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 ...

I will be hosting a webinar tomorrow night, October 24th, at 6:30 PM Central Daylight Time. We will discuss EPD basics, genomic testing, selection decisions, and considerations for using EPDs. You can join the Zoom Meeting by clicking the link below: https://missouri.zoom.us/j/134203468 You will need to install Zoom on your computer prior to joining the webinar. You can also join by phone for audio. Dial by your location          +1 646 876 9923 US (New York)         +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) Meeting ID: 134 203 468 Webinar is limited to the first 100 participants. Participants will be able to type questions in the chat box. Looking forward to the webinar tomorrow night!

by Ryan Boldt, Director of Breed Improvement, RAAA Selection for carcass trait performance is important to keep in mind when making bull-purchasing decisions. Most carcass traits are moderately heritable in nature. In seedstock animals, the best method to collect information about carcass-trait performance is through the use of ultrasound imagining. Generally, ultrasound information is collected on seedstock animals at a year of age. When an ultrasound is collected, up to four measurements are taken. The most common measurements recorded include intramuscular fat, backfat, and rib eye area which serves as the best indicators for carcass marbling score, carcass back fat and carcass ribeye area. The ultrasound information is collected via a probe that emits high-frequency sound waves. The probe is placed on the animals back and an image is created that shows the difference between different tissues under the animal’s hide. These images are captured by a certified ultrasound techn...

Neogen Corporation announced September 19th, 2019 that it has entered into a collaboration with International Genetic Solutions (IGS). The effort is focused on heightening genomic impact in the IGS platform, the only major multibreed beef genetic evaluation available, and at the same time greatly enhancing the research and development necessary to continue to improve Neogen’s Igenity ® Beef Profile. The Igenity Beef Profile is a leading global genetic testing product that helps producers of both straightbred and crossbred beef commercial cattle select their best animals for breeding programs. IGS delivers the most credible, objectively described, user-friendly and science-based genetic predictions to enhance the profitability of beef cattle producers who look to leverage the full power of expected progeny differences (EPDs). “As part of this partnership, Neogen will benefit from access to information that will improve the Igenity Beef Profile, and IGS will endorse and promote ...

For more information, see " The Random Shuffle of Genes: Putting the E in EPD ".

Great short video on the use of EPDs, including the importance of the definition of EPD. Big shout out to Jordan Thomas for making these great videos. This one features my graduate student, Troy Rowan . Also, if you aren't following MizzouRepro on social media, you should start!

Larry Kuehn and Tara McDaneld U.S. Meat Animal Research Center Bovine Respiratory Disease may be hard to diagnosis. Have to keep in mind that prey animals, like ruminants, have evolved to hide being sick. What are the BRDC pathogens? Bacteria Mannheimia Haemolytica Pasteurella multocida Mycoplasma bovis Others Virus Parainfluencza-3 Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis Bovine Viral Diarrhea Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus Bovine Coronnavirus (implications relatively recent) Viruses typically aren't severe on their own, but they are often the gateway for bacteria infections to start. Difficulty of BRDC treatment records as phenotypes Disease incidence measured as 0 or 1 Subclinicals/shedders analyzed as healthy How do we overcome these difficulties? Large sample sizes are needed. USDA MARC is not using a subset of USMARC Germplasm Evaluation Program. MARC is also working to improve the quality of diagnoses/necropsy. They are also looking for indicato...