A Steak in Genomics™

November 21, 2019 @ 7:00 p.m. CST During winter, many cattlemen and women utilize harvested forages and even crop residues to serve as the primary diet for their cattle when most grazing forages go dormant. However, many of these feedstuffs may not meet the dietary requirements of the animal. Join Dr. Tryon Wickersham, Texas A&M; Dr. Eric Bailey, University of Missouri; and Dr. Mary Drewnoski, University of Nebraska as they cover the importance of supplementing your herd when generally lower quality feedstuffs make up a majority of the animals diet specific to regions across the U.S. Click to Get Registered Today! Tell your fellow producers on social media! Share ...

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Tim McAllister AAFC Lethridge Research & Development Centre Microbes are part of the natural world, they occupy all parts of the world from deep sea vents, skin, digestive tract, and our food. The rumen is one of the most microbe rich environments in the world. We use fistulated animals to have a window into the rumen microbiome. Rather than looking at the bacteria that come out of the digestive tract, we can directly sample the rumen. The microbes in cattle rumens can even digest cotton shirts! In cattle, the majority of digestion happens in the rumen by the microbes. So, most of the time when we are feeding our cows, we are really feeding the microbes. Cows eat 2 to 20 kg of dry matter, 20 to 80 liters of water, and 50 to 150 liters of saliva. The microbes produce 2 to 6 kilograms of volatile fatty acids (VFA). The rumen also produces 0.75 to 2 kilograms of bacteria that go into the digestive system and can be digested. In a roughage diet, 65% of VFA is acetate. Cattl...

Robin Falkner, DVM, Zoetis Can't manage what we don't measure... Peter Drucker said, " If you can't measure it, you can't improve it. " But if we focus on measuring stuff that doesn't matter, much , then we are managing poorly. Can we consume our way to success? Consumerism is the attitude of "what should I buy?"  Don't go into the trade show as a consumer, go into the trade show as a producer. We too frequently think of a health program as a calendarized list of health practices. Just because everyone believes something doesn't mean it is right. Falkner again used his recipe analogy . We have been looking at recipes for a long time. We need to be developing better cooks. A sound animal health program is built on a foundation of: Managing exposures to pathogens Access to premium markets Let's look at the history of agriculture. Dr. Roger's researched innovation in agriculture in the late 1950s and 1960s. He look...

Fourth, final webinar in series focuses on bull selection DENVER, CO (April 12, 2018) – This year’s edition of the NCBA Cattlemen’s Genetics Webinar Series comes to a close April 19, with a special presentation that puts a focus on honing bull selection.  The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association teamed up with six genetics specialists from across the country to offer this series, which kicked off Jan. 18. The Genetics Webinar Series was designed for producers who would benefit from genetics knowledge, from the experienced seedstock breeder to someone who might be new to the cattle industry and needs to better understand genetics. It is being coordinated by the NCBA producer education team. Earlier webinars were “The 4 S’s of Crossbreeding: Simple, Structured, Successful and...

Four sessions will help producers better utilize genetics in beef production Cattle genetics will be the focus of a new set of webinars to help cattlemen and women better use the tool in their operations.  The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association is teaming up with six genetics specialists from across the country to offer the NCBA Cattlemen’s Genetics Webinar Series, which will kick off Jan. 18, 2018. Titled “Fake News: EPDs Don’t Work,” the January webinar will be followed by sessions in February, March and April that explore other aspects of genetic utilization that will give cattle producers a knowledge boost on cattle selection and breeding. Providing expertise to producers through the webinar series is the eBEEF team, a group of six genetic specialists from five academic institutions that have invested time and resources in the advancement of the cattle industry through genetics. Members of the team are: Darrh Bullock, Ph.D., University of Kentucky; Jared Decker, Ph.D....

eBEEF is partnering with National Cattlemen's Beef Association to present a series of webinars in 2018. Please mark your calendars and watch for more information! January 18, 2018 "Fake News: EPDs Don't Work", Dr. Alison Van Eenennaam and Dr. Matthew Spangler February 22, 2018 "Show me the money! Are there EPDs for profit?", Dr. Darrh Bullock and Dr. Jared Decker March 22, 2018 "The 4 S's of crossbreeding: simple, structured, successful, and sustainable", Dr. Robert Weaber and Dr. Megan Rolf April 19, 2018 "Putting the tools to use: buying your next bull", the eBEEF team These webinars will include opportunities for audience participation and will be an engaging series.

Technology in the beef industry is constantly improving, which can make it hard to keep up. Plus, we want to ensure that we are using all of the available practices to produce beef in a profitable, efficient, and conscientious manner. With this in mind, National Cattlemen's Beef Association hosts an annual webinar series, and this year I am excited to be involved! On February 16th at 7PM CST, Bob Weaber and I will present during the NBCA Cattlemen's Webinar Series. Dr. Weaber will discuss the positive effects crossbreeding has on your cow herd and how new research is allowing us to better understand why crossbreeding works. I will discuss where we have been and where we are going with DNA and genomic technologies. There will be a question and answer period, so please bring questions. Register today at www.beefusa.org !