Pelvic area is a measurement of the size of the opening of the pelvis in a beef female. The pelvic opening is typically oval, and a tool called a pelvimeter is used to determine the height and width in centimeters of this opening. The area is obtained by multiplying the height by the width. A typical pelvic height for a yearling beef heifer is 14 to 15 cm, while a typical width will be from 11 to 13 cm.

The key to using pelvic area measurements is to understand that they are to be used as a culling tool, not as a selection tool. Pelvic area is highly correlated with size; bigger heifers have bigger pelvic areas. However, bigger heifers also have bigger calves. Selection strictly for pelvic area will lead to an increase in the size of your beef cow herd. Actually, pelvic area measurement should be used to find those heifers that have an abnormally small pelvic opening for their age and weight. Unfortunately, a single limitation for pelvic area cannot be used due to the huge variation in size and breed makeup of cattle in the United States.

Another thing to consider in your situation is that pelvic area is associated with only 9% of all cases of calving difficulties. Birth weight and/or calving ease of the sire is a trait more highly associated with calving problems. Since the incidence of calving problems is so high in your herd, you may want to examine the birth weight and/or calving-ease EPDs (expected progeny differences) of your herd sire.