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PERFORMANCE DATA |
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Expected Progeny Differences (EPDs) were developed to provide cattle producers with an effective tool to evaluate prospective breeding stock. As the name implies, EPDs predict the performance of future offspring from an individual animal. More specifically, EPDs predict the genetic transmitting ability of an individual as a parent. Using EPDs can increase the rate of genetic progress in a selection program. National Cattle Evaluation (NCE) models include:
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- Performance records of the individual, parents, progeny, and relatives
- Contemporary group adjustment for environmental and management group effects
- Calculations incorporating genetic relationships (correlations) between traits.
- Adjustment for differences in relative merit of a contemporary group
- Adjustment for genetic merit of females/males mated to individual breeding animals (elimination of bias due to an animal being bred to individuals that are superior or inferior in terms of genetic merit).
- Adjustments for genetic trend.
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