05/18/05 Not EPD

Not EPD All the numbers and values that are available on projected performance of cattle today are helpful, but sometimes the animal itself can predict productivity. I'm Jeff Keane; I'll be right back to talk about that. So much selection of bulls and heifers to go back to the breeding herd is done by looking at numbers and projected efficiency, but sometimes in commercial herds all those estimates aren't available so ranchers need to actually look at their cattle and know the animals can tell something of their productive worth. That's what Gerald Fry, animal specialist from Rose Bud, Arkansas, has been doing and teaching about for the last 40 years. Fry says so many of the performance estimates are based on "grain genetics" and how cattle will perform in the feedlot. Many of these high performance animals will not do so well on grass pastures and grass is basically what producers are marketing. Cattle that do well on grass will perform well on grain. Fry states hair coat, body condition, and body type are real indicators of an animal's fertility and health. A good hair coat with an oily sheen says that animal is in good health. Heifers should have two to three tenths of an inch of back fat by the time they are yearlings which indicates they are good foragers and can perform on grass. Cattle with wide shoulders and deep heart girths will have stamina for range conditions, while a wide rump indicates plenty of room to carry a large loin which is a valuable carcass cut. Cattle that are too tall mature late which is not efficient. With all the emphasis on projected performance numbers it's nice to have someone like Gerald Fry to remind us to just look at our cattle and understand what the animal can tell us. I'm Jeff Keane. BEEF April 2005