Well for starters the data you get back goes towards your pedigree EPD's. And the only way to get that is by having a Certified C.U.P. / U.G.C. Technician scan your animals. Lets say you have a buyer interested in a few of your bulls or replacement heifers. All have been ultrasounded so you know what that animal will give you genetically. An animal that has a 15 inch ribeye should be worth more to you than an animal with a 12 inch ribeye. Same goes for the %IMF. An animal that produces prime grade beef compared to select grade should be worth much more to you. You pay more for higher quality beef at the store, so should your customers. Use the data in your marketing campaign and to the improvement of your herd. The scan information can be used with your heifers to make sound breeding decisions that can help improve the areas that are lacking or behind breed average. Plus the data can be used to cull the bottom end that are not meeting carcass goals of the operation.

Breeders should receive what's called a barn sheet after submitting weaning weights to breed association. A full or partial list of your animals that are eligible for scanning will be on it. A copy can sometimes be downloaded from the associations website anytime after your weaning information has been submitted. The barn sheet must accompany the images when the data go to the lab for processing.

There are four objectives we cover when scanning cattle. %IMF or intramuscular fat, rump fat and rib fat, and the total ribeye size. All areas are heritable and these traits will be passed down to the cattles progeny. For a rundown on each individual trait with sample images, please go

When is the best time to ultrasound my cattle for carcass data and pedigree EPD's

Why should I ultrasound my cattle?

What are some of the ways I can use the Ultrasound Data in my program?

Go to Page 2 of FAQ's

What area or region do you ultrasound in?

What are the traits you ultrasound for?

here.

Who can ultrasound my cattle for carcass data and pedigree EPD's?

What paper work do I need prior to scan day?

I cover a pretty big area on the West Coast. I'm currently scanning cattle in Oregon, Nevada, Arizona and all of California.

Only certified U.G.C. ultrasound technicians can scan your cattle for genetic evaluation and your EPD's. Both technician and the equipment must be certified every two years by the UGC to remain active.

Cattle are scanned as yearlings and must fall within the prescribed age limits set by the U.G.C. I always recommend scanning your animals as late in the age range as possible. 400 days old on both your bulls and heifers is a good bench mark to shoot for. But remember your sale or breeding dates may dictate when you have to scan your cattle. For a complete rundown on the age scanning window, go

here.

Would it be useful to know how much fat your animal has? Or would it be nice to know how large the ribeye is? What about the intramuscular fat? Is that important in your operation? Is it beneficial for you to know what kind of beef you're producing in your herd? Whether you are a pure bred breeder or selling on the grid, you should know the full potential of your animals. The traits we ultrasound for are hereditary and will be passed down to their offspring. Knowing the genetic make up of your cattle will assist you in your bull buying, replacement heifers, breeding and culling decisions. The more you know about your cattle and the more data you can provide potential buyers, the better off you will be.

What kind of facilities are needed to scan cattle?

A full working squeeze chute in a must for normal range cattle while show animals can be scanned in a fitting or blocking chute. A safe, grounded 110 outlet or power generator is also needed.

Go to Page 3 of FAQ's

Review some of the breeds leading AI bulls and how they look from an ultrasound perspective

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