Changes to the $Feedlot Calculation :: Since the inception of $Feedlot, the fed cattle marketing sector has seen shifts towards premiums for high-quality product. In recent years, we have also seen an uptick in harvest weights of cattle. This combination of traits continues to place pressure on high-growth, high-marbling genetics to collect top dollar on the rail. Our $Feedlot index adds a new EPD to the formulation’s growth component: Carcass Weight. When the original $F was created, the breed did not have a CW EPD published. Now, thanks to our involvement in the IGS multi-breed eval, that is available, and we can incorporate it into the index alongside WW and YW (the previous growth traits drivers in $F).

If you are aware of market conditions in quality grid-based marketing, you know that Prime premiums and the spread between Choice and Select are as significant now as they have been in some time. The market is paying for a premium product. Taking that into account, you will see an increased value of the MARB EPD in the index, to mirror the increased market premiums noticed for high marbling cattle. The final modification to $F was a slight decrease in the weighting of CED in the index to maintain the formulation balance when changing the other traits currently mentioned. Calving ease has always been included in $F at a small portion to apply pressure against dystocia in a performance-driven index. The $F index is a strictly terminal index: the computer models used to calculate it assume all calves are fed out and harvested on a quality-based grid (not retaining replacement heifers).

BMI: Balanced Merit Index :: During the dive into these indexes, two realizations hit home: that $BMI has indeed been a force in the improvement of Shorthorn cattle over the last decade, and that it is not truly a maternally oriented index as the name indicates. The conversation then pivoted to the utility of the index in its current form. It is not perfect, but it is a useful tool. We did not want to remove the tool from the toolbox, so the decision was made to re-brand the index to better describe what it accomplishes. With $BMI containing a calving ease, growth, maternal, and carcass component, the new name Balanced Merit Index surfaced. The calculations for $BMI remain unchanged. It remains an index where the breeding simulation is designed to retain replacement heifers, while taking cull heifers and the steer crop through the feedyard to market on a quality grid.

There has been a lot of talk about simply adding a trait to BMI and that being a satisfactory move to appease breeders. We studied this intensely and talked to others about the approach of tacking a new trait on to BMI. It was decided that approach wasn’t the most effective route after getting outside opinions. I will discuss this more in a later article.

The New Cow Productivity Index :: Shorthorn breeders mention often that this is a maternally oriented breed of cattle. Thus, the move to include a maternally focused selection tool brought the Cow Productivity Index to the offering. This index emphasizes the traits that breeders and their customers expect of their most successful cows: calving ease, performance to weaning, moderate mature size, milk production, and longevity. You should see the bulls that are cow makers excel, and the cow lines that stand the test of time rise. The models used to build this index include retaining replacement females from the herd, while selling steer calves and cull females by the pound as weaned calves.

With a new index, I know there are lots of questions, and I will attempt to cover many of the questions and commentary around the new CPI in depth in future issues of the Shorthorn Country. For now, the takeaway message is that this index is designed to closely resemble the mode of operation of most commercial Shorthorn bull customers. With many buyers coming to the breed looking for a new piece to make a productive crossbred female with, identifying those genetics that can help them make those selections is as important as ever. You can find numerous studies that highlight the worth of a crossbred female over her straightbred counterpart. When America’s First enters that crossbreeding conversation with the ranchers, it solidifies the value of the purebred Shorthorn.

Wrapping Up & Moving Forward :: First, I want to thank everyone that I worked with during this journey: staff, the ASA board, the breeders who provided feedback, and our consultants, Patrick Wall at Iowa State and Dr. Troy Rowan at Tennessee. Eric Grant and his team at Grant Co. were also beneficial as we named and re-branded these indexes. It was a team effort to get this to fruition. In our discussions with Dr. Rowan, he provided commentary that I believe is worthwhile sharing with you. Troy mentioned that selection indexes are designed with the purpose of making genetic selection easier for our commercial customers. He also relayed his belief that as breeders and seedstock producers, our breeding programs should be fine-tuned via precise selection for individual EPDs to reach our goals. Can indexes be helpful in that? Absolutely they can! But we must be careful using any one index to push our genetics forward. I have yet to find a single number anywhere in the industry that you can count on to accomplish all your selection goals with. “Balance” is a buzzword in the seedstock business right now, and it probably should have been for the last two decades. It’s become one again because many of us forgot to keep it in mind when breeding our cattle, and the customer is seeing the consequences.

Even with the time and effort aimed to help as many breeders as possible, we will not be able to create tools to fit every breeding program to a T. That is why it becomes important for you as a breeder of livestock to study what tools are out there and determine if they work for you or not. You’re not going to offend your staff or leadership if you choose other options to guide the future of your program (if you are respectful going about it). As a breeder, I can tell you that the associations for the breeds of cattle roaming our pastures have genetic tools that we do not utilize because they just don’t fit for the type of cattle we are trying to breed. It’s part of being a responsible, educated breeder to know what works for you and utilize it as best as you can.

In the coming months, there will be more articles and information on CPI and the other indexes as we move into a new era of Shorthorn genetic improvement. This series will continue with a deeper dive on CPI starting next month, and I look forward to seeing some of you build windmills and making efforts to use the best tools for your operation to enable Shorthorn breed improvement.