The reliability of Red Angus Association of America (RAAA) EPDs has now reached new heights. Through a mutually beneficial agreement between RAAA and Pfizer Animal Health, Red Angus stakeholders now have the option of incorporating High-Density 50K (HD 50K) DNA information into EPD calculations.

Through combining genomics, pedigree and RAAA performance records backed by nearly two decades of Total Herd Reporting data, Red Angus stakeholders are provided with the most reliable genetic predictions in the beef industry. EPDs with increased accuracy through addition of the genomic data provides for  greater dependability in predicting the genetic merit of young, unproven cattle, and enhances the scope of selection for difficult, time-consuming and hard-to-measure traits.

The HD 50K information will be simply incorporated into RAAA EPD calculations and will be identical to information gained from an animal’s own performance or progeny’s performance, providing more accurate EPDs sooner in an animal’s life.

By enhancing EPD accuracy values in young cattle, Red Angus stakeholders can make their selection decisions with more confidence in the reliability of an animal’s EPDs. HD 50K information, when integrated into RAAA EPDs, provides the most accurate and complete picture of an animal’s genetic potential enhancing selection, mating and marketing decisions to accelerate genetic progress and expressed productivity.

HD 50K technology is the dependable industry standard for boosting accuracy values in young animals. The technology uses more than 54,000 DNA markers and is benchmarked against 7,900 Red and Black Angus animals to measure 13 economically important traits and to verify parentage.

Pfizer HD 50K Red Angus Press Release

To learn more about Pfizer’s 50K product for Red Angus click here.