Beef Improvement Federation to Host Genetic Prediction Workshop
Dec. 12-13, in Kansas City, Missouri

The Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) will host a Genetic Prediction Workshop in Kansas City, MO on December 12-13, 2013 at the Holiday Inn KCI Airport and KCI Expo Center, 11728 NW Ambassador Drive.

The conference is designed to give academic, allied industry, breed association staff and cattle producers a forum to learn about and discuss the latest developments in beef cattle genetic evaluation strategies. The implementation of genomics technologies in national cattle evaluation systems will be the focus of discussion.  Speakers will highlight the experiences and current status of technology deployment at several major US breed associations, experiences developing genomic predictions of genetic merit and alternate strategies for computation of genomically enabled EPDs. The conference will also feature discussion of planned modifications to the system used to compute the Across Breed EPD adjustment factors at the US Meat Animal Research Center.

A USDA multi-state project (NCERA-225) focused on implementation and strategies for national beef cattle genetic evaluation will meet prior to the Genetic Prediction Workshop. This meeting will feature station reports and research updates from a number of committee members.
Registration for the BIF Genetic Prediction Workshop is $100 and includes a buffet breakfast, lunch, dinner and breaks during the conference. For NCERA committee members, an additional registration of $25 is required and includes a breakfast and break for this portion of agenda. Attendees must preregister for the events by December 1, 2013. Online registration and full agenda is available at http://www.ksubeef.org in the ‘Upcoming Beef Events’ section.

LODGING: A room block is available through November 8, 2013 at the Holiday Inn KCI Airport. Room rates are $92 plus applicable tax and are available the nights of December 11 and 12.  Conference attendees should call the hotel reservations department directly at 1-800-957-4654 and identify themselves with the NCERA-225 & BIF Genetic Prediction Workshop block.  Reservations made after 11/8/2013 are accepted based on room type and group rate availability. 

For more information about the BIF Genetic Prediction Workshop or the NCERA-225 meeting please contact Dr. Bob Weaber at 785-532-1460 or bweaber@k-state.edu or Lois Schreiner at 785-532-1267 or lschrein@ksu.edu.



Story by: Bob Weaber
bweaber@k-state.edu   http://www.ksubeef.org

For more information:

Dr. Bob Weaber – 785-532-1460 or bweaber@ksu.edu

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New Show-Me-Select Sire EPD Requirements Announced

Image
At the January 4th Show-Me-Select Board of Directors meeting, new service sire EPD requirements were approved. All sires, artificial insemination and natural service, must meet minimum Calving Ease Direct (CED) EPD requirements. In addition to yearly updates, two changes were made.

First, no Birth Weight EPD requirement will be published. All commonly used breeds now have CED EPDs available.

Second, all breeds in the International Genetic Solutions (IGS) genetic evaluation are now set to a common requirement. In the summer of 2018, breeds within the International Genetic Solutions switched to a single-step BOLT multi-breed genetic evaluation. The EPDs for animals in the IGS genetic evaluation are directly comparable across breeds.

In 2017, the Red Angus requirement for CED was a CED of 8, which represents the 30th percentile. Less than 5% percent of heifers breed to a bull with a CED EPD of 8 or larger had calving difficulty.We feel that this require is meeting the need to reduce cal…
Read more

2019 National Beef Essay Contest: “What does it mean to be a beef breeder in the 21st century?”

Image
Youth interested in the beef industry are encouraged to compete in a national essay contest. Essays should respond to the prompt “What does it mean to be a beef breeder in the 21st century?”

The winning essay will be published in one of BEEF magazine’s online newsletters (e.g. BEEF Daily or BEEF Cow-Calf Weekly). The 2nd through 5th place essays will be published on A Steak in Genomics blog. We will award $500 for first, $300 for second, and $200 for third place in the contest. New this year, we will have two age divisions, "13 and Younger" and "14 to 19". 

Essays will be judged by beef genetics extension specialists, breed association staff, and trade publication staff.

Essays will be judged on their ability to encourage best practices and technology adoption by describing:
Trust and effectiveness of beef breeding best practices and technologies.Simplicity of using technology.The profit and sustainability outcomes of using best practices and technology.

Essays are requ…
Read more

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 either at a year of age o…
Read more