Beef Short Horn USA

The Shorthorn breed of cattle originated on the northeastern coast of England in the counties of Northcumberland, Durham, York and Lincoln. The first real development of the breed occurred in the valley of the Tees River about 1600. The large framed cattle that inhabited this fertile valley became known as Teeswater cattle.

The breed later spread to Scotland and then to America in 1783. When first brought to Virginia, the breed had attained the name Durham. It was the first improved breed to be imported here and the qualities that the animal possessed made it in great demand and its influence spread rapidly across America.

Shorthorns were popular with America’s early settlers. They valued this breed for meat and milk and found Shorthorns a willing power for the wagon and plow as well. The breed followed pioneer wagons across the Great Plains and into the far west. By 1854, midwestern farmers had begun direct importations from Scotland, concentrating their efforts on Shorthorns strictly for beef production.

Even in its early history, the breed was recognized because of its ability to adapt. It could be easily bred with the Spanish breed, Longhorns, brought in earlier by conquistadors. These early animals fit neatly in the time period to meet demand and needs during the early development of the beef cattle industry.

Although Shorthorns came first, midwesterners in 1870 discovered ‘natural hornless’ cattle occurred from time to time in horned herds. Thus, Polled Shorthorns were discovered and were the first major beef breed to be developed in the United States, having gained its origin in 1881 in Minnesota. Polled Shorthorns possess the same qualities for adaptability, mothering ability, reproductive performance, good disposition, feed conversion, longevity and popularity as their horned counterparts.

The American Shorthorn Association is pleased to present the Sire Evaluation on the Internet. We would like to hear your comments regarding the program, especially how the service could be improved and if you have had any problems whilst using the service.

Instructions for the Sire Selector

With the Sire Selector, you can locate bulls from the latest American Shorthorn Association Sire Summary based upon name, registration number, age, EPD and/or accuracy criteria. Any combination of these criteria can be used.

Name and Identification number

All or part of the name of the bull can be used. The search is not case specific. You can search for animals by sire lines. You may also identify bulls by their Association registration number.

EPD’s and Accuracies

You may enter search criteria for all, none, or as many of these variables as you like. Bulls may be selected on EPDs that fall between the minimum (Min) and maximum (Max) ranges that you desire. For example, entering 35 in the Min Weaning EPD field while leaving the Max field blank, will select all bulls with a Weaning EPD greater than 45 pounds. If you wish to identify any bulls with no more than 2 pounds of birth weight EPD, then enter 2 in the Max Birth EPD field and leave the Min field blank.

Sorting

You can sort the specified bulls based upon the range of fields found in the scrolling Sort field at the bottom of the input screen.

Printing
If you decide to print the results, and they do not fit across the page then you must reduce the font size in your browser to make it fit. In Netscape this is done by going to the Options menu, selecting General Preferences, then going to the Fonts page and clicking on the Choose Font button for the Use the Proportional Font setting.
If you encounter any errors or bugs, please contact Klint Gore at the Agricultural Business Research Institute.

Sire Selector – How to read the results
Birth EPD (Pounds) is based on the measured birth weight of progeny, adjusted for dam age. The lower the value the lighter the calf at birth and the lower the likelihood of a difficult birth. This is particularly important when selecting sires for use over heifers.

Weaning EPD (Pounds) is calculated from the weight of progeny taken between 80 and 300 days of age. Values are adjusted to 205 days and for age of dam. This EPD is the best single estimate of an animal’s genetic merit for growth to early ages.

Yearling EPD (Pounds) is calculated from the weight of progeny taken between 301 and 450 days of age, adjusted to 365 days and for age of dam. This EPD is the best single estimate of a sire’s genetic merit for yearling weight.

Milk EPD (Pounds) is an estimate of an animal’s milking ability. For sires, this EPD indicates the effect of the daughter’s milking ability, inherited from the sire, on the weaning weight of her calves. For dams, it indicates her own milking ability.

Total Maternal EPD (Pounds) is a combination of Milk and Weaning EPDs and estimates the genetic merit of the animal to produce a calf at weaning.

Carcass Weight EPD (Pounds) is calculated from carcass data available on the progeny of sires. Positive values indicate heavier carcass weights.

Fat Thickness EPD (inches) is derived from carcass measurements taken from the three-quarter length of the longissimus dorsi muscle (ribeye) between the 12th and 13th rib. Positive values indicate animals with more fat thickness at this point, which is a good predictor of overall carcass fatness.

Ribeye Area EPD (square inches) is calculated from carcass measurements ar area taken between the 12th and 13th rib, and is closely associated with percent retail product when carcass weight is held constant. Positive values indicate larger ribeye areas.

Marbling Score EPD is calculated from numeric scores assigned to each carcass quality grade division. Positive EPD values indicate greater numeric marbling scores.
Accuracy – Each EPD is presented with an associated accuracy figure. Accuracy expresses the reliabilty of the EPD and in presented as a number between .01 and .99
No. of Herds – is the number of herds from which progeny data on the sire has been analysed.

No. of Progeny Observed – is the number of progeny whose performance records have been analysed to evaluate the sire.
No. of Daughters – is the number of daughters that have calves performance recorded at Weaning.