Champions Named at NAILE Eastern National Gelbvieh Show

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Note to editors: High-resolution press quality photos are available by contacting Jennifer Scharpe, American Gelbvieh Association director of communications at jennifers@gelbvieh.org or 303-465-2333.

The 2013 Eastern National Gelbvieh and Balancer® Show was held at the North American International Livestock Exposition on Tuesday, November 19, in Louisville, Ky. A total of 83 animals were exhibited by breeders from across the country. Judge Jack Ward, Kansas City, Mo., evaluated the 42 Gelbvieh females, 17 Gelbvieh bulls, 16 Balancer females and 8 Balancer bulls.

The grand champion Gelbvieh female was exhibited by JW LeDoux, Agenda, Kan. MDR Princess 200Z is an April 3, 2012 daughter of BCFG Butlers Red Oak 908W. This champion female first claimed the junior heifer division.

Coming out of the same junior heifer division is the reserve champion Gelbvieh female. Pleasant Meadows Farm, Glasgow, Ky., showed CIRS PMFG Eye Candy 2101Z, a January 21, 2012 daughter of CRAN Buddy Boy T729.

Overmiller Gelbvieh and Emily Griffiths of Smith Center, Kan., own the grand champion Gelbvieh bull. GGGE 3G Zip Line 266Z is an April 18, 2012 son of GGGE 3G Excellence 063X. This bull was first named champion junior bull.

Emily Griffiths, Kendallville, Ind., showed the reserve champion Gelbvieh bull. GGGE 3G Aristotle 320A ET is a January 13, 2012 son of GGGE 3G Time Machine 758T ET, who first claimed the winter bull calf division.

In the Balancer show, grand champion Balancer female went to BCFG Butlers Ms Oak Leaf 534. Exhibited by Bradley Piles, she is a December 5, 2011 daughter of BCFG Butlers Red Oak 908W and was first named champion senior heifer.

The reserve champion Balancer female was exhibited by Garrett Teeter, Mt. Ulla., N.C. PLA Miss Zelda 20Z is a February 12, 2012 daughter of S A V Pioneer 7301 who was first named champion junior heifer.

The grand champion Balancer bull was GGGE 3G Agustus 317A exhibited by Emily Griffiths. This January 12, 2013 calf sired by S A V Bismark 5682 came out of the winter bull calf division.

Butler Creek Farms of Milton, Tenn., showed the reserve champion Balancer bull. BCFG Butlers Black Oak is a November 8, 2012 son of BCFG Butlers Red Oak 908W. He first claimed the senior bull calf division.

The premier breeder and premier exhibitor awards both went to Emily Griffiths. Cody Moore of Fountain Run, Ky., was named the premier herdsman.

The 2013 NAILE Junior Gelbvieh Show was held on Sunday, November 17. A total of 14 Gelbvieh heifers were evaluated by Jake Scott, Gordon, Neb.

The grand champion Gelbvieh heifer was exhibited by Colton Kitley, Flora, Ill. KIT Grace Z63 is an October 26, 2012 daughter of DCSF Post Rock Granite 200P2.

The reserve champion Gelbvieh heifer went to Elizabeth Beer, Milford, Ind. BAKR All Spice 301A ET is a January 2, 2013 daughter of SLC Freedom 178F ET.

Austin Teeter, Mt. Ulla, N.C., exhibited the grand champion bred and owned Gelbvieh heifer. AMT Virginia 27Z is a November 1, 2012 daughter of GHGF Mr Temptation 43U.

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Impacting the beef business with selection indexes

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Providing world-class selection tools to Gelbvieh and Balancer® breeders and their commercial customers is a high priority of the American Gelbvieh Association. Reliable indexes backed by sound science help producers analyze economically relevant traits.

Just over one year ago, the American Gelbvieh Association Board of Directors targeted development of a maternal index as the number one priority in the AGA’s Impacting the Beef BusinessTM long-range strategic plan. This decision was indisputable given that from day one, the Gelbvieh breed has demonstrated its superior maternal characteristics both at research institutions like the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center and across the beef industry. Providing Gelbvieh and Balancer® breeders and their commercial customers with the best possible tool for maternal selection makes great sense.

Why indexes?

Can’t we just continue using individual EPDs and mix and match traits to suite our needs? Certainly, but the power of indexes is that they include multiple traits, weighted by their economic importance. In other words, there is a lot of information and science behind an index that simplifies selection and provides greater assurance of making accurate, long-term selection decisions. Yes, producers could continue to estimate what traits to include in their own selection schemes and speculate on how much emphasis to place on each trait. However, today we have the science and know-how to do much better.

Indexes aren’t new. Early indexes were proposed by two renowned scientists, Drs. Hazel and Lush, nearly 70 years ago and have been used in the poultry and swine industries for the last 20 plus years. Different indexes can have different end-points such as carcass, feeder calf value, feed efficiency and maternal. Indexes may include anywhere from two to as many as a dozen traits and are usually expressed in dollars per head.

The Gelbvieh and Balancer maternal index

Soon after the Board’s decision, the AGA contracted with Dr. Michael MacNeil of Delta Genomics to develop a maternal index. Dr. MacNeil is a geneticist and biometrician with 30 plus years experience at the USDA Livestock and Range Research Station near Miles City, Montana.

The first step was to analyze the AGA database and create EPDs for key components of the index not already in existence. New research EPDs were developed for heifer pregnancy, 30-month pregnancy and mature size. These EPDs were combined with several others including direct and maternal calving ease, weaning weight, milk, stayability and average daily gain to create the prototype maternal index.

The next steps

Association staff is working with Dr. MacNeil and an industry oversight committee to predict the long-term impact of selection using the maternal index. It is anticipated that the new maternal index will make its official debut in the January 2014 AGA Sire Summary. Two additional indexes will also be reviewed by the AGA Industry Oversight and Breed Improvement committees for potential inclusion in the 2014 Sire Summary.

These new indexes, combined with the power of genomic-enhanced EPDs, will provide Gelbvieh and Balancer breeders with world-class selection tools. It’s another example of doing all we can to positively impact our commercial customers and the entire beef business.

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