52 NEBRASKA CATTLEMAN March 2026 direct-risk indicator of high-mountain disease or brisket disease, a cardiac condition that can lead to heart failure for animals at elevation. Conversely, hair shedding is a more general adaptation indicator without a clear economic value itself – we don’t get paid more for early-shedding animals. However, it does have far-reaching impacts on other traits – cows with favorable hair shedding phenotypes tend to wean off significantly heavier calves. Both PAP and HS are straightforward enough to collect that sufficient records have been captured to create EPDs. Adaptive indicator traits are only helpful in the proper environmental context. For example, an animal grazing at 500 feet above sea level is unlikely to experience brisket disease, and an animal in Minnesota is unlikely to see the same value of a favorable hair shedding phenotype as one in Kentucky. Adaptive traits should be evaluated alongside genetic potential for other economic drivers, ideally using a selection index. HS and PAP offer blueprints for the continued development of adaptive indicator traits for other environmental stressors. Indicator traits for cold stress, pathogen resistance, foraging ability and water use could all help identify animals well-suited for specific stressful environments. These phenotypes will need to be very easily measured in order to assemble datasets large enough to develop selection tools (i.e. EPDs). Environment-Aware Selection Tools The third and final genetic approach to breeding animals adapted to their environment is to directly account for environment and management in EPD calculations and deliver predictions specific to an environmental context. This is easier said than done as these models are highly complex. GENETIC TOOLS FOR BREEDING BETTER ADAPTED CATTLE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 50 CONTINUED ON PAGE 54 The ultimate goal of this work is to help provide improved genetic decision support tools to commercial producers. SELLING GENETIC ADVANTAGED FEED EFFICIENT BULLS STACKED WITH PERFORMANCE WEBO Angus TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2026 • AT THE RANCH • LUSK, WY 8 miles east on Hwy. 20 to Node, then 0.6 miles south on Pfister Rd. LUNCH: NOON • SALE: 1:00 PM BUTTONS YORK & FAMILY P.O. Box 848 • Lusk, Wyoming 82225 Button’s Cell (307) 216-0090 • Odessa’s Cell (307) 340-1182 Elly’s Cell (307) 340-1499 www.WEBOANGUS.com Annual Turning Grass into Green backs Bull Sale Chex is Locked & Loaded a performance bull with top of the line efficiency and High Maternal, excellent feet Top 4% WW; Top 5% YW Top 5% $M Top 1% $W top 20% $C. Midland Bull Test Efficiency Rating of 112%; His first heifers are calving this spring Moore Big Chexs 481A Introducing Another New Herd Sire: From the High Line, Chinook MT; He's Packed with muscle & bred to be a Maternal Power House he's in the Top 30% for $M with ENOUGH Calving Ease; WW; YW & Carcass! We got him to kick Maternal up through the Goal Posts. He'll have calves in 2028 Sale Shipwheel Dreamer 4723 Come look over the 2026 Sale Bulls Packed With Performance and Maternal, they'll work in banana belt known as Wyoming: AI SIRES: Couch Congress • Sitz Domain • Bear Mt North Star • Basin Jameson Basin Keystone • M Diamond Ranahan HERD BULLS: Big Chexs • Confidence 035 • Justified 2136 • Flat Top 372
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