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Hereford and Red Angus Heifers Recruited for Genomics Research

The University of Missouri is recruiting 2,500 Hereford heifers and 2,500 Red Angus heifers to participate in a heifer puberty and fertility genomic research project. Heifers should be registered Hereford, registered Red Angus, or commercial Hereford or Red Angus. Hereford x Red Angus crossbred heifers targeted for the Premium Red Baldy Program would also be a good fit for the research project. Producers must be willing to work with a trained veterinarian to collect the following data: ReproductiveTract Scores collected at a pre-breeding exam 30 to 45 days prior to the start of the breeding season. PelvicMeasurements (height and width) collected at the same pre-breeding exam 30 to 45 days prior to the start of the breeding season. Pregnancy Determination Using Ultrasound reporting fetal age in days. Ultrasound will need to occur no later than 90 days after the start of the breeding season. In addition, heifers must have known birth dates and have weights recorded eithe
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Beef Producers Could Have More Precise Way to Manage and Select Herds in the Future, Thanks to Collaboration Between Engineering, CAFNR

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by   Janese Heavin Beef producers in the future could have a more precise way to determine the productivity of their cattle, thanks to a collaboration between Mizzou Engineering and the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR). “The goal is to maximize intake versus the output such as meat production,” said  Guilherme DeSouza . “From an engineering point of view, we want to optimize the process.” DeSouza is an associate professor of  electrical engineering and computer science  (EECS). He is working with  Jared Decker , an associate professor for CAFNR. Decker recently received a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture for the work. The project aims to provide a better understanding of how a herd’s environment and management impact productivity, Decker said. Researchers will predict factors such as a cow’s size—surface area to volume ratio—skeletal structure, fat resources and hair coat using 3-D image data.
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The Genetics of Fertility: Existing and Developing Tools

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My hat is off to the Oklahoma State University Beef Extension team for putting together an excellent  Rancher's Thursday Lunchtime Series to continue to provide information during the pandemic.  I had the pleasure to present in the series with a talk titled "The Genetics of Fertility: Existing and Developing Tools". You can access the slides here:  http://beef.okstate.edu/files/the-genetics-of-fertility You can watch a recording of the presentation below. Red Angus and Hereford producers interested in heifer puberty and fertility research should check out the following pages to learn how to get free genomic-enhanced EPDs by participating in the project. https://blog.steakgenomics.org/2020/07/heifer-puberty-and-fertility-project.html https://blog.steakgenomics.org/2020/02/HeiferRecruitment.html Again, thanks to Dave Lalman for inviting me to present.
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Hair Shedding and Ecoregion-specific Growth: Harly Durbin's PhD Defense Seminar

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 On December 3rd, Harly Durbin, a PhD student in my group, successfully defended her PhD dissertation. You can watch a video of her public seminar, in which she discusses hair shedding and genotype-by-environment interactions for growth.  Congratulations Harly!
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You're Invited! PhD Defense Seminars

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  It has been a very busy fall for the Decker Computational Genomics Group ! This will be capped off by two PhD defenses the first week of December.  “Leveraging Large-scale Beef Cattle Genomic Data to Identify the Architecture of Polygenic Selection  and Local Adaptation” Presented by: Troy Rowan December 1st, 2020 at 1 pm CST Seminar will be presented on Zoom . In January, Troy will be starting as an assistant professor with a focus on beef genomics research and extension at University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture.  "Genomics of Seasonal Hair Shedding and Ecoregion-Specific Growth to Identify Environmentally-Adapted Beef Cattle" Presented by: Harly Durbin December 3rd, 2020 at 12 pm CST Seminar will be presented on Zoom .  In January, Harly will be continuing in my group as a postdoctoral researcher. We appreciate all of the support and collaboration from the beef industry that has made this research possible. Further, research would not have been possible without
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Angus University: Focusing on Fertility

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 On October 27, 2020, Kelli Retallick and Duc Lu from Angus Genetics Inc. gave a seminar on AGI's research into haplotypes affecting fertility. The dairy industry has been reporting these haplotypes that cause pregnancy's losses for years.  I appreciate that Kelli and Duc emphasized that these should be treated like any other EPD, simply tools that help make selection and mating decisions. No scarlet letters needed! Jerry Taylor reported on USDA funded work on this topic at the 2019 BIF Symposium.  http://blog.steakgenomics.org/2019/06/bif-2019-developing-dna-tests-for.html   Let me know if you have questions about this research or these types of tools!
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2020 Applied Reproductive Strategies in Beef Cattle: FREE Webinar Series

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  Pre-registration is required for each session Nov 4th: go.beefrepro.org/Cow_Heifer Nov 5th: go.beefrepro.org/Bull Vet CE: go.beefrepro.org/VET_CE Following registration you will receive an email with session information and links Nov 4th – Cow & Heifer Session                   *All times are CST 1:00-1:45 PM: Dr. Phillipe Moriel, Univ. of Florida - Enhancing long-term growth and reproduction of heifers 2:00-2:45 PM: Dr. Reinaldo Cooke, Texas A&M - Nutritional strategies for pregnancy success  3:00-3:45 PM: Dr. Cliff Lamb, Texas A&M - Utilizing sexed semen in AI and ET programs 4:00-4:45 PM: Matt Perrier, Dalebanks Angus - Reproductive technologies that have changed the ranch   Nov 5th – Bull Session 1:00-1:45 PM: Dr. David Kenny, Teagasc - Bull development and its impacts on sperm 2:00-2:45 PM: Dr. Zach McFarlane, Cal. Poly - Bull nutrition for a successful herd sire 3:00-3:45 PM: Dr. Tom Geary, USDA-ARS - Bull fertility: nutritional effects and new measures  4:00-4:
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New research creates DNA tests for heifer fertility

Researchers seek Hereford and Red Angus heifers in include in the trials. By Heather Smith Thomas Reprinted with permission of BEEF Magazine. You can’t sell a calf that’s never born. That’s why fertility is the most important trait in beef cattle because it all has to start with a pregnancy. A heifer that settles early in the breeding season and continues to have a calf on time every year is much better than a heifer that does not breed, breeds late, or has only one calf and then comes up open and must be replaced by another heifer that is expensive to develop. There are a number of methods producers utilize in selecting heifers, but accurate tools to select heifers for fertility and early puberty have not been available—until now. The University of Missouri is doing a research project looking into the genetics of fertility and heifer puberty, led by Jared Decker, state beef genetics Extension specialist. He recently received a grant from USDA-NIFA (National Institute of Food and Agric
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