As you know, I started in my current position at the University of Missouri Beef Genetics Extension Specialist in March of 2013 . Check out the first A Steak in Genomics video to see how I describe my approach to extension education and research. (Excuse the ums and uhs, I was a little more nervous than usual as it was a job interview!) Have you ever wondered why polls started appearing at the bottom of these blog posts? It is an effort to have a data-driven extension program in which we measure and respond to feedback from you, the Steakholders. In order for us to really make progress in using genomic technologies and animal breeding best practices in beef production, there needs to be an open and honest conversation about these topics. If you ever are concerned there is an inaccuracy in my writings or presentations, please bring it to my attention as a comment on the blog, in an email, or a phone call . But please bring the data! Don't bring fallacies or antidotes to a d...

Rebecca Mettler wrote a story for the Joplin Regional Stockyards Cattlemens News. Mettler talked to Dr. Megan Rolf of Oklahoma State University and me about the use of DNA testing in the beef industry with a focus on commercial operations. Check out the article on page 18 of the November issue !

For those that have experienced the clarity and beauty of viewing the world through the lens of science, interacting with those who choose opinion and fear over facts and evidence can be very frustrating. But Kevin Folta, at the University of Florida didn't even get to interact with or question Ms. Hari about the misinformation she shares to a large audience. Head over to the Illumination blog to read Kevin Folta's thoughts. 

Jack Ward, Wade Shafer, and John Genho presented during todays NBCEC Brown Bagger seminar. They gave updates about how their breeds are utilizing genomic information. Jack Ward The American Hereford Association will release an Udder EPD in the Spring 2015 update, which is typically published in late December. They are also working on a Feed Efficiency EPD which could be released in December, but will more likely be in the Summer of 2015. In the Summer of 2015 the AHA will also publish a Sustained Cow Fertility EPD (similar to other breed's longevity EPDs) and a Heifer Calving Rate EPD (a measure of heifer fertility). Ward also presented a nice analysis of price differences between bulls with and without genomic-enhanced EPDs. He set an upper limit of $15,000 to avoid high priced bulls that would skew the numbers. Bulls with traditional, low accuracy EPDs averaged $5,325. Bulls with genomic-enhanced EPDs averaged $7,475 at sale. More results can be seen in Ward's Hereford ...

*UPDATED 7 October 2014 I had a brief meeting with Dan Moser of Angus Genetics Inc today in which he informed me of several updates to the American Angus Association's genetic evaluations. First of all, heifer pregnancy EPDs, which were not estimated this summer, are once again being successfully estimated. When the dataset became large the analysis would no longer run properly. Previously, the heifer's service sire was fit as a fixed effect in the EPD equations. This means sires were forced to have the same conception rate in every herd. In the new model, the service sire's conception rate is fit as a random effect, meaning that we do not perfectly measure the conception rate and allow for factors that influence conception, such as differences in semen handling, to vary between herds. The base year of the heifer pregnancy EPD was also changed from 2000 to 2005 due to 2005 being the earliest year with a large amount of pregnancy data. Second, the fourth recalibratio...

The American Gelbvieh Association (AGA) has released genomic-enhanced EPDs with the fall 2014 international cattle evaluation. Genomic-enhanced EPDs (GE EPDs) combine pedigree, individual performance and genomic information to save time and money, reduce risk, and accelerate the rate of genetic progress. GE EPDs provide more precise EPDs based on a combination of both phenotype and DNA. One major benefit of these EPDs is risk reduction through increased accuracies . These increased accuracies save time when assessing young breeding stock as well as deliver commercial customer confidence when buying seedstock. Herd improvement is accelerated when breeders can more accurately identify young individuals with the best genetics. GE EPDs also give the chance to collect data on economically important traits, which are expensive or difficult to measure. The information from the genomic data can be as informative as a bull's first calf crop or a cow's lifetime production recor...

Photo by Robert Scarth Photo by LID In a  blog post  by Kris Ringwall I became aware that the American Shorthorn Association has moved its genetic evaluations to International Genetic Solutions , the genetic evaluation arm of the American Simmental Association. The North American Limousin Foundation (NALF) has also  announced that it is  joining a growing group of breeds that use International Genetic Solutions (IGS) as their service provider for the estimation of EPDs. NALF joins Red Angus Association of America, American Maine-Anjou Association, American Chianina Association, American Simmental Association, American Gelbvieh Association, Canadian Simmental Association, Canadian Angus Association, Candadian Gelbvieh Association, and most recently American Shorthorn Association. The new Shorthorn evaluations were released this fall; the first release of Limousin IGS evaluations will be released in the Spring of 2015. As Kris Ringwall points out, this is go...