KANSAS CITY, Mo. ­­­— Thanks to Hereford breeders’ commitment to the Whole Herd Total Performance Records (TPR) Program, the American Hereford Association (AHA) has created a new expected progeny difference (EPD). The new trait, called mature cow weight (MCW) is designed to allow breeders to select sires that will either increase or decrease mature size of cows in the herd.

The trait was developed throughout the summer of 2011 and released in November after years of cow weight data collection. AHA Chief Operating Officer and Director of Breed Improvement Jack Ward says the EPD will relate directly to the maintenance requirements of a cow herd.

Ward gives an example of how the MCW EPD allows breeders to compare sires. “If sire A has a MCW EPD of 100 and sire B has an EPD of 85, then you would expect the females of sire A, if mated to similar cows, to be 15 lb. heavier at mature size.” 

Also, the Spring 2012 Sire Summary is now online at Hereford.org/siresummary.

The Sire Summary includes a listing of all active sires. The summary also includes an explanation of EPDs, genetic trends, heritability estimates, trait correlations and percentile breakdown of EPDs.

For more about AHA performance programs and EPDs, visit Hereford.org or call 816-842-3757.