THE FOUNDATION PITCH

THE INTERNATIONAL BRANGUS BREEDERS FOUNDATION IS THE ROCK UPON WHICH BRANGUS RESEARCH AND EDUCATION IS BUILT. BREEDERS MUST PLAN TODAY TO PREPARE FOR THE FUTURE FOR BRANGUS CATTLE TO PERFORM IN FUTURE MARKETS.

It’s no secret the cattle industry requires prepared thinking for the future. Ranchers are thinking months, even years, in advance every breeding season for the next calf crop. They’re considering pedigrees and EPDs, they’re determining bull needs for customers years in advance, and preparing for the retained heifers who will impact their herd for years. Seeds are sown, both literally in the ground to prepare for harvest, and metaphorically in the minds of repeat customers to secure the bottom line of production.

Planning must also be done at the breed association level. Why? Because of the power in numbers to impact the perception of the breed within the industry. Research projects and educational opportunities affect the greater beef industry, rather than a targeted geographical area or individual buyers.

The International Brangus Breeders Foundation (IBBF) was established in June 2014 under the laws of the State of Texas as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization to fund and support programs involving research, education and youth in the Brangus breed. The purpose of the IBBF is to fund research initiatives to advance the livestock industry while benefiting Brangus breeders and other beef producers today and in the future, as well as educating the beef cattle industry about Brangus attributes and production practices.

At the time of the foundation formation, now IBBF Director Traci Middleton was serving as IBBA president. As noted in the October 2014 Brangus Journal, Middleton commented, “With the formation of IBBF, we are excited about the new opportunities that will be available to expand

education and research efforts to benefit International Brangus Breeders Association members. The charitable investments contributed by passionate and visionary donors will be instrumental in funding special projects to advance the breed.”

Some of the early projects funded by IBBF included university research in the areas of feed efficiency testing and tenderness attributes of Brangus genetics. Today, IBBF President Brandon Belt, along with IBBF Directors Cindy Blazek, Allen Goode, Chris Heptinstall, Tracy Holbert, Traci Middleton, Nic Cornelison, and David Wood set new projects with the same original direction – promote the breed through research.

In fact, the mission of the IBBF is so pivotal, the IBBA Strategic Long Range Planning Committee, as chaired by Tracy Holbert, named “Invest in Research” as one of four primary pillars of focus for the next 10 years as a part of the IBBA Long Term Plan.

As published in the IBBA Long Term Plan, produced in the fall of 2020, “What can be stated with assurance at the early stages of the long term plan is two-fold. 1) IBBA must create a structured mechanism to establish research priorities and 2) develop and implement a mechanism to fund a legitimate and significant research program.

It is 100% certain that research regarding cattle, beef, protein, economics, consumer behavior, etc., will be conducted continuously by companies and universities. Such research may either positively or negatively reflect on Brangus. It is insufficient for IBBA to simply react to research findings that affect the breed. Rather, IBBA must lead, and be proactive in conducting and/or encouraging research that validates the purported strengths and provides insight to shore up the purported shortcomings of the breed.”

The resulting project stemming from the association’s commitment to research investment is known as the Brangus Value Project (BVP). The BVP is a comprehensive progeny test which will follow AI-sired steers through the feeding and packing segments, and will capture data on feed efficiency, carcass traits, and tenderness. The subsequent data will filter through the EPDs of thousands of cattle in the Brangus registry.

Over the past year, the IBBA has taken a two-pronged approach to the BVP. The first avenue of participation was, and will be, available to purebred seedstock producers looking to consign young, unproven sires for many years. The second avenue comes from the commercial cow-calf industry, of producers willing to AI breed their cow herd to the consigned AI sires. Semen is collected on the bulls and used to breed commercial females, of which, the resulting progeny will be fed out and carcass data will be collected. In brief, the IBBA and participating bull owners provide semen at no cost and will help cover other costs of synchronizing and breeding commercial cows, in exchange for cooperation

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(continued from page 41) from commercial producers in collecting data and working with IBBA to place the calves from this project into partner feedlots. All calves are fed and harvested with recovery of performance data and carcass data which will be shared with cooperating producers.

Hundreds of animals have been committed through the BVP and the first calf crop will enter the feedlot in the fall of 2021. The IBBF is requesting IBBA members to invest $500 to sponsor the data behind the project. In return, donating members will receive a Brangus strip loin cut into individually packaged steaks as a product of one of the steers in the projects. Sixteen breeders have committed to supporting the BVP through the IBBF, in total the goal is to collect 90 more supporters to meet the BVP goal.

A long-term recipient of IBBF research funds is Raluca Mateescu, Ph.D., associate professor in the department of animal sciences at the University of Florida.

Published in the Fall 2020 Frontline Beef Producer magazine, Mateescu stated in an article titled Impact of Brahman Genetics on Body Temperature of Heifers Under Heat Stress, “Bos indicus and Bos indicus-influenced cattle, like Brangus, are better able to regulate body temperature in response to heat stress due to a number of physiological and cellular level adaptive traits. The multibreed herd at the University of Florida Beef Research Unit allowed us to quantify the change in body temperature in heifers with various proportions of Brahman genes per unit increase in heat stress as measured by temperature-humidity index (THI) and to assess how different breed groups responded to varying intensity and duration of heat stress. A total of 299 two-year old heifers from six breed groups ranging from 100% Angus to 100% Brahman were evaluated under hot and humid conditions during 2017 and 2018 summer days.”

The end goal of the University of Florida research program is ultimately to gather data to develop a heat tolerance index that can be used to select Brangus bulls and females. The research conducted would identify a DNA marker, in addition to visual appraisal data, that could be

used to mark animals more or less heat tolerant than others. A project funded by the collection of research donations to the IBBF to advance the selection of animals years in the future. In the fall of 2020, the IBBF launched a new pledge program called Bullish on Brangus. This program is designed to generate funds for research, education, and ultimately fuel growth within the Brangus breed. Bullish on Brangus is designed to where members donate $10 for every registered animal they sell within a calendar year. The easiest way to keep track is to pledge for every animal transferred in the Regstr system, or to tally up animals sold at the end of each sale. Ultimately, it is on the list to be added into the Regstr system when a breeder transfers an animal, they will have the option to voluntarily donate $10 with the transfer to go to the Bullish on Brangus program. In the meantime, the IBBF relies upon breeders to make donations after the sale of animals. “The Foundation is the best mechanism we have to prove what all of us as Brangus breeders already know, the value of Brangus genetics in beef production. We must move forward with research projects that GIVING IS NOT ABOUT MAKING show that Brangus genetics bring increased value to our customers,” adds Brandon

A DONATION, IT’S ABOUT Belt. “There are unwarranted discounts Brangus cattle are

MAKING A DIFFERENCE. suffering in the beef market with the ‘ear discount.’ -KATHY CALVIN Supporting projects such as the Brangus Value Project can help bring a united front with up-to-date, relevant data, backing up what we already know, Brangus should not suffer the same stigma that is attached to eared cattle.” Collectively, it’s the IBBA’s responsibility to look forward, decades into the future, and predict obstacles or questions of potential customers. Planning and preparing now with donations to the International Brangus Breeders Foundation will help breeders of tomorrow perform more profitably through improved perceptions of Brangus cattle. “We must show the industry that Brangus is not just another Brahman cross breed,” says Belt. “We are Brangus, we have been breeding cattle to perform in harsh environments, efficiently, and to produce a superior beef product for our consumers. It is time to put the research behind what we all already know and Go Brangus!”