A Steak in Genomics™

Brent Mason Mason-Knox Ranch Mason-Knox Ranch develops heifers to market bred heifers. They like to purchase the heifer calves back from their customers. They also like to breed heifers to producer heifer calves, because we know that heifer calves are lighter compared to bull calves. Mason also sees an opportunity to quick change a cow herd by using sex sorted semen. Mason said, "Those who know me, know I'm a nervous nelly." The first time they did split time AI, Mason looked at all of the heifers in the hold pen and was nervous. Dave Patterson told him to eat dinner. Mason ate dinner, came back, and still very few heifers in heat. Patterson said, "Just let them be." Next morning, lots of heifers were in heat. Mason also sees opportunity for sexed-semen in seedstock. Think about breeding that cow who always produces a great bull, to male select semen. "There is a difference between burlap and satin," Mason quoted a friend. Mason believes in us...

Jordan Thomas University of Missouri NAAB Symposium Why do we care about sex sorted semen? For any on mating, one sex of calf is always more valuable. This is due to genetic potential and your marketing program. What is the value difference? What is the true cost of using sex sorted semen? Does the value difference justify the cost? In a perfect world, pregnancy rates would be identical between conventional and sex-sorted semen. But, this is not true. Further, the bull you want to use may not have sex-sorted semen available due to sorting or fertility factors. Sex-sorted semen is also very sensitive to the timing of estrus in a timed synchronization program. Lastly, sex-sorted semen is not free! There are direct costs (cost per straw of semen) and indirect cost (lower pregnancy rates, estrus detection, more complicated protocols). Unlike the dairy industry, we have a fixed breeding season in the beef industry. If a dairy cow is not breed using sex-sorted semen, we just AI ...

George Perry South Dakota State University NAAB Symposium Assume that a cow breeds 30 cows per year for 4 years. Regardless of the year, bull price per calf sired was higher than the cost of semen. We could have different bulls for different groups of cows. Bulls for heifers, bulls for maternal calves, and bulls for terminal calves. Consider breeding a calving ease bull to mature cows- you are giving up additional growth with that mating. Sexed semen causes the differences in sexes of the calves that we would expect to see. The number of bulls and heifers in a calf crop can be skewed even if we do one round of artificial insemination followed by natural service. Perry's groups used 6 herds with 878 cows breed to 5 different bulls. They used conventional semen and sexed semen from each bull. Gender skewed semen had a pregnancy rate of 52.4% and conventional semen had a pregnancy rate of 67%. When cows have displayed estrus (been in heat) at time of AI, pregnancy rate was 6...

Reprinted from the American Red Angus Magazine. Written by Jaclyn N. Ketchum, Cliff Lamb, and Michael F. Smith, Division of Animal Sciences, University of Missouri, and Department of Animal Science, Texas A&M University Efficiency, sustainability, productivity and profitability – these words are used in conversations around the world including among cattlemen. How do cattlemen assimilate these goals into their herd? One way is by implementing a defined breeding season. “Heifers that conceive earlier in the breeding season will calve earlier in the calving season and have a longer interval to rebreeding. Calves born earlier in the calving season will also be older and heavier at weaning,” stated Robert Cushman of U.S. Meat Animal Research Center. He added, “Heifers that calved early in the calving season with their first calf had increased longevity and kilograms weaned, compared with heifers that calved later in the calving season.” Increased longevity and he...

George Perry South Dakota State University Criteria that heifers should meet: What has the pregnancy rate in your heifers been over the past few years? Have your heifer received growth promoting implants? Have your heifers reached the target weight? Typically 65%. What are the Reproductive Tract Scores of the heifers? Heifers have to reach 55% of their mature weight to start reaching puberty. However, how well can we know what the mature weight will be? When targeting 55% at breeding, we are really walking on the knife's edge. By targeting 65%, we are hedging for uncertainty. Heifers with Reproductive Tract Scores that are 1 or 2 not only have lower conception rates as heifers, they also have lower conception rates at 2-year olds. Criteria that Cows Should Meet What was the body condition score of your cows at calving? Should be greater than 5. What is the current body condition score of your cows? How many days postpartum will your bows be when estrus synchronizat...

Sandy Johnson Kansas State University There are 365 days in a year. There are 283 days of gestation, plus or minus. We have 82 days to get a cow cycling and breed. Kansas State University and Iowa Beef Center have put together 3 versions of the Estrus Synchronization Planner, Excel, mobile, and multi-group. The sync planner is freely available at http://www.iowabeefcenter.org/estrussynch.html . In the tool, you select the type of protocol you are using (estrus detection, estrus detection with clean up AI, and fixed-time AI). The mobile version is available at www.estrussynch.com . They also have a multi-group version of the Excel estrus synchronization planner. It is important to enable macros within the Excel program so the sheet can work. This allows you to have two groups of heifers, or a group of heifers and a group of cows. This allows you to print out a calendar. The estrus planner also produces a supply list. The estrus planner is focused on the few weeks of br...

David Patterson University of Missouri The goals of developing FTAI protocols: Easy to schedule and administer Reduce animal handling Result in a highly synchronized and fertile estrus and ovulation Protocols in Heifers Make sure you are using the protocols for the current year. Don't use protocol sheets that are several years old, as the protocols are changed and improved. "With an MGA program, intake is key" Patterson said. He does not recommend top dressing the MGA, but mixing it into a 3 to 5 lbs carrier. MGA has a much broader distribution of the timing of estrus expression compared to a 14-day CIDR protocol. With a MGA protocol, you AI 72 hours after PGF2 administration. With a CIDR protocol, heifers are AI'ed 66 hours after PGF2 administration. You should not see any estrus expression during MGA feeding periods. If you do see heifers in heat, then there is a problem with MGA intake. Prior to the first breeding season, there needs to be he...

Michael Smith University of Missouri The estrous cycle averages 21 days, with a range of 17 to 24 days.  There is variation in how long cows express estrus. Most cows express estrus for more than 11 hours. However, there is a significant number of cows who express estrus for less than 10 hours. These cows are often the ones that are missed in heat check programs. The success of artificial insemination programs is a function of both estrus detection and pregnancy rate. The presence of progestorone prevents ovulations and the expression of estrus. We use this principle in estrus synchronization procotols to synchronize estrus and ovulation. There are three catagories of horomones used in estrus synchronization: Progestins/Progesterone Prosteglandins GnRH Progesterone blocks estrus, blocks ovulation, preserves oocyte quality, and prepares for pregnancy. The two progestorone products used in the US are MGA and CIDR. MGA feeding for 14 days syncs heifers...

Written by Duane Dailey Beef-cow herd owners will learn new ways to raise better calves at three University of Missouri meetings in March. The sessions lead producers from proven breeding to new uses of DNA. MU Extension animal scientists David Patterson and Jared Decker will lead the ReproGene Meetings. Management of fixed-time artificial insemination allows more live calves and more uniform calf crops. New DNA tools make rapid advances in beef quality. Genomics allow breeders to predict traits of the next generation. Traditionally, breeders use expected progeny differences (EPDs). Now, new EPDs add DNA data. Pedigrees and production testing are still used; however, genetically-enhanced EPDs give more accuracy. A simple DNA test with blood or hair samples replaces years of production testing. With GE-EPDs, the added DNA speeds improving traits, whether for maternal or meat market ends. Recent high premiums at packing plants signal demand for more high-qual...

Written by Logan Jackson College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources The Division of Animal Sciences at the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR) boasts many strengths, including its vast research and work with beef cattle reproduction and genetics. The faculty, who have responsibilities not only in research, but also in teaching, extension and economic development, are experts in taking their findings and sharing them with farmers, ranchers and the Missouri community as a whole. With the help of a $300,000 grant from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the division will be able to expand on those leadership opportunities. The grant, through USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), will be used to develop The National Center for Applied Reproduction and Genomics (NCARG) in Beef Cattle. The goal of NCARG will be to promote the economic impact of the technologies Mizzou Animal Sciences fac...

Jordan Thomas, a PhD candidate in David Patterson's group, presented on the use of sex-sorted semen in the beef industry at the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources Thompson Research Center Field Day. Loading...

The Thompson Research Field Day will be Thursday, September 21, 2017. This year we will be having an evening program, hopefully to better accommodate more people's schedules. See the flyer below for program details. Dinner will be provided.

PALMYRA, Mo. – The fourth and final spring Show-Me-Select heifer sale topped the average price of all at $1,928. “Buyers were light, but bidders came to buy heifers,” said Daniel Mallory, University of Missouri Extension livestock specialist, New London. He noted that many new buyers came from northern Missouri and Iowa. Consignors were mostly longtime members of the MU Show-Me-Select Replacement Heifer Program. “That shows the quality of the program,” Mallory said. “Farmers see the added value built for the past 21 years.” The Palmyra sale sold 120 heifers from 12 consignors. They went to 16 buyers. The top price was $2,550 at F&T Livestock Market, June 3. That was for a single black-baldy heifer from Richards Farm, Keytesville. She was a Tier Two, AI-bred. Price averages for the other sales: Farmington, $1,813; Fruitland, $1,764; Joplin, $1,714. Tops at the first two sales were $2,500 per head. The top at Joplin was $3,200. Those were for a new class of SMS heifers called S...

Justin Rhinehart, standing in for Les Anderson University of Kentucky University of Tennessee Why don't more producers use estrus synchronization and AI? Labor/Time 39% Cost 17% Too Complicated 17% Lack of facilities 11% Other 14% Does not work 2% The cost per pregnancy for a bull costs between $60 and $75 depending on pregnancy rate. The cost per pregnancy is approximately similar between AI and natural service, if calculated on an equivalent production basis. Estrus synchronization and AI improve profitability. Study looked at 1,197 cows from 8 herds.  Herds that used fixed time-AI saw a higher weaning percentage, shorter days to calving, greater weaning weight per cows exposed, resulting in AI herds being $49 more profitable per calf.  The greatest benefits of AI are realized after multiple generations. Part of this is improved genetic merit of cow herd from picking r...

by Eldon Cole, Livestock Specialist Headquartered in Lawrence County, MO The skidding cattle market the past few months resulted in considerable pessimism prior to the 33 rd Show-Me-Select (SMS) Bred Heifer Sale at Joplin Regional Stockyards on November 20.  However, when the last of 293 heifers left the ring, the average price of $2477 brought smiles to most of the sellers. The previous 32 sales results predicted an average heifer price just under $2000 per head.  That forecast is based on the week’s average price per head for a 550 pound, Medium and Large Frame, Number 1 Muscle steer at the Joplin and Springfield markets.  That average amounted to $1011 per head according to the Missouri Market Summary. The SMS heifer average of $2477 divided by the steer average resulted in a 2.45:1 figure.  In the previous sales the highest ratio was 2.4:1.  Since the SMS sales began in 1997 at Joplin the smallest ratio was 1.65:1 in 1999. There was a s...

The Thompson Research Center Field Day will be held on Tuesday September 15, 2015 at the research center in Spickard. I will be discussing the use of genomics predictions in registered and commercial heifers. In addition to my talk and demonstration, there will be information on reproduction, nutrition and forages, antibiotic labeling, economics, and timber sales. In the survey below, let me know what topics or questions you would like addressed in my presentation. For those of you in Northwest Missouri, I would love to see you there. Loading...

Dr. G. Cliff Lamb University of Florida - North Florida Research & Education Center "We know how to synchronize the cows!" Cliff Lamb stated to start his talk at the NAAB symposium at the 2015 Beef Improvement Federation Symposium. Fixed timed AI methods make inseminating cattle much simpler. Lamb discussed the University of Florida North Florida Research and Education Center case study. From the onset of taking leadership of the center, Lamb set certain rules that cows had to meet to stay in the herd. This is motivated by the fact that pregnancy has 4 times greater economic impact than any other production trait. Because of its importance, shouldn't fertility be a focus? Cows must meet certain standards, e.g. keep certain rules, to stay in the center's herd. This include: Must calve by 24 months of age Cow must have a calf every 365 days Cow must calve without assistance Cow must provide sufficient resuource for the calf to reach its genetic potentia...

by Alan Levine I had a great conversation with Tom Steever at the Missouri State Fair Simmental Event . Listen to the interview . Then, post your thoughts in the comments section. In the future, how will your operation approach genetic defects?

I recently came upon this post about Cattlemen's Evolution on the Bridging the Cattle Gap blog.  I loved that he explained the link between reproductive technologies and genetic selection.  In addition to the points raised in his post, artificial insemination also increases the selection intensity.  As we use a smaller number of elite sires that are further from the average of the breed or population, genetic change becomes more rapid. On August 30th 2012, the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources at the University of Missouri will be launching a new program called Quality Beef-By the Numbers .  This program aims to assist commercial cattle operations to realize increased income as a result of utilizing reproductive and genomic technologies.  Previously, progressive cattle operations have not been rewarded for producing a higher quality product.  This program aims to change that situation.  I encourage you to check it out. Scott Brown...