Genetics: The Lifeblood of Civilization

by Nate Smith, General Manager, Top Dollar Angus, Inc.

When most beef producers hear the word “genetics,” their minds go to EPDs which, at face value, is the most logical direction. While this reaction is understandable, it barely scratches the surface of the true power of genetics in all facets of agriculture and society. Let’s dive into this subject from the beginning.

From the first domestication of crops, such as wheat, millennia ago, the improvement of genetics was recognized as the only path to feed growing populations of tribe members and sustain humanity. We will circle back to these two key factors regularly, because they can’t be overstated. Producing wheat that was able to grow essentially anywhere sown allowed early humans the ability to stay in one place instead of chasing food sources like we sometimes do with heifers out on the highway.

How did our ancestors accomplish this? They kept records, they managed traits that were visually appraised and retained seed from the wheat that produced the most grain. You might call this approach a rudimentary form of EPDs.

Top Dollar Angus Team

Nate Smith, General Manager • (620) 546-4839 nate@topdollarangus.com

Kaytlin Hokanson • (307) 461-7687 kaytlin@topdollarangus.com

Andy Albrecht • (402) 922-1000 andy@topdollarangus.com

The same goes for livestock as well, since we produced more grain, we could more easily domesticate cattle, because we all know cattle are wired to come to feed. With feed being grown in one spot, and cattle located in close proximity, deciding who to keep and who to eat became easier – again basic genetic selection.

Genetic selection thousands of years ago mirrored what we genetically select for today, feeding a growing population. Crazy how some things never change! As record keeping improved, so did our ability to provide food security, which allowed for advancement in technologies that bettered our lives in innumerable ways. Hungry people are too busy looking for food to make new discoveries.

These new technological discoveries gave us the tools to move forward. During the Iron Age, we were able to expend more energy on making agriculture equipment to reduce the physical requirements of producing food. From plows to mitigate human input, to durable fencing to contain livestock, progress continued. All because we used genetic selection to ensure more people stayed fed.

In turn, those technologies supported by these advances assisted in the improvement of animal and crop management practices. The trend continued for centuries, compounding and magnifying with every generation of genetic selection.

It can be argued that to get to the place we are today, genetic management had to lead the charge, with better animal management playing a key role as well.

Agriculture quite literally makes the world function. It is a fact that every human needs food to survive. As the population has grown in the 20th century, we have had to produce more food from the same or fewer resources. Very little new tillable land has been introduced in the last 50 years. So how did we do it? How have we kept a larger global population fed from the same number of acres and people? Improved genetics has been a huge part of the answer.

Today we look into the future of a growing population. In 11 years, we went from 7 billion mouths to feed daily to 8 billion today. We know that our world’s tillable land is unlikely to expand, and the U.S. beef industry is unlikely to grow cattle numbers dramatically for the very same reason.

So where do we come up with the solution to every farmer and rancher’s purpose of feeding humankind? Since we have maxed out resources, where do we turn in the future to ensure food security? Genetic improvement is the answer.

We know it has worked in the past. Without it we would still be in the Stone Age. We feed the world today with a small percentage of people engaged in agriculture and with limited numbers focused on genetics. Think about what we can do when genetics become the emphasis to increase food production. That will be truly exciting!

Feel free to reach out to me with any discussions on this topic. //

How to Enroll in FCCP and AA

1. The producer contacts the Red Angus Association of America at 940-477-4593 and answers a short supplier enrollment questionnaire over the phone. RAAA staff will ask general management, animal identification and breeding questions. If needed, the producer may be asked to supply additional documentation on breeding such as semen receipt, lease agreements or information on purchased females.

2. After all documentation is recorded, staff will ship the tags directly to the producer who must tag the calves before they leave the ranch of origin – birth, branding, preconditioning, weaning or before loading on the semi.

3. The producer will receive a customer enrollment agreement to fill out and return to RAAA with a copy of their calving records.

4. Staff will issue the USDAapproved Certificate of Compliance upon receiving the customer enrollment agreement and calving record.

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Visit RedAngus.org for contact information.

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Since 1985, Milk Creek Reds has STRIVED to produce functional, productive and profitable Red Angus cattle.

We identify real-world genetics by using large contemporary groups that consist of 15-60 progeny per sire. The large sire and contemporary groups allow us to evaluate the genetic merit within our operation.

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