Commonly used Abbreviations
ABW - Adjusted birth weight
AWW - Adjusted weaning weight
AYW - Adjusted yearling weight
ADG - Average Daily Gain - reference weight is a requirement. Current weight minus reference weight divided by days between reference and current weights. ADG has been used in performance testing for decades and is commonly used to measure the growth performance of pens of finishing cattle.
EID - Electronic ID (EID Tag)
EPD - Estimated Progeny Difference - a valuable tool to aid purebred and commercial producers in the selection of potential breeding stock. Cattle producers must clearly define their breeding objectives and determine what sort of animal is needed to meet their production goals.
EBV - Estimated Breeding Value - a value which expresses the difference (+ or -) between an individual animal and the herd or breed benchmark to which the animal is being compared.
Gen. / Poss. - Genetic / Possession - Percentage of the genetics owned vs. the possession each owner has of that animal. (Example: The ranch where you bought your bull chose to retain 20% semen interest but gave you full possession of the bull. Your Gen. / Poss. entry would be 80%/100%.)
HMA - Horns per month of age - Due to the variation in horn growth, with some cattle having almost flat horns while others have many twists and turns, there are three horn measurements that can be taken:
- Tip to Tip - The length from each tip of the horn, a straight line. This is a common measurement.
- Total Horn - The total length following the horn and always greater than the Tip to Tip
- Base (or Poll) - The circumference of the horn at the largest point.
These measurements can be adjusted to a Horns per Month of Age (HMA), which is calculated by dividing the number of months of age into the horn measurement. For example, a 48-month-old animal with 50" of horn would be 50 / 48 or 1.04" per month of age.
MPPA - Most Probable Producing Ability - This is a ratio of the cow vs. the other cows in the herd. A cow of 100 would be average in the herd. A cow of 95 would be 5% below average where an MPPA of 105 would be 5% above average. MPPA measures two things in the cow:
1. her ability to produce milk for that calf
2. her contribution of genetics to the calf
OCV # or Tattoo - Official Calfhood Vaccination - The animal was vaccinated for Brucellosis (Bangs) between 4 to 12 months of age
PH Number - Personal herd number
Reg Num - Registration number
WDA - Weight per day of age - Weight of an individual divided by its age in days. The WDA is useful to evaluate on young growing cattle from approximately weaning to yearling time.