1. Experiences with the Implementation of Stayability EPD Wade Shafer American Simmental Association Bozeman, MT

2. Fertility Survivability Structural Soundness Disposition Productivity Traits Impacting Stayability IT ’s In There!

3. Does Increasing the Stayability of Your Cowherd Improve Your Bottom Line? Environment Genetics MaybeYes

4. What is the Most Effective Way to Genetically Improve Stayability? Crossbreed!!!!

5. The Biology of Crossbreeding Breed A Stayability Carcass Additive gene action Non-additive gene action EPDs A x B Breed B Heterosis

6. Does a Stayability EPD Have Value? Yes! Improving the additive component of Stayability is like adding icing to the cake

7. The Biology of Crossbreeding Breed A Stayability Additive gene action Non-additive gene action EPDs A x B Breed B Heterosis

8. The Biology of Crossbreeding Breed A Stayability Additive gene action Non-additive gene action EPDs A x B Breed B Heterosis

9. The Biology of Crossbreeding Breed A Stayability Additive gene action Non-additive gene action EPDs A x B Breed B Heterosis

10. The Biology of Crossbreeding Breed A Stayability Additive gene action Non-additive gene action EPDs A x B Breed B Heterosis

11. ASA’s All-Purpose Index Bred to all-aged females Retain replacements Culls sold grade and Yield Straightbred AN cowherd Prices and costs based on 5-yr CattleFax average Does a Stayability EPD Have Value? Using a sire two standard deviations better for Stayability (bottom to top third) improves your profitability by $45/cow exposed LOTS!

12. Is it an economically relevant trait? Stayability EPD Checklist Yes… VERY! Can it be selected for? Yes… but…

13. Challenges with Stayability Stayability is a lowly heritable trait expressed late in life Breed association data tends to be less than ideal for calculating Stay EPD

14. “I don’t need an EPD to make progress in stayability. I just send all my ‘problem’ cows to town.” Challenges with Stay: low heritability trait expressed late in life

15. Without EPDs little if any progress is made in low- heritability traits Phenotypes Stayability

16. Challenges with Stay: low heritability trait expressed late in life Without EPDs little if any progress is made in low- heritability traits low/med-acc EPD Stayability

17. Challenges with Stay: low heritability trait expressed late in life Without EPDs little if any progress is made in low- heritability traits high-acc EPD Stayability

18. “What good is an EPD that doesn’t have much accuracy until a sire is dead and gone?” Challenges with Stay: low heritability trait expressed late in life Good Question!

19. Current options: Challenges with Stay: low heritability trait expressed late in life Future developments: Use the sure-bet “old man” Use several promising young bucks Use all available information:  Move away from pass/fail grading  Add indicator traits to model Gene markers

20. Challenges with Stayability Breed association data tends to be less than ideal for calculating Stay EPD Sketchy—potentially biased May not be reflective of commercial culling

22. Traits Impacting Stayability It’s ALL in there! Fertility Survivability Structural Soundness Disposition Productivity Color Pattern Polled/horned Popularity???

23. Challenges with Stay: breed assoc. data tends to be less than ideal Current options: Future developments: Use common sense Use a few sure-bet “old men” Use several promising young bucks Inventory-based reporting systems User-defined stayability

24. Do Challenges Warrant Ignoring Stay? I Don’t Think So The icing may need work, but it still adds a lot to the cake