2021 BEEF IMPROVEMENT FEDERATION MEETING: IBBA BREED IMPROVEMENT COMMITTEE REPORT

2021 BEEF IMPROVEMENT FEDERATION MEETING

IBBA BREED IMPROVEMENT COMMITTEE REPORT

by Dr. Randy Schmidt, IBBA Breed Improvement Committee chairman

For the last several years, we have asked and encouraged the members of the International Brangus Breeders Association (IBBA) Breed Improvement Committee (BIC) to make an effort to attend the Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) meetings. This year the meeting was held in Des Moines, Iowa, June 22-25.

First off, I would like to thank the members of the BIC who made an effort to attend BIF and subsequent to that, the IBBA BIC meeting held over the following day and a half at the Hilton. Attendees and committee members included David Gochnour, Pete Deleeuw, Grady Green, Vern Suhn, Brad Wright, Garrett Thomas, as well as myself, Darrell Wilkes, and Macee Prause. I am impressed and thankful for the brain power we have on this committee. Additionally, it was good to see the crews who showed interest at BIF including Bar X Brangus, Midsouth and Town Creek Farm.

For those IBBA members who do not know what happens at BIF meetings, I would simply say it is an awesome collection of devoted cattle breeders, cattle industry leaders and university scholars and researchers. They gather to share information, experiences and new technology in a unique environment. For those of you that may not have been able to attend, but have a curiosity about the content, the meetings are recorded and available to be viewed on YouTube. The disadvantage of not being in person, is that when the presentation is over you won’t be able to walk out into the

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hall and discuss with the speaker or other attendees and find out their thoughts on the topic presented. I often learn more in the hall than I do in the presentation; usually because the person I’m discussing it with in the hallway understands the topic better than I do!

WHAT I HEARD AT THE BIF MEETING

It is impossible for me to summarize in a single article all the information presented at this meeting. For those looking for the basics, I would recommend starting with the Beef Sire Selection Manual, produced by the National Beef Cattle Evaluation Consortium, which is in its third edition and available online at www.nbcec.org. This is the newest edition and answers a lot of questions about BIF standards for what we do as an industry. Every serious seedstock producer should be familiar with the contents of this document. The IBBA office is working to obtain paper copies of this manual and then will have copies available by request to share with the membership.

It is my sincere belief that genomics will exponentially be the driving force behind the successful beef cattle operations of the future. Those producers who are using DNA analyses will make more informed and rapid changes in their cattle than those who chose not to use. If you are not keeping up with these genetic changes, you better be finding a genetic supplier who is keeping up because those genetic changes will advance quickly. But that is old news.

Science is very close to being able to identify those areas within DNA that express heat tolerance in beef cattle. Brangus breeders know heat tolerance is critical in certain areas of the world, and we obtain that through our Bos indicus-influenced breed. We also know not all Bos indicus crossed cattle have the same amount of heat resistance. That is because we crossed our Bos indicus with a Bos taurus and may have lost some of the heat tolerant genetic effect that Bos indicus imputes into the equation. BUT what if you could order a DNA test that helps you identify which of these cattle had the best heat tolerance? If you could identify those genetics do you think you might have an interested market in say…South Florida? Be on the lookout in the future for a test like that in a breed association near you!

THE NEXT BIG THING WILL BE GENE EDITING

Much like genetically modified (GM) plants, GM’s have changed everything about how farmers think and produce soybeans, grain and corn; the beef cattle industry is very close to having commercially available genetically edited cattle. The first simple modifications will be for coat color, polled, muscle, slick hair, and milk. These modifications are already being done in labs across the world. In fact, at least for these aforementioned five traits, the science already exists and is being implemented, but is not yet commercially available in the United States. The FDA and USDA will have a big say in how this plays out in America. Not all countries will have that roadblock and U.S. producers stand to lose out on this technology, and it’s important applications to other countries without some forward thinking people in Washington, D.C. For a cutting edge look at what is already being done and what is possible check out Dr Alison Van Eenennaam’s session at BIF.com

SO WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

Henry Ford was quoted as saying, “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” Take a minute and think about that statement. I can promise you, if the guy who made a living producing buggy whips had thought about it, he may have changed his production strategy a little earlier on and before he had a large inventory he could no longer move at a profit. You don’t want to be that guy.

There isn’t a time in the history of protein production, in which the changes been more significant than they are today. Our competition comes from the “protein industry,” which includes not only beef production, that we hold so dear, but also pork, poultry, artificial meats, and plant based sources. I listened to a presentation by Jim Pillen, a pork producer whose family farm operation produces 8,000-lbs. of pork per year per sow. Beef producers will never be able to match that production per cow per year. At one time, pork producers were selecting for sows that had the most piglets per litter; today, they select for sows that produce less but larger piglets so that each one has a better opportunity to get their own teat. Pillen is limiting the number of piglets per litter per sow to make that sow more efficient and productive. He says producing food for the world is the noblest of professions and has made tremendous advances in his quality and production efficiencies through intense genetic selection. They measure and record everything in the pork industry. One thing he cannot do is get his production system to harvest their own forage and they have to take the animals every bite of food they eat. So, pigs are not the complete protein answer either, but the genetic advancement they have made is remarkable.

The food industry is rapidly changing and efficient production of protein will continue to be more important as the world population grows and as economies prosper. The United States beef cattle production is the most advanced beef production in the world, producing the majority of the beef produced for consumption in the world, with only 6% of the world’s beef population. U.S. cattle producers do a great job utilizing our resources, but they are finite. Technology such as virtual fencing has the potential to open up under-utilized grazing land. Just think of the possibilities if your neighbor had 200 acres of grazing land he would let you use, but it had no fence around it. Instead of building a new fence, you just implement a virtual fence. Cody Jorgensen had some great ideas they are putting into practice to expand their grazable land.

If beef is going to have a spot on the world’s food table, the efficiencies of the U.S. cattle seedstock producers will need to lead the way in genetic improvement. From what I saw this week there, is no better group to lead the way.