January 2026 NEBRASKA CATTLEMAN 37 Full EPD’s, Performance Data, Ultrasound, Pelvic and Scrotal Measurements. Call us for more information on bulls or if you have questions on how the sale works. S DIAMOND ANGUS Kim & Lindy Siebert 108 Road 3 • Henderson, NE 68371 • 402-723-4376 Cell Numbers: Kim (402) 366-8664 & Kendall (308) 850-5157 In Pursuit of Excellence, where the only Extreme we Pursue is Extremely well Balanced! Saturday • March 7, 2026 11:30am • 2:00pmCST You are invited to our 36th Annual SDIAMOND ANGUS Bull Sale 23 YEARLING ANGUS BULLS 21 YEARLING RED ANGUS BULLS Check out all the bulls at: sdiamondangus.com that the bull’s true genetic value is represented by their predicted genetic value (i.e., EPDs). There is still uncertainty in yearling bulls, because they simply have not had registered offspring to increase the accuracy of their EPDs even more. However, genomics has gone a long way to increase accuracy. MULTIPLE TRAIT SELECTION There are multiple traits that impact profitability, and thus selecting bulls requires contemplating multiple traits simultaneously. I suspect most people use what would be called independent culling levels (ICL). An ICL is the process of setting thresholds that a bull must meet before he can be considered. Bulls not meeting or exceeding the threshold for any trait is then removed from the candidate list. This process is flawed for several reasons. The bull that misses one threshold, by only a small amount, might more than make up for the small deficiency by superiority in all other traits making him the most likely to increase profitability. The process of using ICL assumes that all traits are equal in terms of their economic impact. The majority of beef breed associations offer at least one economic selection index. These tools are an index of multiple EPD weighted by their economic value. It’s important to use indexes appropriately. Some are designed for terminal matings only (i.e., Angus $B, Limousin $TPI, etc.), while other are designed for those who retain replacements and sell cull heifers and steers (i.e., Simmental API, Hereford BMI, etc.). Using the appropriate economic index can greatly simplify the sire selection decision making process. For bull buyers, and bull sellers, that wish to develop more customizable economic indexes, there are options. The Beef Improvement Federation offers a web-based decision support tool called iGENDEC (https://beefimprovement.org/igendec). This software allows users to input their operational costs, pricing schedule for calves sold, current levels of phenotypic performance, breed composition of cows and other details that are unique to their enterprise. The result are weights for each trait in the customized index. Users who know more about the current performance of their herd (or their customers’ herds) will benefit more from using iGENDEC. CONCLUDING THOUGHTS Bull-buying season is upon us once again. This year, resolve to use science-based tools to select bulls. If a commercial producer is profit motivated, and I recognize that not all are, then it is hard to rationalize a breeding system that does not involve crossbreeding and a sire selection plan that does not use EPDs and/or economic selection indexes. Cattle breeding is a long-term process; the decisions we make today impact subsequent generations of family members who take over the family business. I would simply ask that we set the stage for the next generation of cattle producers to enable them to be successful – using science in a simplified form such as EPDs and economic selection indexes does that. ~NC~
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