Sire Progeny Links Performance, Profitability & Sustainability

Sire Progeny Links = Performance, Profitability & Sustainability

The future adoption of sire-progeny links and verification by commercial beef producers could improve genetic selection opportunities of high-producing bulls, in turn improving efficiencies and overall production levels of the Alberta Beef Industry.

The Technology Access Centre for Livestock Production (TACLP) at Olds College is in its third year of research alongside Blindman Beef and Bison evaluating sire-progeny links, breeding plans, and information management in multi-sire breeding scenarios. Commercial herds in Alberta will often run multiple bulls in a single pasture with cows; knowing which bulls sired specific offspring can help producers understand sires’ current and future contribution to performance, profitability and sustainability — and track offspring data to make informed breeding decisions.

“High conception rates are an important measure when considering herd profitability, and ensuring adequate bull power during the breeding season will support this,” states Sean Thompson, Manager of the Olds College TACLP. “However, investigating the value that each bull contributes in a multi-sire pasture requires sire verification of offspring, and this is not commonly done within the industry. Our research project aims to shed light on the merit of individual bulls in these commercial operations.”

This applied research project utilizes Quantum Genetix’s DNA test and BIXSco Inc. software for improved on-farm data collection and record-keeping, and aims to highlight the benefits of new agriculture technologies for livestock producers. In addition to Blindman Beef and Bison, West-Central Forage Association (WCFA) and Lakeland College are partner organizations on this project with funding support provided by the Canadian Agricultural Partnership.

All sires from Blindman Beef and Bison are DNA sampled, tested for breeding soundness and added to the reference sire database. Calf DNA samples are collected during spring processing and submitted to Quantum Genetix in Saskatoon to confirm sire parentage. As well, cow performance is recorded and summarized in November after weaning, followed by data summarization and statistical analysis. Additional performance data is collected from the producer through their Herdtrax account — an electronic herd management program that allows performance and management records to be inputted and referenced easily.

Sire Verification Results

In 2019, the first year of the project, 278 calves were sampled and received sire verification results. The range of offspring from each sire included in the project was as low as seven calves for one young bull to as many as 52 calves from one of the mature herd sires. In 2020, a total of 252 calf DNA samples were collected and the range of offspring varied from as low as four to as high as 44 calves per sire.

Results are still being analyzed and a further in-depth assessment on the sire verification results is currently underway combining data from both WCFA and Lakeland College in order to provide a larger sample size for statistical analysis.

Benefits to producers

Genetics are the key to sustainable beef production. Producers can use cattle genetic information to define and improve bull selection, fertility, breeding plans and profitability of beef production in Canada. In turn, production efficiency improvements play a role in reducing the greenhouse gas footprint of beef production, and require using less land and water.

This project will confirm how successful each bull is at breeding cows and place an economic value on knowing which bulls sire which calves — the importance being both the number of calves a bull sires as well as how the calves perform. For example, Bull A sires 30 calves and Bull B only sires 25 calves, but Bull B’s calves are weaned 50 pounds heavier on average. Discovering the economic advantage in addition to other metrics — calving ease, length of calving season, immunity to disease, and carcass quality — will help producers benefit their operations through a simple $12 parentage test.

On our operation, we are fortunate to have all our pasture in a contiguous piece, which is great for pasture management but it makes it more difficult to manage genetics as we group breed our entire cowherd,” explains Assar Grinde, owner of Blindman Beef and Bison. “With parentage testing, we are able to not only determine which bulls are performing (or not performing), but we also improve our replacement heifer selection by knowing their sires. We plan on continuing with testing after the pilot ends.

The TACLP is able to highlight the importance of sire verification and inform producers of the relatively low cost to do so now — a common misconception that has presumably been limiting uptake in the industry. The preliminary results are already providing value to Blindman Beef and Bison and leading to the potential of additional research opportunities with the TACLP to improve efficiencies and overall production levels.