Hawaii's Masters and Servants Act of 1850

A few of my readers have written to ask what I mean when I've said that my great-grandparents, or as a matter of fact my grandfather on my dad's side, arrived in Hawaii as "contract labor".

What was "contract labor," also known as "indentured servants" in Hawaii? Well, it started with legislation enacted by the Kingdom of Hawaii. It was called The Masters and Servants Act of 1850. Just two years later, in 1852, it replaced the Kingdom's "Kauwa System" of serfdom.

The word "kauwa" is Hawaiian for "slave-class." Their slave-class, called the"kauwa", were filled with those taken as prisoners of war or their children. The kauwa were identified with a tattoo mark around the eyes, or on the forehead. They were indeed slaves, but also much more than that.

You see, though the kauwa worked for the chiefs, they were often used as human sacrifices at the luakini heiau when worshipping the gods. They were not the only human sacrifices, law-breakers of all classes, or castes, and even defeated political opponents were also acceptable as human sacrifices. Yes, that's real tough politics when the loser becomes human sacrifice.

Because of their need for cheap labor, what the Kingdom of Hawaii did in adopting the Masters and Servants Act of 1850 actually had a huge affect on their legal system, their language, their integrity, and perhaps the moral fabric of Hawaii's society at large.

Was it just Hawaii's slavery in disguise? Many believe it was just that, slavery given another name.

Although Hawaii was not the only nation to use "contract labor," it was unique. You see, other than their "Kauwa System," Hawaii had no paradigm to go by when it came to slavery. That means that they did not have circumscribing laws to guide them.

While other nations used "contract labor" to replace their European style of slavery with all of its laws and methods passed down through colonization, Hawaii was free to implement its own laws regulating slavery and the treatment of immigrants.

Hawaii's Masters and Servants Act of 1850 passed by the Kingdom's Legislature codified "contract labor" and provided the legal framework within which Hawaii would receive "indentured servants." Basically, laborers in bondage to a plantation enforced by cruel punishment from the Kingdom.

Although not officially slavery, the Hawaii's Masters and Servants Act nevertheless shared the economic goal of slave-laws to harness labor. It was very much like the slave laws in the United States at the time. In fact, it is said that much of the Masters and Servants Act was taken from slave-laws in the United States.

The manner in which the Act was implemented by the Hawaii Board of Immigration and construed by the Hawaii Supreme Court illustrates Hawaii's economic compulsion for slave-labor at the time.

From June 21st, 1850, laborers were subject to a strict law known as the Masters and Servants Law.  Under the provisions of this law, enacted just a few weeks after the founding of the Royal Hawaiian Agricultural Society, two different forms of labor contracts were legalized. They were apprenticeships and indentured service.

How was Hawaii's Master and Servant Law like the slavery laws in United States at that time? 

Remember, these people were supposedly not slaves. But frankly, most say they were.

For example, under Hawaii's Masters and Servants law, absenteeism or refusal to work could cause a contract laborer to be apprehended by the district magistrate or by police officers or by agents of the Kingdom and subsequently sentenced to work for the employer an extra amount of time after the contract expired, usually double the time of the absence. For those contract laborers who found conditions unbearable and had tried to run away, again the Hawaiian law permitted their employers the use of "coercive force" such as "bounty hunters" just as they did in the U.S. at the time. All to apprehend those laborers the same way as if they were runaway slaves in the United States.

It was a lot like the Fugitive Slave Act in the United States. Like slaves, indentured servants were considered property of the plantations. If such a contract laborer refused to serve, believe it or not, he could be jailed and sentenced to hard labor in prison until he gave in. Indeed, the law was outright slavery disguised as something it was not. And rebellion was put down immediately, in fact even the mildest and most benign attempts to challenge the power of the Kingdom's authority or that of the plantations were squashed.

Take for example the brutal and shameful act that was committed against another one of the first contract laborers or "imin" who dared to remain in Hawaii after his contract and try to open a small business in Honokaa. His name was Katsu Goto. He was a Japanese merchant, interpreter, and he was lynched.

It's true, he was the leader of a fledgling Japanese community in Honokaa. One night, after riding out to help some other "imin" with an English translation, he was assaulted, beaten, and lynched.

One plantation operation was the Kohala Sugar Company, known as "The Missionary Plantation" since it was founded by Reverend Elias Bond in 1862 to support his church and schools. After witnessing the treatment of "contract labor," he protested the slave-like conditions.

Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation. Historically, slavery was institutionally recognized by many societies. And though slavery has been outlawed in most societies, even today it continues through the practices of debt bondage and indentured servitude.

Yes, it was a form of slavery. Disguised sure, but in many ways it was no different than the American South before the Civil War.

In 1861, with the outbreak of the Civil War in the United States, most of the sugar produced in the South was gone. The North wanted sugar. Demand and the price for sugar increased dramatically. Because of the Civil War, the Hawaiian sugar industry expanded to take advantage of the need that couldn't be filled in the waring states. With the increase need, the supply of plantation laborers had to be increased as well.

The Kingdom of Hawaii set up a Bureau of Immigration to assist the planters as more and more Chinese were brought in, this time for 5 year contracts at $4 a month plus food and shelter. Even the famous American novelist Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, while visiting the islands in 1866 was taken in by the planters' logic.

Normally a foe of racism and economic servitude, Mark Twain accepted  the plantation sentiment entirely. Yes, he accepted their idea that the Chinese in Hawaii were the dregs of their society. Twain commented that, "Their Former trade of cutting throats on the China seas has made them uncommonly handy at cutting cane."

Having observed the operations of plantations throughout the south, Mark Twain knew exactly how low the "coolie" wages were by comparison to those in the American South. He expected the rest of the United States to soon follow the example of the Hawaii planters.

He wrote: "You will not always go on paying $80 and $100 a month for labor which you can hire for $5. ... It cheapens no labor of man's hands save the hardest and most excruciating drudgery ---drudgery which all white men abhor and are glad to escape from."

The planters who wanted cheap labor spoke of the Chinese as good workers. But also, as their number increased and they began to leave the plantations and enter the labor market of the towns, an outcry was raised against them. An article in All About Hawaii of 1890 warned that: "Hawaii is going to lapse into a Chinese colony without making a struggle to prevent it."

Two years later, Hawaii passed a drastic law that Chinese could only engage in agricultural field work or in work actually connected with the running and operation of rice and sugar mills. When the Chinese laborer was needed, he was praised as quiet, skillful, obedient, patient and quick to learn. When he left the plantation and entered the open labor market, or went into business, he was condemned as a murderer, cutthroat, thief, selfish and cunning. These and other racist epithets were used to deride their ethnic background. It is estimated that between 1850 and 1900 about 46,000 Chinese arrived in Hawaii.

After the American Civil War, the urgent need for Hawaiian sugar became less crucial -- so the sugar industry in Hawaii dipped sharply. But in 1876, the sugar industry was again stimulated by the Sugar Reciprocity Treaty that was signed between the Kingdom of Hawaii and the United States. The treaty permitted Hawaiian sugar to be sold in the U.S. without tariff restrictions. This gave the Kingdom of Hawaii an advantage over other sugar growing nations around the world.

Once more the plantations began looking around for more plantation labor. It was during this time that they imported Portuguese, Puerto Ricans, Koreans, Germans, Russians, Spaniards, Norwegians, and even more Chinese.

The Committee on Labor of the Planters' Labor and Supply Company wrote in 1883: "..the experience of sugar growing, the world over, goes to prove that cheap labor, which means in plain words, servile labor, must be employed in order to render this enterprise successful."

In order to keep labor servile, the characteristic of a slave, and to keep costs down, the Kingdom of Hawaii made a conscious decision to enact a policy to introduce a surplus of labor.

The surplus of labor kept the laborers servile and their cost cheap.   

The first contract laborers to arrive in the Hawaiian Islands arrived in 1851 from China aboard the Thetis, with 195 men and 20 boys on board. The Chinese workers were referred to by the derogatory term "Coolies." Plantations pay for the men was $3 a month plus room and board.

That's right, those Chinese workers were contracted for five years of labor in return for their transportation, housing, food and pay of $3 a month.  Chinese houseboys earned $2 a month. Yes, it was slave wages.

Hawaii's King David Kalakaua visited Japan in March of 1881 and asked Emperor Meiji to allow workers to come to the Hawaiian Islands where there was a shortage of laborers to work on the sugar plantations. The two leaders signed a treaty in 1885 permitting the large-scale immigration of Japanese laborers.

While the first mass emigration of Japanese workers coming to the Hawaiian Islands to work on sugar plantations included 142 men and six women who arrived aboard the Scioto in 1868, the first official Hawaiian government sponsored Japanese contract workers was 676 Japanese men and 158 Japanese women who arrived in Honolulu aboard the City of Tokio on February 8, 1885.

The initial migrants in 1868 were mostly tradesmen and craftsmen, and did not have contracts or government permission, and were called "gannenmono" (first year men), referring to the first year of Japan’s Meiji era. Between 1852 and 1896, the number of Chinese and Japanese grew from 364 to 46,023, 3 or from 4.5% to 56.5% of the total population.

In 1879, another 3,500 workers arrived from China. In 1881, Norwegian and German workers began arriving. Because of the flood of Chinese into California, which was the place in the U.S. with the most immigrant workers from China, the Chinese Exclusion Act became a United States federal law when it was signed by President Chester A. Arthur on May 6th, 1882.

It was one of the most significant restrictions on free immigration in U.S. history, as it prohibited all immigration of Chinese laborers. The act was initially intended to last for 10 years, but was renewed in 1892 and made permanent in 1902. It was finally repealed by the Magnuson Act on December 17, 1943.

By 1885, it is said that the Chinese population in Hawaii amounted to 22% of the population -- and they held 49% of the plantation field jobs. It is believed that by the 1880s, more then 20% of the Kingdom of Hawaii's entire population was actually Chinese who were working on Hawaii's sugar plantations.

And yes, like others, when their five-year labor contracts expired, they took jobs as clerks or domestic servants or to form their own businesses. And because of that, there was a growing anti-Chinese immigration movements in Hawaii. The result was that in 1886, following the example made in the United States, the importation of Chinese laborers was halted by the passage of the Hawaiian Kingdom Chinese Exclusion Act.

Laborers employed on Hawaiian plantations totaled 25,881 in 1898.

Most Portuguese came from the Madeira and Azores Islands.

According to some accounts, the first Europeans to discover the Hawaiian Islands may have actually been a sea captain from Portugal who was sailing under the flag of Spain, about 200 years before British Captain Cook did so.

Portuguese contract laborers arrived in Hawaii from the Azores and the Madeira Islands. The first Portuguese workers arrived aboard a German ship Priscilla from the Madeira Islands in 1877. That began an influx of Portuguese laborers that totaled more than 20,000 by 1913.

For my readers who have asked, yes my great-great-grandparents were from the Azores. Most of my family arrived in Hawaii after 1877.  My maternal great-great-grandfather is said to have arrived in Maui aboard a Whaling Ship, and decided to stay. That was in the late 1840s. My paternal grandfather, John Correa, my dad's dad, was born in Madeira and arrived in Hawaii in 1909 at 13 years of age. Other than the whaler, all were brought to Hawaii as "contract labor." 

Being Europeans, Portuguese men were given land. And unlike Asian workers, the Portuguese were often, but not always, hired as "lunas" (overseers). They supervised Asian workers for European (caucasian) planters, the owners.

I remember, as a boy, listening to my grandfather talk about his job with the plantation. He was a "luna", an "overseer", in charge of the mule gangs for the sugar plantation. It was well known that he carried a whip and .38 caliber pistol on the job. I remember him telling me, "the whip was used on the mules, the pistol was in case the workers acted up."

The Portuguese workers were virtually all Catholics, and this strengthened the presence of the Catholic Church in the Hawaiian Islands. And yes, the Catholic Church was something that the Protestant Missionaries had worked to keep out of Hawaii for generations.

Plantation owners worked hard to keep in place a hierarchical caste system that prevented worker organization and divided the camps based on ethnic identity. One interesting outcome of this multi-cultural workforce of plantation workers was the emergence of a common language.

It became known as Pidgin English. It became a language that was a sort of hybrid primarily of Hawaiian, English, Japanese, Chinese, and Portuguese. It allowed plantation workers to communicate effectively with one another and promoted a transfer of knowledge and traditions amongst the groups.

Was Hawaii's Masters and Servants Act ever challenged in court? Well, as a matter of fact it was.

In 1891, a Japanese contract laborer in Hilo tried to get the courts to rule that his labor contract should be illegal since he was unwilling to work for Hilo Sugar Company, and such involuntary servitude was supposed to be prohibited by the Hawaiian Constitution. The Hawaiian court upheld the "Masters and Servant's Act" and the harsh labor contracts (Hilo Sugar vs. Mioshi 1891).

In 1898, the Hawaiian Islands were annexed to the United States via the Newlands Resolution, which stated, "There shall be no further immigration of Chinese into the Hawaiian Islands, except upon such conditions as are now or may hereafter be allowed by the laws of the United States; no Chinese, by reason of anything herein contained, shall be allowed to enter the United States from the Hawaiian Islands."

On April 30, 1900, United States President McKinley signed the Organic Act establishing a Territorial government in the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaii's Masters and Servants Act made it virtually impossible for the workers to organize labor unions or to participate in strikes. Remember that while laborers were protected as property under these contracts, if they refused to work they could be put in prison at hard labor until they consented to serve and court costs would be added to their contract.

When the United States passed the Organic Act, and it went into effect, "contract labor" in Hawaii was no longer legal. And yes, it did not take long before things started changing. In fact. within a month of the Organic Act, 8,000 Japanese laborers went on strike demanding higher wages and better working conditions.

The hierarchical caste system plantation managers had worked so hard to maintain began to break down, with greater racial integrations as a result. Workers began to discover they had rights, and in 1920 they waged the first multi-cultural strike.

Though some say that Hawaii's "indentured servant" law, contract labor, was outlawed in 1900 when Hawaii became a territory of the United States. But the fact is that contract labor kept going in Hawaii for some time after that.

Between 1903 and 1910, 7,300 Koreans arrived in Hawaii on contracts. In 1906, Filipinos first arrived in Hawaii as contract labor. Between 1909 and 1930, 112,800 Filipinos arrived in Hawaii as contract labor. Hawaii's "contract labor" really didn't end until the 1930s. In fact, by 1932, the Chinese contract labor had mostly left plantation work.

So why did it stop in the late 1930s?

Well, Hawaii was not spared from feeling the effect of the Great Depression. The economy in Hawaii, like that of everywhere in the United States and the world, was in the dumps. Starting in the 1920s, many of those who landed in Hawaii from far off lands, those who worked out their contracts, left to relocate in California and the West Coast of the United States looking for work and better lives.

The Great Depression played a huge role in convincing a lot of families to relocate to the "Mainland" where there was more opportunity and land was more available to be had. Along with the Great Depression, changing global politics played a large role in the downfall of Hawaiian sugar.

With shifting political alliances and the need for cheap labor, between 1902 and into the 1930s, Cuba took more and more of a larger share of the United States sugar market. In fact, Cuba held 45% of the U.S. domestic quota, all while Hawaii, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico, and Southern sugar producing states in the U.S., shared a mere 25% among themselves.

Yes, the reason that contract labor ended was that the need for contract labor ended. Fact is within a relatively short period of time former plantation lands would be used by conglomerates to build hotels and develop Hawaii into a tourist-based economy.

Hawaii's tourist based economy has dominated Hawaiian economics for well over fifty years. And no, there is no substitute in sight to replace tourism as Hawaii's number one cash crop.

Tom Correa

Cattle Breeders Dictionary

A

Accuracy (of selection) : Correlation between an animal's unknown actual breeding value and a calculated estimated breeding value for a trait.

Across-breed EPDs : Procedures and adjustment factors that allow direct comparison of EPDs from animals of different breeds. They are based upon across-breed EPD adjustment factors which are added to EPDs provided by the separate genetic evaluation of each breed. The adjustment factors, which are updated each year, are based upon estimates of current performance differences among breeds and differences among breeds in genetic base for their evaluations.

Additive adjustment factors : A numerical quantity added to an animal's record to reflect expected performance if the animal had belonged to some baseline group.

For example, 60 pounds could be added to weaning weight records of steer calves out of two-year-old dams to represent expected weaning weight if their mother had been five to nine years of age. The use of additive adjustment factors does not affect variability in the trait after adjustment.

Adjusted weaning weight (WW) : An unshrunk, off-the-cow calf weight adjusted to 205 days of age and to a mature dam age equivalence.

Adjusted yearling weight (YW) : An unshrunk weight adjusted to either 365, 452, or 550 days of age.

Alleles : Alternate forms of genes. Because genes occur in pairs in body cells, one gene of a pair may have one effect and another gene of that same pair (allele) may have a different effect on the same trait.

Alliance : A cooperative business arrangement in which a cattle producer, sometimes in cooperation with other producers, arranges for the retained ownership and/or contract sale of his/her animals before they actually are produced. The agreement typically defines the breeding system, selection methods, management conditions, and product specifications for the cattle.

Animal model : A genetic prediction procedure in which EPDs are directly computed for all animals in the population. See reduced animal model and sire model.

Artificial insemination (AI) : The technique of placing semen from the male into the reproductive tract of the female by means other than natural service.

Average daily gain (ADG) : Measurement of the average daily body weight change over a specified period of time of an animal on a feed test.

B 

Backcross : The mating of a two-breed crossbred individual back to one of its parental breeds. Example: A Hereford-Angus crossbred cow bred back to an Angus bull.

Base pair : The complementary bases found within a DNA molecule. There are four different bases: adenine (A), thymine (T), cytosine (C), and guanine (G). A always pairs with T, and C always pairs with G. The base sequence ultimately determines the effect of the gene.

Beef carcass data service : A program whereby producers, for a fee, can receive carcass evaluation data on their cattle by using a special carcass data ear tag for their slaughter animals. See county extension director, breed representative, Beef Cattle Improvement Association representative, or area office of USDA meat grading service for information.

Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) : A federation of organizations, businesses, and individuals interested or involved in performance evaluation of beef cattle. It seeks to build confidence of the beef industry in the principles and potentials of performance testing.

The purposes of BIF are to achieve utilization of the most efficient and effective performance evaluation methods, uniformity of procedures, development of programs, cooperation among interested entities, and education of its members.

Best linear unbiased prediction (BLUP) : A genetic prediction methodology providing the most accurate and precise genetic evaluations possible, given the information and family structure that are available.

Biological type : A group of cattle breeds having similar geographic origin and past selection history and with similar genetic potential for traits of economic importance. British general purpose beef cattle breeds, for example, have genetic potential for moderate growth, muscling, and milk yield; whereas continental European dual-purpose breeds have genetic potential for high milk yield and rapid growth.

Birth weight (BW) : The weight of a calf taken within 24 hours after birth. Heavy birth weights tend to be correlated with calving problems, along with other factors.

Body capacity : A subjective assessment of the feed intake capacity of an individual or breed, typically assessed by visually evaluating body length, body depth, and spring of ribs.

Body condition score : A score on a scale of 1 to 9, reflecting the amount of fat reserves in a cow's body, where 1 = very thin and 9 = extremely fat.

Bos indicus : A subspecies of cattle of south Asian origin. Often known as Zebu, they have prominent humps forward of the shoulder. The Brahman breed is one example in the United States.

Bos taurus : A subspecies of cattle of western Asian origin but often referred to as ‘European’. Most breeds commonly found in the United States and Canada, and their European ancestors, belong to this group. Bos indicus x Bos taurus crosses are viable and fully fertile and exhibit large amounts of heterosis.

Brand : A permanent mark applied to an animal.  

Branding iron : The tool used to apply a brand

Breed : Animals with a common origin and selection history.

Animals within a breed have physical characteristics that distinguish them from other breeds or groups of animals within that same species.Animals with a common origin and selection history. Animals within a breed have physical characteristics that distinguish them from other breeds or groups of animals within that same species.

Breed association : An organization that maintains pedigree and performance

Breeding objective : The goal of a breeder's selection program, for example to produce high quality, lean meat at lowest cost. It may also include a listing of the traits to be used as selection criteria to achieve the overall goal. Objectives may vary among breeders due to their genetic and physical resources and their markets.

Breeding soundness examination : Inspection of a bull, including evaluation of physical conformation and soundness through genital palpation, scrotal circumference assessment, and testing of semen for motility and morphological abnormalities.

Breeding value : Transmissible genetic merit of an individual, or the value of that individual as a parent. In the United States and Canada, genetic predictions are expressed as progeny differences rather than as breeding values. Because any parent contributes only half the genes in any one offspring, the progeny difference of an individual is half its breeding value.

British breeds : Breeds of cattle such as Angus, Hereford, and Shorthorn originating in Great Britain.

Bull : A male (un-castrated) bovine animal.

C

Caesarean section : A process in which the calf is surgically removed from the cow during parturition by making a large incision in the right side of the cow just above the flank.

Calf : A baby bovine animal.

Calving difficulty (Dystocia) : Abnormal or difficult labor, causing difficulty in delivering the fetus and/or placenta. Difficult births lead to increased calf and cow mortality and to more difficult rebreeding of the cow.

Calving ease Calving ease : The opposite of calving difficulty. An easy calving is one that does not require assistance and does not impose undue strain on the calf or dam.

Calving ease score : A numerical score quantifying calving ease, ranging from 1 for an easy, unassisted calving through 5 for an abnormal presentation.

Calving season : The season(s) of the year when the calves are born. Limiting calving seasons is the first step to performance testing the whole herd, accurate records, and consolidated management practices.

Carcass evaluation : Techniques for measuring components of quality and quantity in carcasses and using the information for genetic prediction of carcass merit.

Carcass merit : Desirability of a carcass relative to quantity of components (muscle, fat, and bone), USDA quality grade, and potential eating quality.  

Carcass quality grade : An estimate of palatability based primarily on marbling and maturity and generally to a lesser extent on color, texture, and firmness of lean.

Carrier : An individual that is heterozygous, having one dominant and one recessive allele at a given locus. For example, an animal with one gene for polledness and one gene for horns will be polled but can produce horned offspring when mated to another animal carrying the gene for horns.

Central test Central test : A comparison conducted at a single location where animals are assembled from several herds to evaluate differences in performance traits under uniform management conditions.

Chromosome : Chromosomes are paired strands of DNA, with accompanying structural proteins, on which genes are located. Domestic cattle have 30 pairs of chromosomes, one chromosome of each pair having been inherited form each parent. One random chromosome of each pair is transmitted to each egg or sperm cell produced by a parent.

Closed herd : A herd in which no outside breeding stock (cattle) are introduced.

cM (centiMorgan) : The unit of length used to express locations of genes on chromosomes. One cM is approximately one million nucleotides long. The entire length of the DNA within a cattle cell is approximately 3000 cM. A gene ranges from .001 - .005 cM in length. A cM corresponds to 1% recombination between loci.

Codon : A specific three-base sequence in DNA that ultimately codes for a specific amino acid used in the building of a protein.

Collateral relatives : Relatives of an individual that are not its ancestors or its descendants. Brothers and sisters are an example of collateral relatives.

Commercial producers : Producers whose primary goal is to produce animals for herd replacement, feeding, and slaughter rather than breeding stock for sale to other producers. Progressive commercial producers seek bulls or semen from seedstock breeders that have comprehensive programs designed to produce animals with optimum genetic merit for the combination of traits that increase efficiency and profit of their production system.

Compensatory gain : Rapid, subsequent gain of cattle that have been nutritionally deprived for some portion of their life.

Complementarity : The combining of breeds or individual animals that have characteristics that complement each other, thereby obtaining optimum progeny.

Complementary DNA (cDNA) : A DNA copy made from RNA through reverse transcription.

Composite breed : A breed made up of combinations of other breeds.

Conformation : A description of the shape of body parts of an animal.

Congenital : A condition that was acquired during prenatal life and therefore exists at or dates from birth. The term is often used in the context of defects present at birth.

Contemporary group : A group of cattle that are of the same breed and sex, are similar in age, and have been raised in the same management group (same location on the same feed and pasture). Contemporary groups should include as many cattle as can be accurately compared.

Continental (European) breed : Breeds originally developed on the continent of Europe. Examples include Simmental, Limousin and Charolais.

Correlation : A numerical measure, ranging between -1.00 and +1.00, describing how two traits are related. A high positive correlation means that as one trait increases, the other one usually does as well.

For example, cattle with higher than average yearling weight generally will have larger mature size as well. When traits are negatively correlated, if one is above average, the other is likely to be below average.

Cow : A female bovine animal.

Crossbreeding : The mating of animals of different breeds or subspecies, frequently resulting in heterosis (hybrid vigor) for many economically important traits.

Culling : The process of eliminating less productive or less desirable individuals from a herd.

Cutability : An estimate of the percentage of salable meat (muscle) from a carcass versus percentage of waste fat. Percentage retail yield of carcass weight can be estimated by a USDA prediction equation that includes measured or estimated values for hot carcass weight, rib eye area, fat thickness, and estimated percent of kidney, pelvic, and heart fat.

D

Decision Evaluator for the Cattle Industry (DECI) : A decision support system available through the U. S. Meat Animal Research Center that simulates the impact of alternative breeding or management strategies on production and profit within a producer's herd.

Decision Support System (DSS) : A set of rules, usually coded into a computer program, that helps a producer evaluate the impact of alternative breeding or management strategies on one or more aspects of a beef production enterprise.

De-horning : The process of removing the horns from an animal when they are young. This is often done to help minimize injury to other cattle and handlers.

Deviation : The difference between an individual record and the average for that trait in the individual's contemporary group. For all animals within a contemporary group, these differences sum to zero when the correct average is used. A ratio deviation is an individual's ratio minus the group average ratio or 100.

Direct effect : For weaning weight that portion of preweaning growth that is due to the calf's genetics (see Maternal Effect).

Direct EPD : An EPD representing the effect of the individual's own genes on the trait of interest. A calving ease direct EPD, for example, represents calving ease of an individual's progeny. See also Maternal EPD.

Disposition (temperament) : A measure of an animal's docility, wildness, or aggression toward unfamiliar situations, human handlers, or management interventions.

DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid) : The chemical compound that stores within each cell genetic information unique to an individual. A DNA molecule is composed of two strands of nucleotides bound to one another by chemical bonds between each complementary (A-T and G-C) base pair.

The molecule has the appearance of a twisted ladder. The sequence of bases within DNA molecules determine amino acid sequences of proteins, control development, and establish the genetic potential for production of the individual.

Dominant : An allele is dominant when its presence prevents a recessive allele from affecting the phenotype of an individual heterozygous at the locus in question. For example, the allele for polledness (P) is dominant to the allele allowing growth of horns (p), so an animal with the genotype Pp shows the polled form of the trait.

Double muscling : A simply inherited trait evidenced by an enlargement of the muscles with large grooves between the muscle systems especially noticeable in the hind leg. Dressing percentage - (Chilled carcass weight/live weight) x 100.

Dystocia (calving difficulty) : Abnormal or difficult labor causing difficulty in delivering the fetus and/or placenta. Difficult births lead to increased calf and cow mortality and to more difficult rebreeding of the cow.

E

Ear tag : Method of identification by attaching a tag to the ear.

Economic value : The net return within a herd for making a one unit change (pound or percentage, for example) for an economically important trait under selection.

Economically relevant trait (ERT) : Traits that are of direct economic importance to cattle producers.

Effective progeny number (EPN) : An indication of the amount of information available for estimation of expected progeny differences (EPDs) in cattle evaluation.

It is a function of number of progeny of a parent but is adjusted for their distribution among herds and contemporary groups and for the number of contemporaries by other sires. EPN is less than the actual number of progeny because the distribution of progeny is never ideal.

Electrophoresis : A process used to separate DNA fragments by length. DNA fragments are placed at the top of a gel matrix that is then exposed to an electrical current. This causes fragments to migrate through the pores in the gel at rates proportional to fragment size. Resulting fragment location on the gel can be visualized by appropriate labeling techniques.

Embryo transfer : Removing fertilized ova (embryos) from one cow (the donor), generally in response to hormone-induced superovulation, and placing these embryos into other cows ( the recipients). More calves can be obtained from cows of superior breeding value by this technique

Environment : All external (nongenetic) conditions that influence the reproduction, production, and carcass merit of cattle.

When environmental influences on phenotypic merit are not properly be accounted for in genetic evaluations, they reduce the accuracy of breeding value estimation and of subsequent selection.

Environment interaction : When the difference in performance among genetic groups depends upon the environment in which they are compared.

For example, the most profitable breed in the Great Plains is probably not the same as the most profitable breed on the Gulf Coast. Also, different breeds and crosses will be optimum for producing beef for different market specifications and requirements.

Estimated breeding value (EBV) : An estimate of an individual's true breeding value for a trait based on the performance of the individual and close relatives for the trait itself and sometimes performance of genetically correlated traits.

EBV is a systematic way of combining available performance information on the individual and sibs and the progeny of the individual. Expected progeny differences have replaced EBV's in most breed association programs.

Exon : Those regions of a gene in which the nucleotide sequence actually codes for a biologically relevant product.

Expected Progeny Difference (EPD) : The difference in expected performance of future progeny of an individual, compared with expected performance of future progeny of an individual of average genetic merit in the base time frame for the genetic evaluation.

EPDs are estimated from phenotypic merit of an individual and all of its relatives and are estimates of one-half the breeding values. EPDs are generally reported in units of measurement for the trait (e.g., lb., cm., etc.).

F

F1 : Offspring resulting from the mating of a purebred (straight-bred) bull to purebred (straight-bred) females of another breed.

Fat thickness : Depth of fat in tenths of inches over the rib eye muscle at the 12th rib. It consists of a single measurement at a point three-fourths of the lateral length of the rib eye muscle from the split chine bone.

Feed conversion (feed efficiency) : Units of feed consumed per unit of weight gained or (less commonly in the United States) production of meat or milk per unit of feed consumed.

Fertilization : The union of the male and female gametes to form a new, genetically unique individual. In cattle, sperm and egg cells with 30 chromosomes each combine to form a zygote with the 60 chromosomes normal to the species.

Fingerprint (DNA : Pattern of DNA fragments unique to an individual. Often produced by using restriction enzymes to cut the DNA into fragments at specific sequences of nucleotides.

Using electrophoresis, these fragments can be sorted and then visualized, forming a unique ‘fingerprint’ for each different animal.

Frame score : A score based on subjective evaluation or actual measurement of hip height.

This score is related to slaughter weights at which cattle should grade choice or at which different groups of cattle should have comparable amounts of fat.

Freemartin : Female born twin to a bull calf (approximately 9 out of10 will be infertile).

G

Gel (gel matrix) : A porous substance that allows DNA fragments to migrate through it at a rate inversely proportional to fragment size, this allowing separation of DNA fragments.

Gene : A gene is a discrete segment of the DNA molecule, located at a specific site (its locus) on a specific chromosome pair.

Two copies of each gene exist in each nucleated diploid cell in an animal. Only one gene of each pair is randomly transmitted to the offspring through the gamete.

The unique nucleotide sequence of each gene determines its specific biological role.

Gene marker : A specific sequence of nucleotides that is easily detectable and can be used to differentiate among alleles at a locus.

General purpose breed : A breed with acceptable genetic merit in reproductive, maternal, growth, and carcass traits, but not specialized in either terminal or maternal characteristics.

Such breeds frequently are used in rotational crossbreeding programs.

Generation interval : Average age of parents when the offspring destined to replace them are born. It should be computed separately for male and female parents and then represents the average turnover rate of bulls and cows in the herd.

When other factors are held constant, generation interval is inversely related to the rate of response to selection. That is, rapid generation turnover enhances rate of selection response.

Genetic antagonism : A genetic correlation in which desirable genetic change in one of the traits is accompanied by an undesirable change in the other.

For example, because of the positive genetic correlation between milk yield potential and cow maintenance requirement, selection for increased milk would lead also to increased feed cost for maintenance.

Genetic correlations : Correlations between breeding values for two traits that arise because some of the same genes affect both of them.

When two traits (weaning and yearling weight for example) are positively genetically correlated, successful selection for one trait will result in an increase in the other trait as well. When two traits are negatively genetically correlated (birth weight and calving ease, for example), successful selection for one trait will result in a decrease in the other.

Genetic linkage map : A diagram showing where genes and markers are located on a chromosome and their relationship to one another.

Genetic trend : An estimate of the annual change in genetic merit of individuals within

Genome : The entire complement of DNA characteristic to individuals of a species.

Genotype : The two alleles present at a locus in an individual. For a locus with only two alleles, three genotypes are possible.

For example, at the polled/horned locus in cattle, two common alleles are P ( the dominant allele preventing growth of horns) and p (the recessive allele allowing horn growth). The three possible genotypes are PP (homozygous dominant), Pp (heterozygous or carrier), and pp (homozygous recessive).

Gestation : The period of pregnancy or the period of time from conception until young are born, averaging about 285 days in cattle.

H

Half-sibs : Individuals having the same sire but different dams (or less commonly the same dam but different sires). Half-brothers, half-sisters, or half brother/sister.

Harvest : To slaughter an animal.

Heat (estrous) synchronization : Through hormonal manipulation, causing a group of cows or heifers to initiate estrous cycles at approximately the same time.

Heifer : A young female bovine animal.

Heifer pregnancy EPD : Heifer pregnancy EPDs, expressed as probabilities of successful conception, predict differences among individuals in the ability of their daughters to conceive and calve at two years of age.

Heritability : The proportion of the differences among cattle, measured or observed, that is transmitted, on average, to their offspring.

Heritability of different traits may vary from zero to one. The higher the heritability of a trait, the more accurately individual performance predicts breeding value and the more rapid should be the response to selection for that trait.

Heritability estimate : An estimate of the proportion of the total phenotypic variation between individuals for a certain trait that is due to transmissible genetic merit. It is the proportion of total variation for a trait caused by differences among individuals in breeding value.

Heterosis (hybrid vigor) : Amount by which the average performance for a trait in crossbred calves exceeds the average performance of the two or more purebreds that were mated in that particular cross.

Heterozygote : A genotype in which the two alleles at a locus are different, e.g. Pp.

Homozygote : A genotype in which the two alleles at a locus are the same, e.g. PP or pp.

Hot carcass weight : Weight of a carcass just prior to chilling.

I

Inbreeding : The mating together of parents more closely related than average in the population. Inbreeding decreases the proportion of heterozygous gene pairs in the offspring and increases the proportion of homozygous gene pairs.

It increases the frequency of expression of genetic defects caused by recessive genes. Inbreeding may increase prepotency for simply inherited and highly heritable traits.

Inbreeding coefficient : A numerical measure, ranging from zero to 1.0, of the intensity of inbreeding of an individual. It represents the proportion of gene loci in the individual at which both genes are identical copies of the same ancestral gene.

Inbreeding depression : The reduction in performance level for many economically important traits that accompanies, on average, the increase in inbreeding coefficient.

Incomplete dominance : A situation in which neither of two alleles at a locus is fully

Independent culling levels : Selection based on cattle meeting specific levels of performance for every trait included in a selection program.

Equivalently, culling based on the failure of cattle to meet the required standard for any trait in the program.

For example, a breeder could cull all heifers with weaning weights below 400 pounds (or those in the bottom 20% on weaning weight) and yearling weights below 650 pounds (or those in the bottom 40%).

Indicator traits : Traits that do not have direct economic importance, but aid in the prediction of economically important traits.

Integrated resource management (IRM) : Producing beef cattle in a manner that efficiently, profitably, and sustainably uses available human and physical resources.

Interim EPD : An expected progeny difference computed from an individual's own performance information and(or) the EPDs of its parents.

Interim EPDs may be used to support selection and merchandizing decisions before EPDs from regularly scheduled national cattle evaluation runs become available.

International cattle evaluation : An evaluation utilizing data from more than one country, allowing comparisons of estimated genetic merit of cattle across countries.

Intron : DNA whose nucleotide sequence does not code for a product.

K

Kidney, pelvic and heart fat (KPH) : The internal carcass fat associated with the kidney, pelvic cavity, and heart. It is expressed as a percentage of chilled carcass weight. The weight of the kidneys is included in the estimate of kidney fat.

L

Lactation : The period of calf nursing between birth and weaning

Lethal gene : A gene or genes that cause the death of any individual in which they are expressed.

Libido : Sex drive. In bulls, the propensity to detect and mate estrous females.

Linebreeding : A form of inbreeding in which an attempt is made to concentrate the inheritance of some favored ancestor in descendants within a herd.

The average relationship of the individuals in the herd to this ancestor is increased by linebreeding, but at the cost of an increased level of inbreeding.

Linecross : Offspring produced by crossing two or more inbred lines.

Linkage : The occurrence of two or more loci of interest on the same chromosome within 50 cM linkage distance of one another.

Locus : The specific location of a gene on a chromosome.

M

Maintenance energy requirement : The amount of feed energy required per day by an animal to maintain its body weight and support necessary metabolic functions.

Marbling : The specks of fat (intramuscular fat) distributed in muscular tissue. Marbling is usually evaluated in the rib eye between the 12th and 13th rib. It is a major factor in assigning USDA quality grade of a beef carcass.

Marker Assisted Selection (MAS) : The use of genetic markers to select for specific alleles at linked QTLs and therefore specific traits.

Maternal effect : For weaning weight, the dam's maternal ability which influences preweaning growth.For weaning weight, the dam's maternal ability which influences preweaning growth.

Maternal EPD : An EPD representing the effect of the genes of an individual's daughters on the trait of interest. A calving ease maternal EPD, for example, represents the ease with which an individual's daughters calves are born. See also Direct EPD.

Maternal heterosis : Amount by which the average performance for a trait in the progeny of crossbred cows exceeds the average performance of progeny of purebred cows of the two or more breed ancestors of the crossbred cows.

Maternal sires : Sires whose major function is to sire daughters (often crossbreds) with outstanding genetic merit for reproductive and maternal traits, adaptability to prevailing environmental conditions, and longevity.

Such females would ideally be crossed to sires of a terminal breed with all offspring marketed.

Maturity : An estimation of the physiological age of the animal or carcass. It is assigned by assessing muscle characteristics and the stage of bone maturity.

Metabolic body size : The weight of the animal raised to the 3/4 power (W0.75); a value indicative of the feed required to meet metabolic needs and maintain current body weight.

Microsatellite : A type of genetic marker. It is composed of repeating nucleotide sequences within DNA that are locus specific and variable in the number of times the sequence is repeated.

Minisatellite : A type of genetic marker widely used in DNA fingerprinting that consists of repeating subsets of nucleotides that are highly polymorphic and widely distributed throughout the genome.

Morphology : A parameter recorded during microscopic examination of semen in the standardized breeding soundness evaluation quantifying the visual characteristics of spermatozoa, expressed as the percentage that appear normal.

Most Probable Producing Ability (MPPA) : An estimate of a cow's future superiority or inferiority for a repeatable trait (such as progeny weaning weight) based upon the cow's past production in comparison to her contemporaries, her number of past records, and the repeatability of the trait in question.

Motility : A parameter recorded during microscopic examination of semen in the standardized breeding soundness evaluation quantifying spermatozoa movement, expressed as the percentage demonstrating forward progressive motility.

Multiple breed evaluation : A genetic prediction simultaneously utilizing data from more than one breed or crossbred group. It accounts not only for differences among animals in transmissible genetic value (EPDs) but also in breed differences and heterosis effects.

Multiple trait evaluation : A genetic prediction in which phenotypic merit for two or more genetically correlated traits (birth weight, weaning weight, and post-weaning gain, for example) is used simultaneously to estimate breeding values for each of the traits.

Compared to single trait evaluations, multiple trait evaluations produce EPDs with higher accuracy and less bias from selection.

Multiplicative adjustment factors : A numerical quantity by which an animal's record is multiplied to reflect expected performance if the animal had belonged to some baseline group.

For example, if calves from mature dams weighed, on average, 8% more than calves from two-year-old dams, the multiplicative factor to adjust calves from two-year-old dams to a mature age-of-dam equivalent would be 1.08.

N

National Cattle Evaluation (NCE) : Programs of cattle evaluation conducted by breed associations to compute estimated genetic merit of a population of animals.

Carefully conducted national cattle evaluation programs give unbiased estimates of expected progeny differences (EPD's).

Cattle evaluations are based on field data and rely on information from the individual animal, relatives, and progeny to calculate EPD's.

Nonadditive gene effects : Effects of specific gene pairs or combinations.

Nonadditive gene effects occur when the heterozygous genotype is not intermediate in phenotypic value to the two homozygous genotypes.

Undesirable homozygous gene combinations lead to inbreeding depression in inbred populations; whereas favorable heterozygous gene combinations lead to heterosis in outbred herds.

Nucleotide : The subunit of DNA composed of a five carbon sugar, one of four nitrogenous bases (adenine, thymine, cytosine, or guanine), and a phosphate group.

Number of contemporaries : The number of animals of similar breed, sex, and age against which an animal was compared in performance tests. The greater the number of contemporaries, the greater the accuracy of comparisons.

O

Optimum level of performance : The most profitable or favorable ranges in levels of performance for the economically important traits in a given management system and environment.

For example, although many cows produce too little milk, in every management system there is a point beyond which higher levels of milk production will reduce fertility and decrease profit.

Outbreeding (outcrossing) : Mating together of animals that are not closely related.

Mild outbreeding is illustrated by mating cows to a sire of their own breed but who is not closely related to them. Such outcrossing may widen the genetic base in a herd and reduce inbreeding accumulation.

A higher level of outcrossing is illustrated by crossing two Bos taurus breeds. This generally would result in beneficial heterosis for economically important traits.

Ovulation : Release of the female germ cell (egg or ovum) by the ovary. Cows usually ovulate several hours (up to 15 hours) after the end of estrus or standing heat.

P

Palatability : Acceptable to the taste or sufficiently agreeable in flavor to be eaten.

Parturition : The act of giving birth; calving.

Pedigree : A tabulation of names of an individual's ancestors, usually only those of the three to five closest generations.

Pedigree information is used to establish genetic relationships among individuals to use in genetic evaluations.

Percent calf crop : The percentage cows and heifers exposed to breeding within a herd and year that produce calves.

Performance data : The record of the individual animal for reproduction, production, or carcass merit.

The most useful performance records for management, selection, and promotion decisions will vary among purebred breeders and for purebred breeders compared with commercial cattle producers.

Performance pedigree : A pedigree that includes performance records of the individual, ancestors, relatives, and progeny in addition to the usual pedigree information. Expected progeny differences may also be included.

Performance testing : The systematic collection of comparative production information

Phenotype : The visible or measurable expression of a character; weaning weight, postweaning gain, or reproduction for example.

For most traits, phenotype is influenced by both genotype and environment. The relative degree to which phenotypic variation among individuals is caused by transmissible genetic effects is the heritability of a trait

Phenotypic correlation : The net correlation between two traits caused both by genetic factors and environmental factors simultaneously influencing both traits.

Plasmid : A circular piece of bacterial DNA often used as a cloning vector to produce recombinant DNA in large quantities.

Polled : Naturally hornless cattle. Having no horns or scurs.

Polymerase : The enzyme system that facilitates the replication of DNA or RNA.

Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) : A process used to rapidly amplify DNA. The original DNA is heated, causing the strands to separate.

Specific primers are then added and bond to the single strands. DNA polymerase adds nucleotides to the primer, extending the new DNA strand. The PCR process can be repeated to produce many copies.

Polymorphism : The existence of two or more alleles at a gene locus in a population.

Possible change : The amount by which an individual's current EPD might reasonably be expected to change (either upwards or downwards) as more information becomes available in subsequent national cattle evaluations.

This measurement of error in prediction decreases as the number of offspring per sire increases.

Postpartum : After the birth of an individual.

Postpartum interval : The number of days between parturition and the first postpartum estrus.

Prepotency : The ability of a parent to transmit its characteristics to its offspring so that they resemble that parent, and one another, more than usual.

An individual that is homozygous for a dominant allele will show prepotency for the trait controlled by that gene, but not necessarily for any other trait. Inbred cattle, having a higher than average degree of homozygosity, may be more prepotent than outbred cattle but only for simply inherited or highly heritable traits.

Preweaning gain : Weight gained between birth and weaning.

Progeny : The young, or offspring, of the parents.

Progeny testing : Evaluating the genotype or estimating the breeding value of an individual by evaluating the comparative phenotypic merit of its progeny.

Puberty : The age at which the reproductive organs become functionally operative and secondary sex characteristics begin to develop.

Purebred : An animal of known ancestry within a recognized breed that is eligible for registry in the official herd book of that breed.

Q

Qualitative (categorical) traits : Those traits in which there is a sharp distinction between phenotypes, such as black vs. red or polled vs. horned. Only one or a few pairs of genes are involved in the expression of many qualitative traits.

Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) : A gene locus that has an effect on a quantitative trait. Often the actual nucleotide sequence is unknown, so selection is based upon genotype at a linked gene marker.

Quantitative traits : Those traits, such as weaning weight, in which there is no sharp distinction in the range of phenotypes, with a gradual variation from one extreme to the other.

Usually, many gene pairs are involved as well as environmental influences affect variation for such traits.

R

Random mating : A system of mating in which every female (cow and/or heifer) has an

RAPDs : Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNAs. Genetic markers that are randomly amplified using PCR with random primers to find polymorphic regions.

Rate of genetic improvement : The amount of improvement per unit of time (year).

The rate of improvement is dependent on: (1) heritability of traits considered, (2) selection differentials, (3) genetic correlations among traits considered, (4) generation interval in the herd, and (5) the number of traits for which selections are made.

Ratio : An expression of an animal's performance for a particular trait relative to the herd or contemporary group average. It is calculated for most traits as: Individual Record X 100. Group Average

Recessive : Recessive alleles are expressed only when homozygous. They must have been inherited from both parents before the phenotype with which they are associated can be expressed.

At the locus affected the growth or absence of horns, for example, homozygous recessive pp individuals are horned whereas PP and Pp individuals are polled.

Reduced animal model : A genetic prediction procedure in which EPDs are computed directly for all parents in the population, while EPDs for non-parents and progeny are computed from the parent solutions.

Predictions are equal and equivalent to those from the animal model. See animal model and sire model.

Reference sire : A bull that has previously been progeny tested and subjected to national cattle evaluation that is used concurrently with a test sire or sires in a new progeny test program.

Reference sires provide genetic linkages among herds and/or existing databases, allowing indirect comparison of the test sire with bulls evaluated at other places and times.

Regression : A measure of the relationship between two variables expressing the expected change in one of them per unit change in the other.

Using regression methods, the value of one trait can be predicted by knowing the value of others.

For example, easily obtained carcass traits (hot carcass weight, fat thickness, rib eye area, and percentage of internal fat) are used to predict percent cutability.

Relationship matrix : A table that stores numerical values for the genetic relationships among all pairs of animals in a population.

It is used in genetic prediction technology to properly predict the genetic merit of each animal from its own phenotypic merit and that of all of its relatives.

Relative economic value : The amount by which net income to the cattle enterprise will change, per unit change in genetic merit for a trait.

Restriction enzyme (Endonuclease) : One of over 150 enzymes derived from bacteria that recognizes specific DNA sequences and cuts the DNA at those sites.

Restriction site : The specific recognition site in DNA at which a specific restriction enzyme cuts the DNA.

RFLP (Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism) : Polymorphism identified by digesting DNA with a restriction enzyme. Individuals differ in their resulting fragment patterns, which are visualized radioactively after separation through gel electrophoresis

Rib eye area : Area in square inches of the longissimus muscle measured at the 12th rib interface on the beef forequarter.

Ribonucleic acid (RNA) : A single-stranded molecule composed of ribonucleotides.

RNA differs from DNA in that it contains the base uracil (U) instead of thymine (T).

RNA is formed from DNA through transcription. It is involved in transferring and translating the genetic message from a gene into a protein product with a specific physiological function.

Rotational crossbreeding : Systems of crossing two or more breeds where the crossbred females are bred to bulls of the breed contributing the lowest proportion of genes to those females.

Rotational crossbreeding systems maintain relatively high levels of heterosis and allow for replacement heifers to be produced from within the system.

Roundup : Times when ranches will gather cattle for vaccinations, wean calves and prepare them to be sold.

S

Scrotal circumference : A measure of testes size obtained by measuring the distance around the testicles in the scrotum with a circular tape. Related to semen producing capacity and age at puberty of female sibs and progeny.

Scurs : Horny tissue or rudimentary horns that are attached to the skin rather than the bony parts of the head

Seedstock breeders : Producers whose primary goal is to produce breeding stock rather than animals for feeding and slaughter.

Progressive seedstock breeders have comprehensive programs designed to produce animals with optimum genetic merit for the combination of traits that will increase downstream profit of commercial beef production.

Selection : Choosing some individuals and rejecting others as parents of the next generation of offspring. Choosing as parents those individuals of superior estimated genetic merit for traits of interest

Selection differential (reach) : The difference between the average for a trait in selected cattle and the average for that same trait of the group from which they came.

The expected response to selection for a trait is equal to selection differential times the heritability of the trait.

Selection index : A formula that combines performance records from several traits or different measurements of the same trait into a single value for each animal.

Selection indexes assign relative emphasis to different traits according to their relative net economic importance, their heritabilities, and the genetic associations among them.

Selection intensity : The selection differential measured in phenotypic standard deviation units of the selected trait. It is inversely proportional to the proportion of available replacements actually selected to be parents of the next generation.

For example, with A. I. compared to natural service, only a small proportion of bulls needs to be selected, and the selection intensity, selection differential, and selection response will be high.

Serving capacity : A measure of the motivation, willingness, and ability of a bull to detect and service females in estrus.

Sibs : Brothers and sisters of an individual.

Sire model : A genetic prediction procedure in which EPDs are directly computed for all sires with progeny in the population.

Sire summary : Published genetic predictions (EPDs) of sires for economically important traits from national cattle evaluation programs.

Sire x environment interaction : When the difference in progeny performance among sires is dependent upon some factor of the environment under which the progeny were compared. For example, sires might rank differently for progeny performance in different contemporary groups, herds, or regions.

Sperm : A mature male germ cell.

Standardized performance analysis (SPA) : A set of programs that allow producers to collect, process, and interpret information on biological efficiency and economic returns to a seedstock or commercial beef production enterprise.

Stayability EPD : The expected difference among individuals in the probability that a daughter will stay in the herd to at least six years of age. Because the majority of cows culled before the age of six are open, the EPD is primarily a prediction of sustained fertility in female offspring.

Steer : Castrated male bovine.

Super ovulation : Process by which a cow is treated with reproductive hormones to induce her to produce more eggs than normal.

Systems approach : An approach to evaluating alternative individuals, breeding programs, and selection schemes that involves assessment of alternatives in terms of their net impact on all inputs and output in the production system.

This approach specifically recognizes that intermediate levels of performance in several traits may be more profitable than maximum performance for any single trait.

T

Tandem selection : Selection for one trait at a time. When the desired level is reached in one trait, then selection is practiced for a second trait.

Temperament (disposition) : A measure of the relative docility, wildness, or aggression of an animal toward unfamiliar situations, human handlers, or management interventions.

Terminal sires : Sires used in a crossbreeding system in which all of the progeny, both male and female, are marketed.

For example F, crossbred dams could be bred to terminal sires of a third breed and all calves marketed. Although this system allows maximum heterosis and complementary of breeds, replacement females must come from other herds.

Threshold model : Statistical procedures for analyzing traits that are expressed in an all-or-none fashion (alive vs dead or pregnant vs open, for example) but that probably are affected by environmental factors and by genes at many loci.

When genetic predictions are conducted for such traits using the threshold model, resultant EPDs reflect the expected proportion of an individual's progeny that will vs will not express the trait.

Transcription : The process by which an RNA copy is made from a gene.

Translation : The process by which ribosomes use the nucleotide sequence in RNA to synthesize proteins.

U

Ultrasonic measurements : A non-invasive method used to estimate carcass characteristics and reproductive events. It operates off the principle that sound waves echo differently with different densities of tissue.

USDA yield grade : Measurements of carcass cutability categorized into numerical categories with 1 being the leanest and 5 being the fattest. Yield grade and cutability are predicted from the same four carcass traits.

V

Variance : Variance is a statistic that numerically describes the differences among individuals for a trait in a population.

Without variation, no genetic progress would be possible, since genetically superior animals would not be distinguishable from genetically inferior ones.

VNTR (Variable Number of Tandem Repeats) : A type of minisatellite that is locus specific but cannot be generated by PCR.

W

Weight per day of age (WDA) : Weight of an individual divided by its age in days.

Whole Herd Reporting (WHR) : An inventory based performance recording system in which the production of all animals in a breeding herd and the performance of all progeny are accounted for annually.

In calf-based systems, by contrast, progeny performance data may be recorded selectively and production information is not gathered on females who do not produce live calves.

An inventory based Whole Herd Reporting system is necessary to acquire the data for genetic evaluation of some reproductive traits.

Y

Yield grade (see cutability) : A numerical score ranging from 1 (high yield) to 5 (low yield) reflecting the expected proportion of boneless, closely-trimmed cuts from the beef carcass.

It is estimated from a USDA prediction equation that includes measured or estimated values for hot carcass weight, rib eye area, fat thickness, and estimated percentage of kidney, pelvic, and heart fat.

Source: Beef Improvement Federation

Is This History Repeating Itself?

Let's start by talking about how the IRS had the nerve to ask for a "Reading List" from a Tea Party Group - and the group sent the IRS a copy of the Constitution.

It was reported in the news today that when Marion Bower decided to start her Tea Party organization in 2010, she didn’t know that it would take nearly two years for the Internal Revenue Service to approve her request for tax-exempt status.

Marion Bower also did not expect that providing information about the books her group read would be part of the application process.

"I was trying to be very cordial, but they wanted copies of unbelievable things," Bower told ABC News. "hey wanted to know what materials we had discussed at any of our book studies."

She ultimately sent one of the books, "The Five Thousand Year Leap" which is promoted conservative host Glenn Beck, to the IRS official handling her tax-exempt request in Cincinnati, Ohio.

She also sent a paperback copy of the Constitution of the United States.

"They wanted a synopsis of all the books we read," Bower said. "I thought, I don't have time to write a book report. You can read them for yourselves."

Marion Bower, who is 68 years of age and obviously knows that these requests are out of line, said she did not want to cause trouble or be argumentative with the IRS - so she patiently responded to their questions about her group, American Patriots against Government Excess.

She said the group in Fremont, Ohio, about 45 miles from Toledo, was formed as an educational group.

Her group’s request was granted in March 2012, about two years after they originally applied. She said she the requests included wanting the agenda and minutes of their regular meetings and other documents.

"I felt like, 'My goodness, what in the world is going on here?'" Bower said. "Is this ever going to end?"

Now we find out that by the IRS's own admission that Marion Bower’s group would have raised a red flag for the IRS simply because of its name.

In 2012, the IRS says that it flagged groups with the words “Tea Party” or “Patriot” in their names for additional scrutiny, investigation, examinations and audits.
She said, "They wanted copies of our blog. They said they had already taken copies of our website. They wanted a list of all of our officers, what we do at our meeting, how our board is made up."

The IRS says that it is part of its normal oversight responsibility to request additional information to "develop" applications that need heightened scrutiny because tax-exempt groups might only engage in certain amounts and certain kinds of political activity.

But Marion Bower said her group consisted of volunteers who routinely passed out copies of the U.S.Constitution at parades and had informational meetings on anything from the new health care law to disaster preparedness.

"We thought it would be a very simple process," she said. "It wasn’t a simple process."

I can't help but wonder how she feels now that she knows that she, a 68 year old woman in Fremont Ohio was targeted by the Obama Administration because she and her friends were passing out the Constitution and talking about the new health regulations?

If this were Nazi Germany in 1939 and Hitler's government stooges had their agents ask questions about you, or your associates, or wanted a list of all of your officers of your group, and wanted to know what you were really doing at your meetings, or how your board is made up when all you were doing was talking about the government, you would not think it odd at all.

That was life in Nazi Germany, and is life under the Obama Administration right now if you are a Conservative.

If you were a Jew in Nazi Germany you would think it scary for the government to scrutinize your behavior, to want to know your political leanings, to want to frighten you into submission, to control you through intimidation.

That was life in Nazi Germany, and under the Obama Administration if you're a Conservative.

Besides these similarities, what's interesting is that right now there are liberal Democrats, so-called "progressives," who are in favor of the Obama Administration using the IRS to scrutinize and intimidate Conservative Groups and individuals.

Take for example this insane statement by former NAACP Chairman, Julian Bond, when he was on MSNBC today.

Bond thinks the Obama Administration's use of the IRS is doing the right thing. He feel that singling out and targeting Conservatives for politically motivated audits is justified because they do not support Hitler -- I mean Obama.

Bond went so far as to say,  "the Tea Party is openly racist." Then went on to justify his hoping the IRS keeps up their scrutiny saying about the Tea Party, "they're the Taliban wing of American politics".

This is just like the anti-Jewish propaganda in Nazi Germany in the 1930s. Bond's mentality fits right in with the slander of Jews in Nazi Germany.

With that sort of mentality, that sort of blatant ignorance from a man who disguises himself as a Champion for Civil Rights, it is no wonder no one questions what Obama is doing.

For you liberals out there, remember the famous poem about the treatment of German Jews following the Nazis' rise to power and the subsequent "purging" of their chosen targets, group after group.
  Allow me to paraphrase that poem and put it into today's terms:
"First they came for the guns, and you did not speak out --
Because you did not own a gun, you are against them.

When they came for Christians, you did not speak out--

Because you were not a Christian, you did not think they mattered.

Then they came for Conservatives, and you did not speak out --
Because you were not Conservative, and you did not think it mattered.

When they came for the Constitution, you did not speak out--
Because you did not read the Constitution, you did not think it mattered. 

Then they came for you, and there was no one left to speak for you --
Because you did not matter."

While ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, all try to bury this story, here's something that liberals and Democrats like Bond and others of his ilk should remember:

If the government can break the law and violate my rights, they can break the law and violate yours. You're a fool if you don't think so.

Story by Tom Correa

IRS Openly Criminal - And We Should Be Worried!

Back in March of 2012, I wrote the following article on IRS abuse:

The IRS Wants Information From Tea Party Chapters?

Talk about overstepping your authority, this is an interesting twist of history.

It seems that the Sons of Liberty of 1765 are being resurrected all over again.

It was in Boston, Massachusetts, in early summer of 1765, when a group of Shopkeepers, Artisans got together to protest unfair laws and taxes placed upon them what they saw as a tyrannical government.

They called themselves The Loyal Nine. As the group grew, it came to be known as the Sons of Liberty. Frustration with the government was so bad that by the end of 1765, the Sons of Liberty existed in every American colony.

Knowing the ways of the world, they were not so naive to think that the government would not seek reprisals to their protests. Because of this, the Sons of Liberty met in secret out of fear of retribution from the government.

After the British government passed the Tea Act, American colonists viewed it as another example of "taxation without representation."

The American colonists were angry and helpless. They wanted to do something to let the British government know about the unhappiness that the Tea Act was causing.

As a way to protest the Tea Act, colonists in Philadelphia and New York turned the tea ships back to Britain. In Charleston the cargo was left to rot on the docks.

In Boston, the Royal Governor was stubborn and kept the ships in port - but the colonists dock workers would not allow them to unload. Cargoes of tea filled the Boston harbor, as the British ships weren't moving either way.

The Sons of Liberty discussed how best to get their message across to Great Britain, that the American colonies wanted more of a role in governing themselves.

The year was 1773 and Christmas was approaching. The American Colonists faced another year of unopposed and unrepresentative taxes. The Sons of Liberty decided to take action - it would later be called "The Boston Tea Party."

The Boston Tea Party was a symbolic act. It was meant to be an example of how far Americans were willing to go when they decide to speak out for their freedom.

But the Sons of Liberty were not fools, they knew that they must remain a secret organization. If not, then they'd be open to harsh reprisals and imprisonment from the British government.

Now fast forward to 2012.

Unlike the Sons of Liberty, Americans who joined in on the Tea Party rallies in 2009 never thought that they would be subject to reprisals and retribution from the United States government.

But now, now its happening!

Tea Party chapters around the nation are blasting the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) after the Federal agency sent them letters demanding information about their politics, contributors, and even family members.

In letters sent from IRS offices in Cincinnati earlier this month, chapters including the Waco, Texas, Tea Party and the Ohio Liberty Council were asked to provide a list of donors, identify volunteers, financial support for and relationships with political candidates and parties, and even printed copies of their Facebook pages.

The chapters that received requests were registering for nonprofit status as a 501(c)4 organizations. The classification mainly differs from 501(c)3 groups in that donors cannot deduct their contributions from their taxable income.

The tax code places fewer restrictions on 501(c)4 groups, allowing them to lobby in furtherance of their organizations' mission. They are also permitted to engage in political activity like endorsing candidates and donating money and time to specific campaigns, though it cannot be their primary activity.

Tea Party leaders said that they were particularly offended by demands that they name donors and volunteers, which is required by law, but were also asked to list any political ambitions of board members or their relatives.

Colleen Owens, spokeswoman for the Richmond, Virginia, Tea Party, claims that her chapter had a similar letter sent to them just two weeks before they were to hold a local convention in which they were asked to provide nearly 500 pages in documents.

They were required to return the requested documents two days before the start of the convention.

"Most of these groups are not wealthy and they've had their applications for 501(c)4 status since 2010," Owens said. "We only had two weeks to gather everything. The timing was suspicious."

"When determining whether an organization is eligible for tax-exempt status, including 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations, all the facts and circumstances of that specific organization must be considered to determine whether it is eligible for tax-exempt status. To be tax-exempt as a social welfare organization, they must be primarily engaged in the promotion of social welfare. Career civil servants make all decisions on exemption applications in a fair, impartial manner and do so without regard to political party affiliation or ideology," said a spokesman for the IRS.

But if that's so, then why ask questions about the political ambitions of board members or their relatives? If this is just an innocent inquiry, then why demand information about their politics, contributors, and even family members?

If this is so routine, I can't help but wonder why would they ask for to provide a list of donors, identify volunteers, financial support for and relationships with political candidates and parties, and even printed copies of their Facebook pages?

Tom Zawistowski, of the Ohio Liberty Council, a Tea Party chapter, called the questions about the names of donors, volunteers and members' relatives as "intelligence gathering."

"This has nothing to do with tax status," Zawistowski said. “It has to do with political affiliation. The questions are too close to home."

I agree with Colleen Owens, who is the spokeswoman for the Richmond, Virginia, Tea Party, when she said, "It's very intimidating and people are scared."

-- end of March 12, 2012 article.

That was early last year, 2012. Now we find out that the IRS did not stop their criminal behavior. 

And yes, it is criminal behavior. It is against the law to do what they have done.

We now find out that the IRS probes and investigations went beyond just looking into a few Tea Party members, and actually targeted Conservative Groups.

Withing the last few days, the IRS has admits targeting the Tea Party.

An IRS campaign to apply additional surveillance on Conservative Groups went beyond targeting "Tea Party" and "patriot" groups to include those focused on government spending, the Constitution, and several other broad areas.

Can you imagine this for a moment? An arm of the United States Government uses its power to examine your finances because you are interested in the CONSTITUTION of the UNITED STATES!

Imagine that! If you showed an interest in the CONSTITUTION of the UNITED STATES - the IRS may have investigated you!

And yes, they make it sound so clinical and inert. They make it sound like its no big deal. But it is a big deal!

The IRS consciously created additional guidelines specially targeting a certain segment of our population. An arm of the Federal Government, the IRS actually targeted law abiding citizens who they saw as "political threats!"

The "additional guidelines" used by the agency were part of a timeline, obtained by Fox News, from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, which is looking into the controversial IRS practice.

IRS officials apologized Friday for the scrutiny, but new information suggests senior leaders were apprised of the effort as early as 2011 despite lying to the public by denying what they were doing.

Republican lawmakers have vowed to investigate and hold hearings, calling the revelations deeply troubling.

"The conclusion that the IRS came to is that they did have agents who were engaged in intimidation of political groups," Michigan Rep. Mike Rogers told "Fox News Sunday."

"I don't care if you're a conservative, a liberal, a Democrat or a Republican, this should send a chill up your spine. It needs to have a full investigation."

Surprisingly, a top Democrat -- Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus -- also said Monday that his committee would launch a "full investigation" into the matter.

"These actions by the IRS are an outrageous abuse of power and a breach of the public's trust. Targeting groups based on their political views is not only inappropriate but it is intolerable," the Montana Democrat said in a statement. "Americans expect the IRS to do its job without passion or prejudice. We need to get to the bottom of what happened here. ... The IRS will now be the ones put under additional scrutiny."

President Obama weighed in as well, saying at a press conference Monday that "if the reports are true, then that's outrageous and there's no place for it -- and they have to be held fully accountable."

The president doesn't have to be concerned with "IF" because the IRS alread said they did the crime!

And as for Obama saying he first found out about the practice on Friday? Can you imagine that?

The President of the United States just found out what was being reported over a year ago!

To think that we knew before him? That would be like saying that President Roosevelt only found out about the bombing of Pearl Harbor on the radio! Incredible!

Obama said that "if" agents behaved in a partisan fashion, "I've got no patience with it. I will not tolerate it."

That's all fine and dandy, but since there is no "if" about it, why didn't President Obama say whether he would fire and criminally charge those who did this.

He did not say that or if he is putting the Attorney General on this. He did not say anything other than more "political speak".  Just a bunch of meaningless blather!

 The IRS internal Inspector General timeline shows that an entire Unit in the IRS was specifically assigned to examine Tea Party and "patriot" groups dating back to early 2010.

Moreover, the IRS internal Inspector General timeline shows that list of criteria became drastically larger by June 2011.

By 2011, the IRS was targeting individuals and groups focused on government spending, government debt, taxes, and education on ways to "make America a better place to live."

It even flagged people and groups whose "file" included criticism of "how the country is being run."

That's right, they have a "file" on you if you belong to a Conservative Group or have looked into government spending, government debt, taxes, how to "make America a better place to live," or "how the country is being run."

By early 2012, the criteria were updated to include organizations involved in "limiting/expanding government," education on social economic reform, the 9/12 Project, and the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

That's right, this is where we have come under this administration. Citizens are being investigated because they had shown an interest in reading the CONSTITUTION of the UNITED STATES and THE BILL of RIGHTS!

Is this scary? You bet your ass its scary!

For me, I want whoever is in charge of this charged and tried and sent to prison!

Since the information that is coming out right now contradicts public statements by IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman, who told Congressional investigators in March 2011 that specific groups were not being targeted, he should be charged with perjury.

Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins on Sunday also called the IRS activities chilling and said she was disappointed that President Obama had not condemned the actions.

"This is truly outrageous and it contributes to the profound distrust that the American people have in government," Collins told CNN's "State of the Union."

"It is absolutely chilling that the IRS was singling out Conservative Groups for extra review. And I think that it's very disappointing that the President hasn't personally condemned this."

At about the same time, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney released a statement saying: "If the inspector general finds that there were any rules broken or that conduct of government officials did not meet the standards required of them, the president expects that swift and appropriate steps will be taken to address any misconduct."

But this is not just a case of "misconduct" like someone getting something wrong on someone's paperwork, this is criminal to the extent that their are privacy issues at hand here. There are privacy laws that have been broken.

While the Federal Government has grown crazy with power lately, criminal conduct is criminal conduct and let's not try to make it less than it is.

Michigan Republican Rep. Dave Camp, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said Friday his committee will hold a hearing on the issue.

The IRS said Friday that it was sorry for what it called the "inappropriate" targeting of the conservative groups during the 2012 elections.

Lois G. Lerner, who heads the IRS division that oversees tax-exempt organizations, said the practice was initiated by low-level workers in Cincinnati and was not motivated by political bias. But on June 29, 2011, Lerner found out that such groups were being targeted, according to the Inspector General's report.

She was told at a meeting that groups with "Tea Party," "Patriot" or "9/12 Project" in their names were being flagged for additional and often burdensome scrutiny, the report states.

Can you imagine the nerve it takes to say that it "was not motivated by political bias" when it is blatantly obvious that that is exactly what it is - political targeting of the liberal opposition?

Why do people like Lerner think we are all fools? Of course it's Political Bias, they only TARGETED one group - Conservatives!

I am thankful that Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins does not accept such bullshit lies coming out of the IRS, either from Lerner or Shulman.

Senator Collins said she does not believe the activity was limited to "a couple of rogue IRS employees."

"After all," she added, "groups with `progressive' in their names were not targeted similarly."

And one last thing, its the idea of "targeting" citizens.

We should be worried, very very worried, when any agency, whether its IRS specifically targets Conservatives and Conservative Groups, or the USDA and EPA targets Ranchers and Farmers.

It is not in our best interest as a nation, a supposedly free country, to allow any agent or agency of the government - whether it be at the local, county, state or federal levels - to use their power and authority to target "law abiding" Americans for any reason.

If we allow this, America is done, we're finished, we can cash in our chips and close the lights.

If we allow the government, in any capacity, to "target" law abiding citizens, than everything that has been done to uphold our liberty and freedom, in all of the generations that have preceded us, would have been for nothing.

The threat to our freedom and liberty comes from abuse of power and authority. The IRS has shown themselves as guilty of doing both - abusing their power and authority while violating the law.


Story by Tom Correa