Victor Pedrosa, Neogen-GeneSeek director technical genomics & innovation. “Genomics is crucial for genomic selection for young bulls compared to just basing off pedigree.”
Hilton encourages producers to look at both a bull’s phenotype and pedigree and to refer to GE-EPDs for improved clarity and confidence in determining whether he’s right for your herd.
“Parent average EPDs are not always representative of an animal’s true genetic profile,” Hilton says. “I have seen numerous examples where a bull’s EPDs changed significantly after genomic results were added.”
GE-EPDs give cattle producers the best opportunity to learn what a bull will produce so potential problems are avoided. As an example, Hilton refers to his own herd. They sell almost exclusively composite bulls with most of them Balancer, Simmental-Angus, or some three- and four-breed composite bulls with Hereford, Charolais, South Devon and other breeds.
“I had two half-brothers that we sold one year, and we received their initial EPDs after I registered them. Their initial EPDs were fairly similar, but when we received the genomics, these bulls were different as night and day,” Hilton shares. “One was extremely calving ease and the other was not. We used the extremely calving ease bull as an AI sire and have had about 400 calves out of him in commercial and registered herds and essentially had no pulls — whereas the other bull, based on parent average alone, would have initially been sold in our system as a five-star calving-ease bull, and somebody would have been disappointed with that.”
Innovation, Advancement and the Path Forward
Innovation continues to drive genomic technology forward with the producer and tomorrow’s herd in mind. Top of mind are maternal, terminal and health traits.
“An important and recent addition to beef cattle genomics results are health traits,” Hilton says. “As a veterinarian, I’m excited to see things like the bovine congestive heart failure and bovine respiratory disease (BRD) scores on a genomic test. I don’t want to treat animals for bovine respiratory disease. I want to help prevent that disease and knowing the genetic susceptibility can be a real plus.”
Overall, genomics is helping producers to build a more resilient herd.
“Health traits give beef producers another tool to make more informed selection decisions within their herds. By considering disease resistance alongside growth, maternal performance and carcass quality, we can work toward healthier, more productive cattle while keeping profitability at the center of those decisions,” Pedrosa adds.
Looking ahead, innovation and advancements in genomics will continue to drive meaningful genetic progress for herds.
“On the seedstock side, GE-EPDs have changed how we evaluate young cattle, giving producers greater confidence in their genetic potential before they have progeny records of their own,” Pedrosa summarizes. “Looking ahead, I see broader genomic testing and the inclusion of more traits related to health, efficiency and adaptability as opportunities to identify promising breeding animals earlier and accelerate genetic progress beyond traditional production traits.”
Understanding GE-EPDs
Q&A With Victor Pedrosa, Neogen-GeneSeek director technical genomics & innovation
What is a GE-EPD?
Genomically Enhanced Expected Progeny Difference (GE-EPD) combines pedigree and performance data with DNA information from a genomic test for more accurate prediction of genetic merit.
What’s the difference between an EPD and GE-EPD?
An EPD uses performance records and pedigree information to predict genetic differences in performance among the progeny. GE-EPDs incorporate DNA test results to improve prediction accuracy, especially for young animals with limited performance, helping producers make more informed selection and breeding decisions.
How much added accuracy can a GE-EPD provide?
With the additional layer of DNA information, you can potentially increase the accuracy by 25% or more, depending on the trait.
How does it work?
With 100,000 SNPs (Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms, which are differences in an animal‘s DNA sequence at a single DNA letter), in our GGP100K test, for example, we can span the entire bovine genome and predict genomic outcomes for unproven animals.
What are the steps to receive a GE-EPD?
- Collect a DNA sample on the animal (hair, blood or tissue).
- Submit the sample to a breed association or genomic testing provider.
- The sample is soon processed and genomic results are generated.
- The data is incorporated into the breed association’s genetic evaluation and made available for review.
Breed associations may run genetic evaluations monthly or weekly, and earlier testing gives producers genomic data to input into their system for GE-EPDs to act on. Partnerships between genomic solutions providers and breed associations are key to progress in the breed and to moving commercial herds forward.
The Power of GE-EPDs
For Commercial Producers: Genomic testing offers insights into a virgin bull as if he’s already sired 25 calves, even when he’s sired zero.
For Seedstock Producers: Genomically tested bulls have reportedly delivered some $3,330 more value per head and up to a 6,500% ROI on testing costs.
Bottom Line: More accuracy. More confidence. More value.
