Estimating the Economic Value of Specific Characteristics Associated with Angus Bulls Sold at Auction

331

in future production sales. In fact, as the
purebred bull market continues to evolve,
more emphasis will likely be placed on EPD
information.

The results of this study facilitate the
estimation of relative bull prices. It is impor-
tant to note, however, that other consider-
ations, such as physical appearance and
structural soundness, are often used by buyers
to determine price and that these factors are
not included in our models. These subjective
measures may be as important to buyers as the
genetic information contained in EPDs and
actual weights and, at times, are certainly
significant in determining value. This does not

imply that the exclusion of this information
damages the results of this study. The large
sample sizes used in the models provide
enough variation among the observations to
provide reliable estimates.

This study has furthered our knowledge of
the value of EPDs and other animal charac-
teristics but should not be considered an end
point for research in this field. Additional
work is warranted to further explore the role
of various carcass measures as a component of
a bull’s value. This study was somewhat
limited by inconsistencies in the reporting of
variables between sales, especially variables
pertaining to carcass quality prediction. These