To EPD or Not EPD — That is the Question

This week on Angus Underground, your hosts, David, Joe, and Korbin are discussing the hot topic: to EPD or not EPD. Expected Progeny Differences (EPDs) tend to be one of the most controversial subjects amongst Angus breeders. It is often expressed that there are only two sides to the debate: pro or anti EPDs but David, Joe, and Korbin argue that there’s a third party: the middle ground; that EPDs can be used as a secondary selection tool or a comparison tool between herds. In this episode, Joe, David, and Korbin discuss how the middle ground of EPDs, the pros and cons, and when (and when not) EPDs are worth examining. They speak about how EPDs are calculated (and how they can change as more data comes in), how EPDs are misused, how they use EPDs, the traits they have confidence in vs. those that they do not, the EPDs they are skeptical of, misconceptions, the two different philosophies on genomics and how they have caused a further divide within the industry (similar to EPDs), al...