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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

Diagnostic for Disease Susceptibility in Sheep

Here is an article about the discovery and utilization of genetic markers to reduce the susceptibility of sheep to ovine progressive pneumonia virus.
From Viral Infection in Sheep Linked to Gene:

"Producers could use the marker we’ve made available to make a flock genetically less susceptible to disease, and therefore, decrease the risk of animals becoming infected again over time," Leymaster says. 
The ultimate goal is to give producers tools that allow them to choose breeding stock that do not have genetic risk factors, he says, so they can reduce the prevalence of OPPV and eventually eradicate it from flocks. 
 "We don’t want to oversell these findings, but at the same time, we want producers to consider how they might use this to their advantage," Leymaster says. "We’re continuing our research and will be able to contribute additional information in the future. I’m optimistic that the industry will be able to successfully address this major disease problem." 
This is a great example of using genomics to meet a need of the industry and improve animal welfare.

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