Purchasing a bull is one of the most consequential decisions a cow-calf operation can make. Bulls play an outsized role in the long-term genetic progress of our herds, especially when females are retained.

As the genetics business becomes increasingly competitive, commercial cattlemen and seedstock producers are ramping up their efforts to market the most desired traits as efficiently as possible. Among the ways they have accomplished this is developing composite herd sires.

A healthier herd. It’s a simple-sounding concept that’s proven difficult in practice. Finding genetics that resist routine pathogens across environments on dairy farms has been a focus of the industry over the last 10 years

Expected progeny differences (EPDs) have been an integral part of cattle buying and breeding since before McDonald’s introduced the Angus burger. Though not without flaws, they have changed the cattle industry.