by Alison Jones NALF Director of DNA Processing & Accounting Operations
Stayability and Why It Matters
As summer comes to an end and temperatures start to cool down a bit , I hope this time of the year finds you well . I imagine many of you are wrapping up weaning and are getting into harvest . After preg checking this year , stop and think : where is your operation at currently ? Has your crop of replacement heifers met your expectations ? She ’ s deep , she ’ s sound , she has a nice set of numbers , but did she come up open ?
Back in the ’ 90s , Colorado State University developed the EPD that we now know as stayability . But what exactly is stayability ? Stayability , or cow longevity , is defined as the probability of a bull ’ s daughter to stay in the herd and remain productive until six years of age . In
most cases , cows culled before six years of age are not likely to recoup your initial investment . The majority of these cows being culled are for failure to breed , and with the high input costs we see today , cow fertility should be at the forefront . At the end of the day , higher fertility means more pounds to sell next year .
But how useful is the stayability EPD in the actual prediction of cow longevity ? After all , the heritability of reproductive traits is low , suggesting that environmental factors play a huge role in the longevity of the cow herd . However , even in an optimally managed
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60 • OCTOBER 2022