An Investment in Genomics is an Investment in the Future. Genomic testing in the cattle business celebrated its 10th anniversary last year. While the dairy sector has dominated this field, beef producers are quickly catching up as more producers and companies continue to invest in this technology to improve their animals and industry. Operations of all sizes and different segments of the industry have found a use for genomics in some practical capacity. Beyond the obvious applications, such as increased profits or efficiency, genomics has a role in the future generation of your farm or ranch and the Limousin breed. At this year ’s virtual Beef Improvement Federation Conference, Dr. Daniela Lourenco of the University of Georgia shared findings from her 2018 research on genomic testing in Angus cattle. One of her take home messages was the importance of widespread data submission and collection. When 52,000 animals were genotyped on a 50,000 SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) chip, the accuracy of EPD records increased by 25 percent. When 335,000 animals were genotyped, that increased to 36 percent. She attributed this increase because this was new, non-redundant information being added. As you likely already know, genomic
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testing has accelerated the advancement of young sires and their genetic progress. Genotyping can increase accuracy of these animals, equal to having 10-30 daughters on the ground. The accuracy of these tests and the resulting genomically enhanced EPDs (GE-EPDs) varies by a few different things. Some, such as the heritability of a certain trait, are out of human control. But factors such as the number of recorded animals, number of reported performance records, the accuracy of reported records, and the type of test used can very much be controlled by breeders and breed associations. Commercial producers and those who sell terminal animals also have reason to be vested in genomic developments. As part of an NCBA breed association panel discussion, Mark Anderson, NALF executive director, noted the importance for commercial producers to look at seedstock producers and their programs. “Those are the folks who have spent a lot of time and turned in a lot of data over the years and they tend to be on the front end of genomic enhancement,” he said. Thanks to the breeders who have been investing in genomics for some time now, accuracy continues to improve by leaps and bounds. Now, it’s in the hands of the industry to continue genotyping
The Carolina Cattle Connection q DECEMBER 2021
and utilize this reliable information. Beyond your own operation, an investment in genomics is also an investment in the vitality of the Limousin breed. Although we’ve had this technology for over a decade, there is consistently new information that we continue to investigate and uncover. For example, some genomic research out of France earlier this year looked at ten unrelated Limousin bull calves to identify regions and polymorphisms and found 13,943,766 variants. They were also able to pinpoint some causative regulatory polymorphisms to better understand the mechanisms and targets within artificial selections. This can help better interpret genomic-wide association studies for the breed. Besides enhancing EPDs and helping with decisions, breeder genotyping builds the database for similar breed specific genomic research to come down the road. Coupled with breed association participation and good recordkeeping, the genomic accuracy is sure to keep the future of the Limousin breed very bright. You Can Have Your Feed Efficiency and Eat it, Too. Genetics solutions exist to achieve superior feed efficiency and superior carcass quality. Let’s talk feed efficiency. That is, after all, very relevant to profitability in the cattle business, especially given today’s high feed costs. But relevance is one thing. Reality is entirely different. And the reality is that feed efficiency has not received the focus it deserves as a key profit driver for beef producers. That’s changing. Slowly, but it’s changing.
Here’s even better news: genetics and genetic tools exist to build cattle that are highly efficient while still meeting or exceeding the carcass quality targets that earn packer premiums and satisfy consumers. Let’s Define Feed Efficiency - In its simplest terms, feed efficiency is the ratio of pounds of feed consumed to pounds of gain. So if you have two steers standing side by side at the feed bunk and one eats 6 pounds of feed to gain a pound and the other eats 5.5 pounds of feed to gain the same pound, the second one is more efficient. In any scenario, that’s good. In a time dominated by high feed costs, that’s even better. “If we talk about feedlot profitability, the biggest single driver is selling price,” says Dr. Kee Jim, CEO of Feedlot Health Management Services. “But that’s not something you can necessarily control. So then, feed efficiency or feed conversion is by far the most important production attribute.” Feedlot Health Management Services offers a suite of feedlot consulting services covering all aspects of procurement, production, and marketing. The company is globally the largest of its kind and has clients in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Latin America, Kazakhstan, Russia, and China. It’s important to note that feed efficiency and average daily gain are not the same. In fact, in today’s marketing environment, where most fed cattle are sold on carcass merit, average daily gain is only marginally important. ”Just measuring gain alone does not tell you how well they’re converting,” says Jerry Wulf, a cattle feeder, cow/calf producer, and seedstock genetics supplier from Morris, Minnesota. “Average gaining cattle with below average dry matter consumption that equates to good feed conversion and good feed efficiency have more value than the fastest gaining cattle that aren’t converting as well.” He has the experience and numbers to back that up. He’s been collecting feed efficiency data on a pen basis in his feedyards for more than 30 years and individual data on the cattle in his seedstock operation for more than 15 years. What About Carcass Merit? Without a doubt, beef producers have done an outstanding job of improving carcass quality. That’s clearly documented by the increase in Choice and Prime from around 64 percent in 2010 to 83 percent of all cattle graded so far in 2021, according to USDA’s Ag Marketing Service. Of the cattle grading Choice in 2021, 32 percent landed in the upper ⅔ Choice.
