1、20252025WELCOME2025BRIAN MCCULLOHMANAGING THE COW&THE CARCASSWOODHILL ANGUSManaging the Cow&the CarcassBalanced Trait SelectionManaging the Cow&the CarcassDuring our early years,we thought we knew what the“best cattle looked like.”Managing the Cow&the CarcassConfirmation Bias The tendency to look fo
2、r facts and experiences that support our opinion.Ignoring what doesnt support our opinion.Our brains like consistency and dislike being wrong.Its easier to stick with what is familiar.Managing the Cow&the CarcassWoodhill operated for 40 years with intuition and pattern recognition using EPDs as they
3、 became available.Managing the Cow&the CarcassIn order to achieve our breeding objectives,we started with EPDs.Managing the Cow&the CarcassThe“why”of EPDs rather than using individual performance data by itself.Managing the Cow&the CarcassThe heritability of a trait=separating genes from environment
4、 or luck.Managing the Cow&the CarcassManaging the Cow&the CarcassIf a trait is heritable and you consistently apply selection pressure,you will affect the trait.Math and computing power assess information from the animal,parents,siblings,cousins and the animals own progeny.Managing the Cow&the Carca
5、ssManaging the Cow&the CarcassA Timeline of Progress EPDs were a real breakthrough in the 1980s.EPDs replaced EBVs in 1987 at AAA.By 1989 NCE was conducted twice annually instead of only once per year.In 1996,AAA published the first online Sire Evaluation Report.Angus brought their genetic evaluatio
6、n in-house in 2002.The first$Value indexes were calculated for Angus cattle in 2003.By 2009,the first GE-EPDs were calculated and NCE for carcass traits was conducted on a weekly basis.Managing the Cow&the CarcassA Timeline of Progress(continued)In 2017,AAA released their first Single Step Genomic B