The International Brangus Breeders Association (IBBA) has announced the release of May 2017 Genomic-Enhanced Expected Progeny Differences (GE-EPDs).

In this round of genetic evaluation, over 1.4 million animals were considered. Of those, GE-EPDs were produced for more than 10,000 Brangus®, Red Brangus, UltraRed and UltraBlack® animals that have either high- or low-density genomic profiles in the database.

“Genomic-enhanced EPDs are a more precise EPD because they combine both performance records and genomic profiles,” said IBBA Executive Vice President Tommy Perkins, PhD., PAS. “GE-EPDs increase the accuracy of each EPD which reduces risk in selecting young breeding animals.”

Members are encouraged to look at their individual profiles on IBBA’s member portal, at int-brangus.org, to see if any animals in their herd have qualified for GE-EPDs. Animals with a GE-EPD are identified on the website with the double helix DNA logo beside the EPD. Additionally, percentile ranks are posted to provide standings for individual traits of animals. These ranks are available on IBBA’s website, at http://www.gobrangus.com/breed-averages-and-percentile-ranks/.