• Breed Improvement Information
• Registry Information
• YCSA News
• Simmental Country News
• CSA Foundation Auction

• Simmental Events Across the Country
• CSA Membership Announcements
• Calendar of Events
• Quote of the Month

Ultrasound rebate program still in effect:  Funds are still available under the CSA ultrasound rebate program. Members are encouraged to book scan sessions early to ensure they have access to a technician. Scans collected under the UGC protocol are included in the CSA genetic evaluation for carcass merit.  Technicians can be found at www.ultrasoundbeef.com .

Importance of Complete Reporting:  Let’s look at a simple example where a producer doesn’t report the bottom 20% of the weaning weights on his calves.

WWT	Full	Partial
Top 20%	750	750
60-80%	700	700
40-60%	650	650
20-40%	600	600
Bottom 20%	550
Avg	650	675

This simple change drags the index down on the top 20% of calves from 115 to 111, and more importantly it pulls their contemporary group deviation down by 25 pounds. The contemporary group deviation is the weaning weight – the group average weaning weight, and it is a key component of EPD calculation. The top 20% of the calves go from a WWT deviation of +100 (750 – 650) down to +75 (750 – 675). Perhaps even more importantly is that the calves in the middle of the pack (40-60%) now go from a deviation of 0 down to -25. Not reporting the bottom of the pack has dragged down the EPD of the better calves in the herd.)

The final and most important part of the equation is that this can really change how sires rank in the herd. Let’s build on our previous example. Let’s say that this whole herd consists of 50 calves and that one sire produced all of the calves in the bottom 20% of the herd (10 calves). He is obviously not doing a very good job. That same sire produced 1 calf in the top 20%. If we figure out his progeny’s average deviation across the whole herd it is -82 pounds. Self explanatory that this bull will not be used again, but…
If the producer doesn’t report the bottom 20% that same sire now has a progeny performance of +75 and he looks pretty good.

This is an extreme case, however work shows dramatic re-ranking of sires and unpredictable effects on EPDs by failing to report on every cow. The more selective the reporting, the larger the effect may be.

Heifer Pregnancy Data:  The CSA appreciates that members may choose not to register or enrol a replacement heifer until she has completed a breeding season and had the opportunity to conceive. With this in mind and recognizing the importance of fertility and heifer pregnancy rates to our commercial customer’s profitability, enrolment forms now print with unregistered yearling females at the end of the list. These are printed solely for the collection of heifer pregnancy data. Please take the time to advise if any of these heifers were exposed to a sire or AI, and if they subsequently came up bred or open at pregnancy checking. This data is extremely important and useful to showcase the inherent fertility of the Simmental breed and also for selection decisions and genetic evaluation. Building the female trait dataset is important as it helps to build on the recognized natural maternal strengths of the Simmental breed.

Breed Improvement Committee Meeting:  The Breed Improvement Committee will be meeting October 22nd, prior to the CSA board meetings. The committee is responsible for developing and reviewing technical programs of the association and providing recommendations to the CSA board of directors. Under the guidance of the committee such programs as the Cow Herd DNA collection program, Ultrasound and Carcass rebate program, Progeny Test program, Calving books and advancement of the genetic evaluation have all occurred. A breed improvement committee report will be provided after the meetings.

back to top

back to top

October Simmental Country Online

The first  online issue of the Simmental County magazine is now available on the Simmental Country website www.simmentalcountry.com.  Check it out.  Also the hard copies of this magazine will be arriving in mailboxes across the country in the next few days. 

Please make sure to note the following deadlines!

Should you have any questions regarding the new online version of the magazine, or the new electronic options for advertising please do not hesitate to contact Margo, Darryl or Bruce. We would be happy to hear from you.

"He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much."
-... Bessie A. Stanley www.inspirational-quotations.com

back to top

Give us your feedback