Executive Summary
Changing with the Times
By Mark Anderson, NALF executive director
Additional changes and
upgraded services continue to
drive the mission of the NALF
board and its direction to staff to
serve membership. The advent
of the BOLT cattle evaluation
and its weekly updates from
IGS will bring a much-needed
update to the Cornell method
of calculating EPDs. We will
see improvements to our
birthweight and calving ease
traits. Additionally, ribeye area
will increase with the switch,
but will also see some change
in the standard deviations on
our cattle. Outlier cattle will
narrow which will mean some
decrease on top end cattle
will occur with this new, more
accurate method of evaluation.
Rankings of individuals will
not change dramatically but
there will be some individual
cattle that will lose or gain
ground. The accuracies on
cattle will decrease overall,
but these will be a more
realistic prediction of what the
individual’s true accuracies are
in the new evaluation process.
Spring bull sale season has
been completed for 2018
throughout the country.
As expected, commercial
cattle market declines left
sales softer within all breeds
throughout the country, with
commercial cattlemen being
8 | MAY 2018
more conservative in their
buying approach this spring.
Although sale averages were
down in some areas, they
held up better than some had
expected given the decline on
feeder cattle prices midway
through the sale season.
deficiency in a few traits will still
command value. Everybody’s
program is different, everybody
has current customers they
need to satisfy for their
unique geographic location
and marketplace and they
need to do what is successful
for their own operation.
What was apparent in most sales
was the fact that the higher
Performance numbers, calving
quality performance bulls that
ease and maternal traits remain
excelled or were above breed
critical to most cattlemen and
average EPDs were still of
we have many cattle that fit
high value
the ticket regarding
throughout
those traits. Many
Offering cattle to
the spring
operations are now
commercial
cattlemen
sale season,
beginning to focus
that can cover all bases on improving their
at most sale
will attract additional
venues.
marbling EPDs,
Quality
which will help
potential buyers, if
seedstock
breed demand in the
they can take one less
are still in
long run. Improving
worry off the plate and this trait without
demand,
still maintain all other
backed by
trying to single
performance
trait select will just
production traits.
data, in
enhance the value
addition
of Limousin in the
to the backup of genomically
commercial cattle business
enhanced EPDs. Cattle that
throughout the United States.
struggled were typically on
Offering cattle to commercial
the back 25% of most sale
cattlemen that can cover all
offerings, as buyers remain
bases will attract additional
discriminate in their approach
potential buyers, if they can
to purchases for their cowherds.
take one less worry off the
Continuing to focus on
plate and still maintain all
producing cattle that excel
other production traits. It is
across the board on all traits
also opportunity for seedstock
without leaving a glaring
breeders in determining mating