EPDs - The Path to Excellence

At first blush, animal breeding seems relatively simple.  If you believe ‘like begets like’ all you need to do is mate similar animals.  If you want a further edge-up, study pedigree.  If that is not good enough, you can measure phenotype making sure only the best are included in your breeding plan. 

The problem is none of these strategies is particularly effective, and many of the beliefs that breeders rely on are black magic.  Myth makes the animal improvement equation more complex than it need be.  Before we can get on to steady measurable improvement, we must sweep a few myths out of the closet.
 
One of the more pervasive myths in the alpaca industry is, ‘The best way to select elite breeding stock is by analyzing their phenotype.’   It is closely followed in importance, by the myth that ‘pedigree equals breeding value.’   I think is it is fair to say that breeders’ faith in pedigree often takes on mythic proportions, but their faith is not born from the science of genetics.  But, before I get to that we need to critically analyze the role that phenotype and pedigree play in breed improvement programs.

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