23 minute read
18..................................................... EPD-OLOGY
EDP-OLOGY
MILK EPD
by Darrell Wilkes, Ph.D., International Brangus Breeders Association (IBBA) executive vice president State University produced two lines of cattle based on I get a lot of questions about the Milk EPD. About half Milk EPD, using Angus and Hereford bulls. Within of the questions pertain to the units of measurement each breed, they produced High Milk daughters and and the other half are generalized questions about what Low Milk daughters for 3 years using the same set of level of Milk EPD is too low or too high or just right. commercial cows as a base. The difference in sire’s The first question is easy to answer. The second one is Milk EPD between the High and Low lines was 27 impossible to answer without specific knowledge of a lbs. When the High and Low Milk females were 6, 7 herd’s environment (i.e. nutrition level). and 8 years old, the researchers measured actual milk Milk EPD is expressed in pounds of weaning weight. It production as described above, and also gathered is NOT expressed as an estimate of the actual pounds calf weaning records. The observations, summarized of milk produced by a cow – a common misperception. below, are highly supportive of the utility of Milk EPD. Several studies have concluded that the correlation • Calves from the High Milk lines weaned 30-lbs between Milk EPD and actual milk production is fairly heavier than calves from the Low Milk lines compared high, but few such studies have been done. These to a 27-lb difference predicted by the Milk EPDs. kinds of studies are very difficult. Basically, you have • High Milk Angus-sired females, at maturity, to gather up a herd of beef cows with known Milk were significantly lighter than the Low Milk AngusEPDs, separate from their calves for 12 hours, and sired females. This weight difference was not observed then literally milk them by hand and weigh the milk in the Hereford-sired cattle. produced. At best, such a milking is a questionable • Cows in the High Milk line had significantly estimate of the milk that a cow actually produces lower body condition scores than those in the Low when she is mothered up to a calf who might nurse Milk line, and tended to have longer calving intervals, 6-10 times per day. One can give the cow a shot of the later calving dates, and lower calving percentages. hormone that causes milk let-down, oxytocin, but that The third bullet point above tells an important story. may or may not be equal to the natural milk let-down There absolutely is such a thing as too much milk. A that results when a calf nuzzles a cow. But even with cow will sacrifice her next calf (i.e. her next pregnancy) these imperfections, the bulk of the studies that have in order to nurture the live calf on the ground. This been done this way have reached the conclusion that probably has some evolutionary logic. Namely, a live Milk EPD is correlated to actual milk production. calf on the ground has higher present value in the One of the larger and more sophisticated studies in this biological system compared to a prospective “next calf” area estimated that one pound of Milk EPD equates which faces many hurdles – ovulation, fertilization, to 24 lbs of fluid milk produced during a 205-day gestation and parturition. Raising the current live calf lactation/suckling period. That’s about 3 gallons of takes priority over getting pregnant with the next calf. milk, or 384 ounces, or a bit less than 2 oz per day. Here is where I steal a quote from Brad Wright: “A cow Stated differently, an 8-lb spread in Milk EPD – which that weans the heaviest calf, but calves every OTHER most Brangus breeders would consider extreme -- year, is not a profitable cow.” represents enough daily milk to fill a typical water There is no other way to say it, Milk is a difficult EPD. bottle or beer can. It is affected by what statisticians call “confounding”. One study in particular provides some straightforward I’ll use an example of confounding to help make the assurance about Milk EPDs. Researchers at Oklahoma point. Assume you have two hay fields, each served
by a center pivot sprinkler. The fields have the same plant type and density. They are identical in every respect. During a particularly dry year (like this one) you only have enough water to run one pivot. So, you decide to only apply fertilizer to the field where the pivot is going to run. The field with the fertilizer and the operative pivot produces 6 bales per acre, and the field with no fertilizer and no extra water produces 2 bales per acre. So, there’s a difference of 4 bales per acre. How much of the 4-bale difference is due to the fertilizer and how much is due to the irrigation? The honest answer is, you don’t know. In this case, irrigation and fertilization are completely confounded. With reference to an individual calf’s weaning weight, there is complete confounding between the effects of the growth genes inherited by the calf and the milk produced by the dam. If a calf is 50 lbs heavier than its peers, how much is due to growth genes, how much is due to the dam’s milk and how much is due to random error thrown in by Mother Nature? We simply DO NOT KNOW. In order to compute Milk EPD, it is necessary to have numerous daughters of one sire compared to numerous daughters of another sire. When a cow and a bull are mated, each with an EPD for direct weaning weight, it creates an expectation for the weaning weight of the resulting progeny – compared to the weaning weights of contemporaries in the same herd who also have parents with established weaning weight EPDs. If the daughters of a particular sire consistently wean calves that are heavier than expected based on their parents’ EPDs for direct weaning growth, the obvious conclusion is that they must be better milkers and, in that case, the sire’s EPD for Milk goes up. Likewise for a group of daughters that consistently wean lighter calves than they “should” based on the direct weaning weight EPDs. The conclusion is that they are poorer milkers and their sire’s EPD for Milk goes down. As strange as it sounds, an individual cow can rarely make enough weaning records to drive her own Milk EPD up or down. A cow’s Milk EPD is driven more by how her paternal sisters perform as a group rather than her own calves’ weaning records -- each of which, individually, is totally confounded. She and her paternal sisters affect their sire’s Milk EPD and once that is established, it does not change much and it is the primary driver of a cow’s Milk EPD -- not her individual weaning records. As described in more detail in another article in this issue entitled New and Improved Genetic Evaluation, the statistical model used for IBBA’s genetic evaluation has been using a genetic correlation of -.67 between Milk and direct growth. Stated simply, this drives down the Milk EPD of high growth cattle and drives up the Milk EPD of low growth cattle. A change in the genetic evaluation model, which will be reflected in the August 2022 EPDs, is a zeroing out of this genetic correlation. The net effect of this change will be some significant shifting in the Milk EPDs. The Milk EPD is complicated and statistically tricky, but studies have shown that it correlates well with what happens in the real world. Astute cattle breeders know when they have a cow with inadequate milk. They also know – if they’ll admit it – when a cow has so much milk that she has compromised fertility. Neither of these situations are desirable. Using Milk EPD as a benchmark, along with a good dose of stockman’s savvy, most breeders can find a milk level that suits their environment. More is not always better.
Tuna Rosa RanchA WELL-INFORMED GAMBLE
by Darrell Wilkes, Ph.D., International Brangus Breeders Association (IBBA) executive vice president
There are a few fundamentals in every business that simply cannot be ignored. In the cattle business, one such fundamental is that cattle are sold by the pound. Cattle that reach a heavier weight at a younger age have an inherent economic advantage provided there is no negative “baggage” that comes with the added growth rate. When it comes to business, Jimmy Elliott is a fundamentalist. The facts are what they are, and any successful business needs to embrace the fundamental facts. Jimmy grew up near Abilene, Texas where the local sportswriter nicknamed him “Flash Elliott” in recognition of his all-state honors in track. He earned a degree in finance and an MBA from the University of Texas and was recruited as a fresh graduate to move to New York to work for First Boston, now known as Credit Suisse. His career in finance blossomed and eventually placed him in the role of Global Head of Mergers and Acquisitions for JP Morgan for 17 years. He was on a trip to Texas working on a merger when he took a shine to the Gonzales, Texas area. In 2000, while still traveling the globe working on mergers and acquisitions, he purchased a ranch near Gonzales and named it Tuna Rosa after the prickly pear (“Tuna” in Spanish) that blooms on the cactus in the area. He stocked it with 30 Red Brangus cows in 2002, which became the start of what is now his full time passion. He says he “lucked out” when he met a local cowman who was available part-time to
tend to the small but growing herd. Kurt Trammel was that guy. He joined Tuna Rosa full time in 2006 as the herd was expanding and remains there today as Chief Executive Officer. Jimmy commuted from NY to Gonzales for 10 years before making the Tuna Rosa Ranch his full time home in 2010. The herd had grown to 200-hd and, under Trammell’s watchful eye and that of Roger Gonzales, who joined the ranch in 2014 and now serves as Chief Operating Officer, they had built a very respectable herd of Red Brangus cows. “When my dad chooses to do something, there is only one gear that he knows – he’s all in or nothing” said Bianca Watson, Jimmy’s daughter, who also serves as Chief Information Officer for Tuna Rosa. “When he retired from the world of high finance and moved to the ranch, he didn’t retire at all. He shifted his focus to breeding cattle and, as is his character, he dove head first into the numbers because the Photo: (left to right) Roger Gonzales, Kurt Trammell, Jimmy Elliott, and Bianca Watson.
numbers always tell a story”, Bianca added. “We had been selecting for performance since the beginning, but we had arrived at a point where we could not find sires that would move us forward at a pace that I could accept”, Jimmy said. “I just did the math. I looked at the EPD spread between the reds and the blacks and concluded that we had to do something different if we were going to match the performance of the best cattle in the Brangus breed, disregarding color. So, we launched a plan to breed our red cows to the top black Brangus bulls. The genetics of black vs red are pretty simple. Black is dominant, red is recessive. We knew all the calves from the initial black on red matings would be black, but they would all be red carriers. Eventually, we would end up with Red Brangus cattle that match the performance of the top Black Brangus.” Tuna Rosa has two different mating designs, and they use the Greek words Omega and Sigma to differentiate. The Omega plan is the mating of two black animals, both of which are red carriers. The black side of the pedigree is guaranteed to be strong in growth, carcass and maternal. In theory, 25% of the Omega matings will produce a red calf. Another 25% will be homozygous black and 50% will be black animals carrying the red gene. The Sigma plan is the mating of a red carrier (black animal)
to a red Brangus. In that case, 50% of the calves will be red and 50% will be black but will carry the red gene. “We can’t get quite as much carcass value in the Sigma herd, but we get superior red cattle which we need in order to move forward.” “We knew this would take some time before we ended up with red cattle that match the EPDs of the blacks. We’re now seeing the results. The number of animals is still small, but that was entirely predictable and we planned for it. As this process matures, we’ll get more red cattle with high performance blacks in their pedigrees”, Elliott stated. The Tuna Rosa team is rightly excited about the results in the Omega herd in particular. Semen was collected on TR MR SIS OMEGA RED 70J in 2022. Every single EPD lands in the top 1% when compared to all red Brangus sires, and the top 10% for WW and YW when compared to the black Brangus population. His EPDs for REA and IMF fall in the top 5% when compared to the black Brangus population. The Sigma herd produces more red calves (50% vs 25% for the Omega herd). The average EPDs for the first batch of red heifers from the Sigma herd land in the top 5% when compared to the red population, and generally in the top 30% when compared to the black population. “When we use the top sires from the Omega reds and mate to the heifers from the Sigma reds, the EPDs will be competitive with some of the best black Brangus herds in the country. That’s not bragging. It’s just the math,“ said Elliott, adding “Kurt and Roger are here to holler “whoa” if they see some flaws in the structure and functionality of these cattle. So far, so good.” “There’s a lot more to good cattle than pure growth”, declared Kurt Trammell. “Jimmy and I are a good counterbalance to one another. He’s an analytical thinker. It’s in his DNA. I’m a Photo: (above) Red Grandson of Monument (Sigma) cow guy. Together, we made a deliberate shift from the taller, later maturing type and focused on rapid early
Photo: (above) Tuna Rosa takes contemporary grouping very seriously, reds and blacks compete head-to-head from birth forward
growth, body capacity, moderate frame, muscling (REA) and marbling (IMF). The result has been earlier puberty, better overall fertility, solid carcass EPDs and easier-fleshing cattle. I like the cows and Jimmy likes the numbers.” The Tuna Rosa team takes contemporary grouping very seriously. All the cattle are managed under the same conditions. Nothing is pampered and nothing gets special treatment. The reds and blacks compete head-to-head from birth forward. “I’ve heard the argument that the red EPDs are biased downward compared to the blacks because of the way the red database was merged with the black database years ago. I don’t know if that’s true or not. One sure way to find out is to run the reds and the blacks head to head in true contemporary groups and let the facts speak for themselves”, added Trammel. When asked about their reliance on EPDs as a barometer of their progress, Trammell and Gonzales nodded in agreement when Elliott answered with confidence; “EPDs are the most informative tool we have when looking at measurable traits. EPDs have been used in beef cattle breeding for 40 years. Look at the improvements that have been made. And now we can even enhance EPDs with genomics. EPD math is very complex and few understand the intricacies, but EPDs are the gold standard for expressing genetic merit so we are going to use them as our measuring stick.” With all the exciting things happening in the Omega and Sigma herds, Tuna Rosa relies on demand from commercial bull customers to cash flow the operations. Demand for the homozygous black Brangus is strong, and demand for the Red Brangus females is very strong. “Some customers were unsure about the red-carrier black bulls, but they’ve all been back to buy more so I think you can say that the bulls are living up to customer expectations,” Trammell said. Given all the time and effort involved in turning a red herd black, and then breeding back to red, one might wonder what pot of gold is envisioned at the end of this rainbow. For Jimmy Elliott, that picture is clear; “The global market for high performance Red Brangus genetics looks almost limitless. Two thirds of the grazing land in the world is best utilized by cattle with a dose of Bos indicus genetics. Meanwhile, global beef demand is surging and consumers around the world want high quality beef. Brangus is the breed that can do it all, and plenty of people will want red ones.” Bianca Watson said that her dad only gambles when he is well informed. Tuna Rosa has embarked on a well-informed gamble.
LIVESTOCK EXPORT
FACILITIES
El Paso Livestock Export Facility 10800 Socorro Road El Paso, Texas 79927
Office (915) 859-3942
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EXPORTING Livestock through TEXAS
ground air sea O O
Del Rio Livestock Export Facility 543 Farley Lane Del Rio, Texas 78840 Office (830) 773-2359
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Laredo Livestock Export Facility 3902 Jaime Zapata Memorial Highway Laredo, Texas 78046 Office (956) 722-6307
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Houston-Bush Intercontinental Airport Livestock Export Facility 16424 Luthe Lane Houston, Texas 77032 Office (281) 443-2447
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Brownsville Livestock Export Facility 701 South Vermillion Ave. Brownsville, Texas 78521 Office (956) 546-5135
The Texas Department of Agriculture has five livestock export facilities located across the state. Each facility provides livestock buyers and sellers with a location on the Texas border where animals can be held until inspection and export requirements are completed. Once the livestock have been cleared for travel, they can be loaded for transport out of the United States. Livestock leaving the Brownsville, Del Rio, El Paso, and Laredo facilities will be loaded for ground transport into Mexico. The Houston facility moves livestock by air and sea, covering destinations all over the world.
CATTLE HORSES PIGS GOATS SHEEP POULTRY
Howdy Neighbors,
Here at the Texas Department of Agriculture, one of our most important missions is to protect and promote production agriculture here in the Lone Star State. A cornerstone of that mission is to ensure that livestock being exported from our state meets all state and federal guidelines.
The Texas Department of Agriculture export facilities are the gateways for exporting livestock from Texas. From cattle and horses to pigs and poultry, these facilities are tools to help get Texas livestock around the world. Through our export facilities, TDA is committed to not only protecting the transported livestock but also the owners, buyers and brokers.
Exporting livestock may seem daunting. The information we’ve posted on our livestock export facility website, and our facility staff, can help you successfully navigate this process. Please contact us if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Sid Miller Commissioner Sid.Miller@TexasAgriculture.gov
Brownsville Facility
Del Rio Facility
El Paso Facility
Genetic LeadershipAcross Borders
by Lindsay L. Allen Stateside the demand and desire for Brangus genetics is obvious and tangible; overseas, the demand and desire for Brangus genetics, particularly Red Brangus, is just as robust. This is evident by the 300% increase in semen sales internationally between 2019 and 2021 and the nearly 150,000 straws of semen exported this last year from the United States. As the Red Brangus breed has become more established and integrated into the International Brangus Breeders Association and the industry as a whole, the growth of the breed has increased internationally as well. “In the export market for Red Brangus cattle, there has always been a demand, but it can come from different regions and countries based upon economics in each country, political regimes making export and trade policy, as well as currencies. Even the evolving influence between national associations has also impacted where export opportunities have come from,” according to Allen Goode, co-owner of TRIO Cattle and Genetics. Goode, who has been part of international exports of Red Brangus genetics since 2007, added, “The associations and breeders in Mexico have been by far our largest genetic collaborators.” Don Cox, owner of Cox Excalibur, has been exporting Red Brangus semen since 1988 and says over the years there has been tremendous international growth in Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, South Africa, and Australia – proving the Red Brangus genetics are sought after all over the world. “We see this high demand because these cattle can survive and adapt to the hot, humid climates of these international locations and produce a nice-sized, profitable calf each year. It also helps that the partners and breeders in Mexico have done a tremendous job in-country of growing the breed as well,” he reflected. “Additionally, I have to praise our Red Brangus breeders stateside, as we have genetically selected and grown the breed to produce cattle that accommodate the climates where these international breeders reside.” The opportunities will only continue to increase too, stated Marcos Borges, owner of MBJ Ranch, which operates from locations in South Texas and Brazil. “It is important that we keep improving the recognition of the breed’s strength - adaptability, performance and carcass quality, which are the traits making us so successful worldwide. Carcass quality requires a heavy focus because many Brangus breeders are exporting to countries where marbling and tenderness are a must. Additionally, as producers begin to include carcass quality attributes with adaptability into their breeding programs, our breed will see a larger increased marketing opportunity overseas and this market poses a long-term relationship for U.S. Brangus cattle.” While the demand for exporting Red Brangus genetics is there, so are the layers involved. As Goode shares from experience, exports may sound interesting, lucrative and even glamourous, but it is also a lot of investment in time and resources. “From breeding the elite sires, to producing the semen, marketing it, and then processing the orders,
there are several steps in successfully taking your genetics international,” he said. Cox recommends establishing a relationship with a breeder before trying to market to them, “and then, like in any business, especially the cattle business, trust and know your customer is vital to the success of the deal.” Relationships can be established through livestock shows, like the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo™, World Brangus Congress, social media, attending networking and Brangusrelated events, and staying engaged with the people and association in the breed. Once a relationship is established, you aren’t alone in the process to figure out how to correctly export. Your semen collector should be trustworthy and have knowledge of the process and have contacts with reputable shipping companies as well. The paperwork involved in sending semen internationally can be found online and many grants exist to help cover the costs of marketing, shipping, networking and much more in order to support breeders who are taking their product internationally. The future demand and market for Red Brangus genetics internationally only seems to be growing as more and more see the advantages of breeding Brangus genetics. Borges reinforced that the advantages of hybrid vigor become more visible in harsher environments and that’s why international ranchers are now seeking more genetics from the U.S., especially Brangus. The breed has adapted to tropical and subtropical conditions and can offer the hybrid vigor that has proven superior in terms of carcass quality, growth, fertility, strength, disease resistance and unbelievable maternal instincts. The growth for Brangus genetics is obvious in the U.S., but the growth is increasing in parallel internationally too, creating excitement, opportunities, and world-wide recognition for the Red Brangus breed.
If you’re Interested In learIng more about potentIal grant opportunItIes, aId, and resources In marketIng your genetIcs InternatIonally, check out these resources, some state specIfIc, that can make the process more feasIble and easIer to manage that we have lIsted for you on page 50-51.
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