Catawba Valley Cattlemen’s Association  (Eat Hamburgers, and Learn Cattle  on the 2^nd Tuesday of this month)
   This month’s meeting – Tuesday, 6:30 p.m., February 8, 2022. Location: Cooperative Extension Office, ARC Building
GPS address: 1175 South Brady Ave.,  Newton, NC. 28658    Call Glenn if you want to join by Zoom. It will be set up already.

Meeting Agenda      

5:30 p.m.  Hamburgers served.
6:30 p.m. – Business Meeting: Mr. Tyler Lutz, President and Dr. Amanda Whitener, Treasurer.
6:45 p.m.  – EPD Basics,   Speakers: Mr. Brandon Bowman and Andrew Weaver, PhD. In Genetics at VT,
8:00 p.m. – Meeting adjourned.-                             Assistant Professor @ NCSU (Small Ruminant Livestock)

Announcements                          

Ø  FRIDAY night, February 25, we will cook and serve (7 p.m.) a BBQ Meal. We need your help. Plan to attend and work at cooking, serving, or cleaning. We need your help to make this job easy and we enjoy your company! Volunteer at the Tuesday evening meeting for good planning. Call our president, Tyler Lutz (828-302-4423); Treasurer, Dr. Amanda Whitener (339-788-0943); livestock extension agent, Glenn Detweiler (405-219-1902) if you can’t attend the meeting and want to help out at the BBQ meal.

Ø  NC Cattlemen’s Conference Feb.25, 8:45 –Exploring Additional Opportunities for Your Cattle. Making the Most Out of Your Pastures. Afternoon speakers will focus on topics that concern the following Committee Meetings: Cattlewomen, Forage & Grasslands Council, and Stocker & Cattle Feeders, 7 p.m. CVCA serves meal;
Total pre-cost 95.00: Fri.; Friday Educational Package=25.00; with Lunch meal $60.00. Prices are for those paid before Feb. 15. At the door, prices will be higher. Check out: NCcattle.com

Ø  SATURDAY Feb. 26; 9 a.m.-12noon. Bring the entire family (Youth) to the demonstration stations and trade show. Adults $25.00 & $5.00/Youth. Butchery Pop-up, Taking animals across the finish line, ID Slaughter-Ready Cattle, Cooking Beef Pop-up, Building a Successful Freezer Beef Program; Saturday 9:00 a.m.: Educational program & Trade Show: Adults $25.00, Youth: $5.00 Finish at Noon.

Ø  “Your Land, Your Legacy” organized by the Cooperative Extension Service.
Workshop #1 Feb 18, Fri. Shelby; Federal, State & Local Government Land Regulatory Authority;
Workshop #2 Mar. 18, Fri. Vale; Protect Your Farm and Forestland, long-term.
Workshop #3 April 22, Fri. Dallas, The Business of Agriculture, Leases, Finding Land, and much more.
Call ahead for breakfast and meet at 8 a.m. Call 704.922.2118 for Details.

Ø   State Farm Show, NOW – State Fair Grounds, Raleigh, NC Feb. 3-5^th

EPDs and Accuracy
F. David Kirkpatrick,  Professor,    Department of Animal Science

Expected Progeny(Offspring)Differences (EPDs) are reported by most major breed associations and are a means of estimating an individual’s genetic value as a parent for a particular trait. The EPD is a means of predicting differences between progeny(offspring) performance in a particular trait between prospective animals. EPDs are calculated for a number of different traits and reported in the same unit of measurement as the trait. An EPD value can be either a positive or negative value depending on the calculated genetic value of the individual in relationship to its breed. The average of the breed is set at “zero”. Any bull preforming less than zero will have a negative (-) number and if above, a positive (+) number.
Along with the “calculated EPD” (made from records) is an “accuracy value” which is a measure of the reliability of the “calculated EPD” made from records and reflective of the amount of information available used in the calculation. It is a relationship between the calculated EPD of the animal and the true EPD of the animal. Unlike the EPD, accuracy values range from 0 to 1.0 with 1.0 being the perfect calculated EPD or true EPD which is never attained. Most yearling bulls have accuracies from .05 to .35 (like a percent) for growth traits since the calculation of his EPD is based on his own performance record and pedigree information. Older bulls with many progeny information records used in the calculation of their EPD will have higher accuracy values. Accuracy is primarily a function of the amount of information available on an individual. As more information becomes available (progeny records), an animal’s calculated EPD for a trait will change. It can increase or decrease in value.
The best way to evaluate accuracy is to estimate how much the calculated EPD can change as more information is obtained on an animal and used in the estimation of his EPD. That change in an animal’s EPD is called “Possible Change”. Those breed associations which publish a sire summary will have a table with possible change in a trait associated with different accuracy levels. The following Table is from the Angus 2007 Sire Evaluation Report and shows the amount of “possible change” in a birth weight EPD with a particular accuracy.
BW EPD            Accuracy           Possible Change          True EPD Range
Bull A        1.8                      .20                       + or – 2.1                      -0.3 to 3.9
Bull B        1.8                      .85                       + or – .39                      1.4 to 2.19
We would expect that the true EPD for Birth Weight of Bull A would have a 67% chance of being between a – 0.3 (1.8 – 2.1 = -0.3) and + 3.9 (1.8 + 2.1 = 3.9). Bull B’s true EPD for Birth Weight would have a 67% chance of being between +1.41 and +2.19. We never know the true EPD of any trait for any animal, although EPDs for high accuracy bulls closely approach the true value. Accuracy values are a tool for risk management in a breeding program. There would be less risk in using Bull B in breeding heifers due to his higher accuracy for Birth Weight EPD. This illustrates the primary advantage of using high accuracy bulls when using AI on heifers. Regardless of accuracy, EPDs are the most powerful tool to make genetic change in cattle. They are several times more valuable than adjusted weight records or ratios or even visual appraisal.