In order to make progress in economically important traits, breeders must have every objective piece of information at their disposal when making breeding decisions.
Many factors are important in breeding cattle.
Some are based on objective measurements, while others are based more on subjective observations. Of the objective measurements, some can be routinely recorded though the American Hereford Association's performance programs, while others cannot. Of the objective measurements recorded in the performance programs, some are used for EPD calculation, while others are not. When making breeding decisions, EPDs are important, but many other factors are important too. Anything less than totally accurate and complete performance recording reduces the relative accuracy of each animal's EPDs.