ABS deal

[aj]

The ABS semen company lists bulls with a star system......1-4 stars for calving ease and 1-4 stars for carcass qualities. Marbling and cutability are antagonistic to each other. How or why does the semen stud continue to use these markers? Marbling and cutability sould be seperated....or not?

 

[B K]

Many people may take this the wrong way, but in my opinion it's a way of dumbing down breeding to make selection easier for the buyer and sales easier for the seller. They have tools to make the better breeding points of a bull look good, thus filling a niche they can sell semen to.

 

[aj]

I would tend to agree......like the Red Angus bull Lancer 442. He was a 4 star calving ease and 4 star carcass bull. How could you go wrong with that? I am fairly invested  in these genetics. But then you wonder.......is he a marbling bull or a cutability bull. Then you have to break down to the EPD's. I guess it is probably just a hook for someone flipping through the pages of a semen book. It gets your attention and makes you take a harder look.

 

[librarian]

I don't think it's dumbing down so much as rounding of the extremes. Where trade offs are concerned, mass marketing will attempt to reach the maximum demand.
This is a pretty good summary of the trade offs, if a little dated.
http://www.thebeefsite.com/articles/1961/beef-grades-and-carcass-information/

But, this info was in the conclusions and, 10 years later, Branded Beef for premium markets is gaining a much larger market.

The 2005 National Beef Quality Audit indicated that 62 and 42 per cent of branded beef programs had specifications for marbling and Yield Grade, respectively. Producers who provide carcass information to potential buyers position themselves to be rewarded for producing a quality product - See more at: http://www.thebeefsite.com/articles/1961/beef-grades-and-carcass-information/#sthash.t4oZVxG8.dpuf

 

[oakview]

ABS used a star rating system 45 years ago.  I've got an early 70's ABS catalog, but I'd have to look again to see if how many stars they used.  I think it would be interesting to follow up on the stars used on the various bulls in the late 60's and early 70's and compare it with how they actually performed.  Sullivans use a star rating system in their No Bull sale catalog. 

 

[aj]

The star deal works. Kit Pharo uses a star deal and alot of people do. It is handy and quick. If you got a bull buyer that comes in and is looking at a 100 bulls in a sale catalog it helps them sort. Your mind would explode if you tried to looks at epds and be marking out your favorites. Its just that the term carcass quality can mean two different antagonistic traits.