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Tag: genetic selection

The skinny on backfat

April 25, 2011

Mythbuster Monday on trait relationships

Certain things just go together: peanut butter and jelly; socks and shoes; margaritas and those cute little cocktail umbrellas. But this morning we’re going to talk about two things that are married in many producers’ minds, but need to go through the big D.

Backfat and marbling.

Myth: Cattle have to have a lot of backfat in order to marble.

Fact: In general, that might seem true, but it doesn’t have to be. Easy-doing cattle, British breeds, etc., all have a tendency to lay on more fat—both in the form of marbling and backfat—than other types. And that’s the Continue reading “The skinny on backfat”

Adding, capturing calf value

March 17, 2011

 

Cattlemen may hear about the shrinking beef industry and wonder about their role in the future. They can take heart in the expanding high-quality end of the business, however.

Licensed partners of the Certified Angus Beef ® (CAB®) brand worldwide sell more than 2 million pounds of branded product per day, and supply has increased 92% in the past five years. That’s according to Mark McCully, CAB assistant vice president, supply.

Addressing producer-members of the Pittsylvania County Cattlemen’s in Chatham, Va., earlier this month, McCully said demand for CAB products grew along with supply, and that represents opportunity for producers.

Overall higher cattle prices and premiums for the best cattle are two results of strong demand, but producers can take steps to move a greater share of their calves into that premium category, he said.

Genetic selection tools available on registered Angus cattle, specifically EPDs (expected progeny differences) can help any herd make progress. “EPDs are used to compare animals within a breed but you should also pay attention to the average values of the breed,” McCully said. “For example, using a bull in the top half of the breed for Marbling EPD, or those above +0.40, is more in line with a genetic focus on the CAB brand.”

Given the genetic potential, cattlemen can see it realized through comprehensive herd health and nutrition programs and low-stress management, he added. “Then, find ways to get carcass data by working with organized state programs, your bull supplier or a CAB licensed feeding partner. Keep detailed records and use that data in sire selection and cowherd culling.”

To illustrate value differences, McCully shared three scenarios with 750-pound (lb.) feedlot calves. Groups one and two were both age-and-source verified, gained 3.5 lb. per day (ADG) with feed-to-gain (F:G) conversion of 6.1. After a theoretical 1% death loss, both groups finished at 1,325 lb.

The key difference was in carcass grading: Group 1 had 5% Prime, 40% CAB and 90% Choice or better along with 30% Yield Grade (YG) 1 or 2 and 15% YG 4. Group 2 was leaner with 40% YG 1 or 2 and just 5% YG 4, but no Prime, only 10% CAB and 50% Choice with 5% Standard.

Then there was Group 3, the calves without age-and-source verification, ADG at 2.9 lb., F:G at 7.0, apparently in poorer health with 4% death loss and finishing at 1,250 lb. They managed the same carcass results as Group 2, but came in $195 per head lower value than Group 1 under current market conditions.

McCully concluded by emphasizing the importance of marketing options to capture the value in “value-added” calves.

        • Retain full or partial ownership of calves through the feedlot
        • Direct marketing to feedlots with bonus options for carcass premiums
        • Commingled sales of high-quality calves with other like-minded producers
        • Calves backed by a resume that documents their profit potential
        • Age-and-source verification with AngusSource®, which generally returns at least $25 per head.

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Stacking the odds with AI

By Miranda Reiman

Cattlemen know genetic change is a slow process, especially when compared to other species.

That should be enough motivation to think about stacking genetics, says Aaron Arnett, Select Sires vice president. Bull selection is only half the equation.

“Even the best set of sires mated to a group of mongrelized cows will not produce calves that hit the high-quality targets with any consistency,” he says.

Missouri’s Show-Me Select® program provides a test case. After all, its main focus is on using timed artificial insemination (TAI) to produce predictable females. After more than a decade, that has translated into an elite reputation as the go-to source of top-notch replacement heifers.

When the right sires are chosen, the results are just as outstanding in the feedyard and on the rail.

The Show-Me steer mates are setting quality records, one recent load making the news with 86.8% Certified Angus Beef ® (CAB®) and CAB Prime acceptance.

“We’re helping producers put together these puzzle pieces,” says David Patterson, University of Missouri animal scientist who spearheaded the original program. “Timed AI is only the first step, because a wrong sire choice means they’re just breeding cows, not adding measureable value.”

In the university’s straightbred commercial Angus herd, they’re tracking that monetary incentive. When pasture-bred calves are breaking even, progeny of high-accuracy AI sires are making $60-per-head profit.

Patterson says that’s a result of pairing those value-added females with high-accuracy sires known for calving ease, marbling and carcass weight.

“Everybody knows inputs have increased remarkably, relative to selling commodity calves,” he says. “We have to figure out how to get more out of each calf crop we’re producing.”

Straightbreeding may be the easiest way to do that, but those practicing it need a specific target, Patterson says. Otherwise they may be giving up the heterosis benefits of crossbreeding without the tradeoff in high-quality beef premiums.

“Nothing is better for consistent, highly predictable outcomes than a cowherd with pedigrees stacked for a desired trait or combination of traits,” Arnett says. “When proven AI sires are mated in such a herd, the results will be impressive, worth retaining ownership and selling those calves on the grid.”

That’s more difficult to accomplish with crossbreeding, which Arnett still advocates in most cases.

Patterson points out one potential downfall, however, even with high-accuracy Angus calving-ease genetics on Continental-cross heifers: “Birth weight in the calves from those heifers becomes a complete wild card—for better or worse, heterosis begins at conception.”

If producers are looking to set an end-product goal, Patterson has one in mind.              

“The Certified Angus Beef program sold 775 million pounds of product this year and will need a billion pounds by the year 2020. That’s 3.5 million cattle; that’s an opportunity for those who can meet the demand,” he says.

ASCC brings out the best

Second quarter winners zero in on quality through AngusSource®

 

by Laura Nelson

Mason Fleenor may squint a little when checking pens, but he certainly sees 20/20 when it comes to selecting top-quality cattle.

The Iowa seedstock producer and manager of GG Genetics feedlot picked out 41 of his own steers to win the northeast region’s AngusSource® Carcass Challenge (ASCC) second quarter title for 2009, with 90.2% qualifying for the Certified Angus Beef ® (CAB®) brand or USDA Prime.

But he’s not the only one with a vision for great AngusSource genetic- age- and source- verified cattle. Mike Kasten, Millersville, Mo.; Jimmy Thomas, Homedale, Idaho; and Jack and June Zimmerman, Checotah, Okla., also took top honors in their regions for the April-June quarter.

This was the first ASCC entry for Fleenor and his wife Diane, but for more than 20 years they have focused on producing Angus bulls that enhance carcass quality. From 2003 to ’06, their cattle set the pace in the National Angus Carcass Challenge as well, winning two championships.

“We’ve always tried to breed for carcass traits, and you just have to keep breeding them – you have to have those traits on the cow and the sire sides.” says Fleenor. “We’ve been using high-marbling, high-carcass bulls for a long time, and now it’s finally getting into the cowherd, too.”

Besides feeding their own calves, the Fleenors buy calves from their bull customers to feed in their CAB-licensed feedlot. There, they get a high-energy, high-roughage ration but minimal implants. This recent ASCC-winning pen, comprised of steers culled from bull prospects, entered the contest implant-free.

The feedlot pens are stock-full of cattle that consistently grade above the curve. “All of our cattle grade good, because they’re all out of our genetics,” Fleenor says, while admitting, “I guess I’m kind of prejudiced.”

He doesn’t use ultrasound to sort, relying on focused information and a practiced visual focus, an eye for quality: “When I know the genetics and have the data behind me, I can pick ’em every time.”

To the southwest, the crew at Irsik & Doll Feed Yard (IDFY), Garden City, Kan., maintains sharp sights as well. Missourian Mike Kasten repeated his first quarter ASCC victory in the central region with the help of feedlot manager Mark Sebranek and CAB quality assurance officer Jerry Jackson. IDFY also foregoes the use of ultrasound technology for a trained eye and historical data on animals from a herd they have worked with for more than 10 years.

“We have enough data and pedigrees from the past on our cows, we’ve got a good handle on estimating which ones are going to do well,” says Kasten. He and wife Priscilla have kept carcass data for more than 20 years. The couple work to closely match proven bulls to cows with a history of top-quality carcass progeny.

Using timed artificial insemination (AI), Kasten attributes much of his carcass contest success to one bull. “His calves have been averaging 42% Prime,” he says. “We work hard to get those cattle bred with the best proven genetics, and getting in there with AI gives us more consistency and quality in our cattle.”

Nearly 90% of Kasten’s 39-head pen of steers made CAB or Prime in the second quarter, consistent with the 90.5% pen that won first quarter. Both were heavily influenced by the same bull, which Kasten has spent 20 years stacking pedigrees to produce.  

In the north-central region, Jimmy Thomas similarly relies on proven genetics. He and wife Sarah have sourced bulls from Rancho Casino and Dal Porto Livestock in California for nearly 15 years. “They’re good people with good cattle, and we are good friends,” Thomas says. “That makes it pretty easy to do good work.

“All the bulls we buy are performance tested,” Thomas says. “We don’t just go by the EPDs (expected progeny differences); they give us the actual marbling scores and ribeye measurements. We put quite a bit of emphasis on that.” A tight genetic focus paid off with 85% of his 40-head pen achieving CAB acceptance or Prime.

Thomas puts those genetics to use at Beller Feedlot in Lindsey, Neb. He and feedlot manager Terry Beller share a competitive spirit. Beller says, “We love challenges. Our goal is always to produce as many Prime and CAB carcasses as we can without getting too big and too fat.”

Thomas is right on cue. “I guess you could say I’m kind of competitive,” he says. “CAB is the most noted branded beef program there is, and over the years I’ve been able to finish above the national average on CAB acceptance rates.”

Thomas and Beller are no strangers to success. They met in 2003 when Thomas was accepting the CAB Commercial Commitment to Excellence award and Beller was being honored as the brand’s Small Feedlot Partner of the Year. Both have frequented the winner’s circle in Angus carcass contests.

But it’s not always a focus on attaining the best cattle that matters. Sometimes, success is found in getting rid of the poorer ones. Jack and June Zimmerman won the ASCC southeast region for the quarter with 48.8% CAB acceptance or Prime, and no grading discounts. The couple feed their cattle with Buffalo (Okla.) Feeders.

Buffalo manager Tom Fanning says that perfect record is a key to profitability: “Look at this – it’s zero discounts!” he says, pointing to the data sheets. “What we’ve learned is, the premiums are great, but it’s not always how many premiums you have; it’s how many discounts you don’t have.”

The Zimmermans started keeping detailed ranch records in 1979 when they purchased JZ6 Ranch. Thirty years later, they still meticulously track herd records and carcass data.

“June and Jack know every cow on their place. They know their bloodlines – they know everything about everything in their herd,” says Fanning.

All ASCC contestants will be in the know by the end of the calendar year when the overall annual winner is announced. All regional winners from each quarter will be eligible for the $500 cash award. The completion will stiffen as the year goes on – entries nearly quadrupled from the first quarter to second quarter. “We would really like to encourage more feedyards to enter the contest,” says Sara Snider, director of AngusSource. “It is so exciting to see this contest grow. The carcass results we’re getting back are a real tribute to what quality Angus genetics can do.”

For more information on AngusSource or the ASCC, call 816-383-5100 or visit www.AngusSource.com.