A Steak in Genomics™

A trio of researchers will purchase one GreenFeed Pasture System with the grant Written by Logan Jackson   A trio of researchers in the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR) Division of Animal Sciences recently received a 2020 Research Equipment Grant from C-Lock Inc. to purchase one GreenFeed Pasture System, which measures the amount of methane, carbon dioxide, oxygen, hydrogen and hydrogen sulfide gases released by cattle. GreenFeed Pasture System, C-Lock Inc. Jared Decker, associate professor and state beef Extension specialist, Eric Bailey, assistant professor and state beef Extension specialist, and Derek Brake, assistant professor, are the trio leading the project for CAFNR. Their focus will be on using GreenFeed for the prediction of cow efficiency genetic merit (cow efficiency EPD) by combining gas production data, metabolic theory, and genomic and pedigree data. C-Lock Inc., founded in 2009, developed and patented GreenFeed. Thi...

We will have a scientific article describing the hair shedding research soon. Work was completed by Harly Durbin during her time at Angus Genetics Inc. as an intern.

Dr. Sara Place Senior Director, Sustainable Beef Production Research, NCBA Presentation at Mountaineer Cattlemen's College Headlines are largely negative regarding beef and sustainability. Increased questions about beef's environmental impacts, animal welfare, and health/nutrition. Many companies are using these concerns to market their products. Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation regarding beef's impact. Sustainability is a complex topic influencing environmental, social, and economic issues. Most of beef's opponents focus on environmental impact. It is true that beef tends to have a larger biological impact, because they are ruminants and produce gas. They also have later maturity compared to other livestock species. However, there is a lot of variability across the world in terms of beef's environmental impact. United States beef production has some of the lowest environmental impacts of cattle production across the world. Americans eat ...

Dean Houghton Anyone who wants to protect soil, air and water is at ground zero. Houghton has been an observer of agriculture. He bought a 35mm camera and enrolled in journalism at the University of Missouri. He is also a farmer in Polo, Missouri. His wife loves baldie cattle and he raises sheep. When they first got married, Dean left the cattle alone and his wife left the sheep alone. But, they eventually realized it worked better if they managed the cattle and sheep together. They never leave anything uncovered using strip grazing, cover crops, and no-till. We need to recognize the benefits of cattle and livestock production including carbon sinks, soil health, and wildlife habitat. We can't sustain metropolitan areas without agriculture land. The year 1950 is the Great Acceleration point for the use of resources. We are now in the Anthropocene, which is defined as the earth's most recent geologic time frame. This is defined by human activity influencing geological p...

John Pollak Emeritus Professor, Cornell University 50 years is a milestone in time that provides an opportunity to reflect on accomplishments. It is also an opportunity to reset the clock. The process for selection Establish a goal Create a breeding objective Collect data for traits defined in the objective Utilize the data to predict genetic merit (other steps I missed) What was the goal to motivate selection we performed over the past 50 years? Pollak could not identify a consistent goal over the last 50 years. We can look at genetic trends and see that genetic change has been accomplished. Change has happened, but can we articulate the goal that lead to these changes? What goal should motivate the selection we perform ove the next 50 years? The temptation is to continue on perhaps the same path on before. Doing the same things better. We should avoid this. If Pollak were to define the goal for the beef industry's breeding objective it would be increase th...

Sara Place Senior Director, Sustainable Beef Production Research, National Cattlemen's Beef Association Does less beef mean less heat? Is meat, especially beef, not good for the planet? We see the marketing of plant based burgers. We also see work for lab grown beef. In the United States, agriculture and forestry are net carbon sinks (they capture carbon). In the US, beef is responsible for 2% of emissions. However, pasture is responsible for 3.9% of carbon capture. Agriculture is a net help in carbon emissions because of carbon capture! Further, carbon emissions are improving over time in agriculture. However, the news media is not telling this story. Emissions are not going down due to decreased consumption of beef. Emission are going down because of technology advancements. Productivity is a key driver in improving sustainability. We would need many more cattle, with much more emissions, if we produced cattle in 2017 they way we did in 1976. If we continue on current...

Written by Jackson Barry. Canton, MO, Canton FFA, Shamrock 4-H in Clark County To me, being a beef breeder in the 21st century means using every tool on the belt of the cattle industry. The goal? Produce the highest quality, most efficient cattle. Genetics is our biggest asset, because even the best management cannot overcome inferior quality. I will elaborate on the many potentials for higher production and profit through better genetics, record keeping, use of technology, and effective management. First, genetics. We can and will select those cattle who produce the most for the least. To be more specific, instead of looking at output per cow, we must look at output per unit of land, as in pounds of beef that make it to the rail compared with acres used. The fact is, a larger cow will often produce more than her smaller contemporary. However, if we step back and see the big picture, we can run more moderate sized cattle on a given pasture than larger cows. Also, it has been prove...

It is the time of year to once again record and report hair shedding scores. This fact sheet on eBEEF.org should come in handy. Participants in our hair shedding genomic research project should have received an email from Harly Durbin. This email contained an Excel file to report hair shedding scores on enrolled cattle. If not, please get in touch with us as soon as possible. We must receive 2017 data in these Excel files! It is important that we receive data on our target goal of 8,000 cattle. If your cattle are enrolled in the research program, we should have received DNA cards and 2016 data from you by now. If we have not yet received your data, you are in danger of being removed from the program. If we have not received your data, please get in touch with Harly and I by email or by phone . We know receiving genomic-enhanced EPDs is very important to hair shedding study participants. This is also a priority to us. We have worked with breed associations and GeneSeek to m...

Dr. Clay Mathias King Ranch Institute After adjusting for inflation, there was an 18% increase in calf value from 1990 to 2015. The big cost categories are Depreciation, Feed, and Labor. The drivers of these are corn, oil, ag land and minimum wage. Corn cost increased 24%. Oil increased 284%. Ag land increased by 134%. Labor only increased by 9%. "Like calf prices, all of these increased more than inflation." Mathias said. We have seen a 30 to 50 lb increase in weaning weight over the past 20 years in the seedstock sector. We have data-driven tools for selection decisions such as genomic-enhanced EPDs. In Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma: Pregnancy rate from 1993 to 1995 was 89%. In 2013 to 2015 it was 90%. Weaning rate from 1993 to 1995 was 84%. In 2013 to 2015 it was 84%. Weaning weight from 1993 to 1995 was 525 lbs. In 2013 to 2015 it was 525 lbs. Pounds of calf weaned/cow exposed was 439 lbs. It was 438 lbs. in 2013 to 2015. Identical trends are see...

I have published a new fact sheet at eBEEF.org , titled " Hair shedding scores: A tool to select heat tolerant cattle. " Hair shedding scores are an easy and effective way to measure cattle’s ability to cope with heat stress. In this fact sheet, learn the how, when, and why of hair shedding scores. As part of our work in matching a cow's genetics to her environment we have recruited 8,000 cattle to participate in a hair shedding genomic project . Producers collected hair shedding scores on their cattle and are sending us DNA samples for genomic testing. This work was supported by the USDA-NIFA [grant number 2016-68004-24827, Identifying Local Adaptation and Creating Region-Specific Genomic Predictions in Beef Cattle ].