Beef and Dairy Cattle Genomic Testing Discussed At National Farmers Convene ’24
(CORALVILLE, Iowa) March 19, 2024—At National Farmers Convene ’24 last week,
Iowa State University (ISU) Extension and Outreach beef program specialist Patrick Wall discussed with convention attendees genomic testing of beef and dairy cattle. Genomic testing can help producers make strategic decisions in selecting cattle that fit their unique programs.
“Producers are never short on challenges, even when prices are good,” Wall noted. Genetic testing, once used primarily in purebred operations, has advanced to the point of being useful in commercial herds and feedlots.
Many economically important traits like calving ease, dry matter intake, feed efficiency, carcass weight, marbling, and tenderness are controlled by multiple genes. Modern genomic testing can predict an animal’s genetic merit and performance at a younger age than traditionally expected progeny difference (EPD) testing.
EPD testing has been around for nearly 40 years, and genomic testing added to EPDs increases cattlemens knowledge.
“If you breed replacements, eliminating those animals that are least likely to excel allows producers to concentrate their resources on animals with the most potential,” Wall said. Fertility, calving ease, mature cow weight, milk production, health risks, and carcass data can be predicted.
For those feeding cattle, genetic testing can predict performance and product quality. Cattle can be sorted based on predicted information like days-on-feed, growth rate and grade.
National Farmers 2024 national convention is sponsored by Cross Law Firm, ASA, Organic Valley and RSM. National Farmers appreciates its partners in agribusiness.
National Farmers markets milk, livestock and crops for thousands of American agricultural producers. We offer six decades of experience representing farmers and ranchers. We help producers market together by grouping production from many ag operations increasing each farmer’s ability to compete in the marketplace. National Farmers’ experienced marketing professionals negotiate on conventional and certified organic farmers’ behalf in cash and contract sales, establishing commodity sales terms with the farmers’ interests in mind.
