PrimeTime spring 2018

she might be able to work her way to the bottom. If she tried to move too soon, she didn’t have much of a chance. Of course, she couldn’t take my advice. Thirty seconds after she got her footing, she turned her nose downhill and it was a longer version of her previous tumble. She rolled and crashed and burned for what seemed like five minutes until she ended up in a lifeless heap in the bottom of the draw. It makes for a good story, but it wasn’t fun to watch. It has always bothered me that she squan- dered her second chance. I’m a firm believer in second chances. I’ve been the beneficiary of more than my share of them. Second chances are a unique and beautiful form of freedom. It takes grace and humility to grant them, just as it takes strength and resolve to use them when they’re given to us. Here’s hoping we’re more willing to offer them and more able to grow from them. PT If you are a seedstock producer, you sell to the commercial producer. That’s who your customer is. And seedstock produc- ers must commit to creating a product that benefits the commercial producers. You may ask “What do you get in return for doing all of this work?” You get to charge more for a better product. You have happy and returning customers. You build your brand and your equity. Your industry con- tinues to exist and thrive. PT IRONS IN THE FIRE Continued from page 20 temporary groups. Contemporary groups are animals that have had the same chance to reach their full potential so that you can be sure of what you are selling – genetics. What good is it to have a fancy scale if you didn’t record when an animal got sick and was treated differently than the rest? Or if you didn’t record who the dam was? Or if you didn’t record that you are giving two different kinds of feed to your ani- mals? All of those decisions to record or not record data affect your final product and affect your reputation. Worse yet, they af- fect the industry you belong to, and in turn it affects you.

UNTANGLING THE HELIX Continued from page 18

you see in the DNA molecule is what you get, phenotypically speaking. Complex traits are just that – all-around difficult. They are typically difficult to measure and difficult to quantify the ge- netics behind them. Just a real pain. That’s because their phenotypic expression is dependent on hundreds (sometimes thou- sands) of genes and carries the added complexity of being influenced by the envi- ronment. And that’s where the use of EBVs and EPDs come in. Many economically relevant traits that have a say in your bottom line are complex in nature, and as such, require you to cal- culate the genetic merit by removing the environmental effect that influences them. Of course, that last part is carried out by the genetic evaluation company. But you, as a seedstock producer, are responsible for sending the correct information to those involved in helping you. So, you generate EPDs by collecting phe- notypic data and by properly building con-

WELCOME TO THE TRUE SPIRIT OF THE WEST Set on 30,000 private acres in Wyoming’s Platte River Valley, the award-winning luxury resorts of Brush Creek Ranch present guests with the grandeur of the American West. “We proudly present an excellent set of full blood seed stock and F2 females. The Akaushi brand sets the standard for our vision of sustainable ranching and is unveiled in pasture-to-plate offerings to our esteemed guests.” —Ron Hawkins, Ranch Manager of Brush Creek Ranches

SARATOGA, WY | BRUSHCREEKRANCH.COM

For more info about our Akaushi Cattle Program Contact: Ronald.hawkins@brushcreekranch.com | 307.327.5284

Akaushi Prime Time • Spring 2018

30