Three Questions to Ask Yourself When Preparing to Purchase Bulls
Answering these questions leads a producer to the traits that are economically relevant to their enterprise.
February 20, 2025 12:51 PM
With bull buying season in full swing, it’s important for commercial cattle producers to have a game plan for making purchases. Matt Spangler, UNL Professor and Beef Genetics Extension Specialist, says there are three questions producers should ask themselves when evaluating bull purchases.
- What are my breeding/marketing goals?
- Which traits directly impact the profitability of my enterprise?
- Are there environmental constraints that dictate the level of performance that is acceptable for a given trait in my enterprise?
Sire selection should focus on what is economical, Spangler says.
“This requires a true accounting of the traits that generate revenue or incur a cost within a specific beef cattle enterprise,” he says. “Once the drivers of profit have been identified, sire selection should focus on the suite of traits that impact profitability.”
Answering these questions leads a producer to the traits that are economically relevant to their enterprise, which are called Economically Relevant Traits (ERT), meaning they are directly associated with a revenue stream or a cost.
It’s important to note all traits that are not ERTs are indicator traits, or a trait that is genetically correlated to an ERT but not an ERT itself.
To further illustrate this, Table 1 provides a list of currently available EPDs indicating which are ERT and their corresponding indicator traits.
| Economically Relevant Trait | Indicator Trait(s) |
|---|---|
| Calving ease direct | Birth weight |
| Weaning weight direct | Birth weight |
| Yearling weight | Yearling height, weaning weight direct |
| Maternal weaning weight (Milk) | |
| Calving ease maternal | |
| Mature weight | Mature height, yearling weight |
| Heifer pregnancy | Scrotal circumference (bos indicus breeds) |
| Carcass weight | Yearling weight |
| Percent retail cuts, Yield grade | Fat thickness (12th rib and rump), Ribeye area |
| Marbling | Intramuscular fat percentage |
| Tenderness | |
| Dry matter intake | Yearling weight, residual feed intake |
| Stayability | Heifer pregnancy |
| Maintenance energy | Mature weight, maternal weaning weight (Milk) |
In the above list of traits many weight traits (e.g. weaning, yearling, carcass) are listed as ERTs. This is dependent on the individual enterprise’s marketing endpoint.
“If a commercial producer markets calves at weaning then weaning weight or sale weight, is the ERT,” Spangler says.
“If a producer retains ownership through the feedlot phase and sells on a grid then carcass weight is the ERT.”
Spangler points out that from an industry perspective carcass weight is always the ERT, but individual producer goals might dictate alternate marketing endpoints and traits of emphasis.
An example of an indicator trait is birth weight.
“Selection to decrease birth weight in an attempt to reduce the prevalence of dystocia is practiced by numerous commercial bull buyers,” Spangler says. “However, birth weight does not have a direct revenue source or cost associated with it. The trait that does have a cost associated with it is calving ease or difficulty.”
Calving ease is related to the level of assistance needed during a calving event.
“Although the two are related, the genetic correlation between calving ease and birth weight is only between -0.6 and -0.8, suggesting that birth weight only explains 36-64% of the genetic differences between animals for calving difficulty.”
Spangler emphasizes commercial producers should identify their breeding goals and thus the traits that are economically relevant to them.