Abstract
Abstract This study evaluated changes in performance of bulls enrolled in the Utah Beef Improvement Association’s (UBIA) annual performance tests conducted in accordance with central bull test standards established by the Beef Improvement Federation. Breeds with over 500 bulls enrolled over the period of 2004 to 2018 were included in the evaluation. The breeds with greater than 500 animals evaluated included the Angus, Red Angus, Hereford and Simmental Breeds. Traits evaluated included birth weight, initial weight, a 205-day adjusted weaning weight, final test weight, average daily gain, adjusted yearling weight, and weight per day of age. The mixed model procedure of SAS and interval regression analyses were utilized to evaluate the yearly rate of change for each breed and to determine if that rate of change was significantly different (P < 0.05) between the evaluated breeds. When evaluating all breeds represented across years, significant differences (P < 0.05) were observed for rate of change when evaluating birth weight and 205-day adjusted weaning weight. However, no differences were observed between breeds with more than 500 animals represented. Significant differences (P < 0.05) for rate of change were observed when comparing the top four represented breeds, for average daily gain, initial test weight, final test weight, adjusted yearling weight and weight per day of age. Specifically, a declining trend was noted for all breeds when evaluation all significant traits. When evaluating the previously described traits, the Angus breed was significantly different in its rate of decline when compared to the Red Angus and Hereford breeds. The lone increasing trend was observed in the Hereford breed which had a positive increasing trend for initial test weight which was significantly different (P < 0.05) from both the Angus and Red Angus breeds but not significantly different from the Simmental breed.
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