Commercial producers are discovering genomics as another selection tool for improving their cow herd. Bryce Risa of Northern Lites Red Angus Ranch in Montana runs 300 commercial cows, plus 70 registered cows, and has been DNA testing using Red Navigator (Red Angus Association) since 2016.
Red Navigator is specifically designed for commercial Red Angus females; the genetic panel profiles heifers on Red Angus EPDs. Test results are received as individual percentile rankings as compared to all other commercial Red Angus genotyped animals.
“This year was our fifth set of heifers tested. We take a tissue sample from every heifer calf each spring while they’re on the branding table. It costs a little more but is much easier than trying to draw blood or pull hair,” says Risa.
“The big thing for us is sire identification. We have 150 cows in one pasture, with several bulls. Knowing what your bulls are doing is a great piece of information, and we don’t need separate pastures for different bulls during breeding season,” he explains.
“As commercial cattlemen, however, we sell calves and don’t know what they do in the feedlot or carcass-wise.”
It helps to know the genetics of heifers you keep, to make better decisions on bloodlines you want to pursue and the ones you don’t want. “One year we had a set of heifers that were tough on their newborn calves. We looked at their sires and found that all those heifers were from one bull, and realized it was genetic. The calves were great, but it made more work for us—to make sure the newborn calf got milk, and separating the pair for a few hours until the heifer calmed down and mothered it.
“Initially, knowing the sires was the biggest benefit. As commercial cattlemen, however, we sell calves and don’t know what they do in the feedlot or carcass-wise. Testing is a way to get information,” says Risa.
“We make our first selections on paper. We might pick out 75 heifers that look good on paper from the tests. When we wean and precondition, we sort again, and on shipping day sort more off and cut down to 25 head to keep as replacements.”
Since he started selecting heifers using more data, average weaning weights in the herd have increased because first-calf heifers are doing a better job. “They raise bigger calves and still breed back. Regarding feedlot performance and carcass quality, this genetic tool is a way to get information we don’t have access to as commercial breeders. Now we have a better idea what we’re producing. If our carcass numbers aren’t great we might decide to find a bull with good carcass numbers, even though he might be a little lighter on weaning weight.” This tool facilitates fine-tuned selections.
It’s always beneficial to know the true parentage of a calf if you are going to keep it for breeding, because there are so many traits that are genetic. “Now and then we have foot problems, some of which are genetic. You can clean up genetic problems in a hurry if you have that information, to help with selecting breeding stock.”
Multiple breed profiles
Scott Paxton of Veeman Angus and SV Bulls in Sterling, CO, uses genomic testing on the Black Angus bulls he sells, and on semen and donor cows, using the Beef Igenity Neogen Geneseek Genetic Profiler. He is currently helping several commercial customers use genomic trait selection.
“We’ve sorted through several hundred heifers in six herds to select their top replacement females. This program uses 16 different traits to build their own index, addressing specific needs in each of their operations. It starts with genetic awareness of their own herd to select the best heifers to meet their program criteria and then select bulls to address the deficiencies they have (in the cow herd/heifers)—and move forward faster than just sorting replacements based on visual phenotype selection,” says Paxton.
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This commercial DNA test is based on the six largest (in number) beef breeds plus heavy influence from most of the small breeds.
Traditionally, heifer replacements were sorted by size, structure, and disposition in an alley and this is still a vital part of the selection process. “But now we can add 30 percent more DNA information to our toolbox—looking at genetic traits we can’t see. The Igenity Beef replacement DNA profile is 80 percent accurate compared to a single breed profile such as Angus. This test incorporates eight breeds utilizing 16 different traits hidden under the hide,” he explains.
“I’ve gone to six customer herds and collected tissue samples (size of a pencil eraser, out of the ear) from almost 400 heifers in the last seven months. Results take 30 days. Then we take the 16 traits and build an index to sort from. This index can be maternally based, or you can incorporate a second index that focuses on terminal aspects. All my customers have utilized two indexes (maternal and terminal) to make selection decisions. We started with 600 head, used a visual cut to 400 head, narrowed down now to 250 replacement heifers, utilizing test results.”
Another benefit is being able to correct deficiencies and weed out poor traits.
“We ran our bulls on the same DNA Igenity Beef profile with the same 16 traits. This gives our customers opportunity to select bulls to use on their heifers, using the same DNA language to correct or balance the less-desired traits.”
Third is marketing benefits through video auctions. “Superior [Livestock Auction] is on board with this program; our customers can market calves on Superior in two ways. One is by taking samples (for sorting replacements) and having DNA samples of at least 35 percent of the calf crop. This represents the rest of the crop (steers and cull heifers).
“Superior will market calves in three categories based on the 35 percent tested: Elite (top 75 percent of calf crop); Premier (top 74 percent-50 percent) and Choice (entry level genomics profile). Or they could take individual samples of every calf and sort them into load lots in the same Elite, Premier and Choice categories,” Paxton explains.
Selecting for stayability
Jon and Patty Tebelius have commercial Red Angus near Bowdon, ND. A few years ago, they had an opportunity to grow numbers with a mixed bag of breeds, sizes and colors. “In 2011 we used Red Angus bulls, working toward a more unified herd,” Jon says.
“I can’t say enough for Neogen’s DNA testing, and all the things we can find out about a certain animal.”
“We needed a faster way to reach our goals and someone suggested using Red Navigator. It was a new testing system at that time, and we started using it in 2012. I can’t say enough for Neogen’s DNA testing, and all the things we can find out about a certain animal. We knew we had issues with stayability, calving ease, etc., that needed corrected to make our lives easier on the cow-calf side, but also wanted larger ribeye and better marbling, with a better chance of being Prime.”
They started taking samples from all their heifers, unless there was a twin or a certain calf they knew they wouldn’t keep. “It’s impossible to make good selections just by phenotype,” says Patty. “Sometimes cows you thought were your best are not. They might be good producers and you keep heifers from them, but two years later their heifers are sold because they don’t breed back,” she says.
[inline_image file=”0ccbf63f8d8ad319e07aac382f571ecd.jpg” caption=”Patty and Jon Tebelius”]
“When pregnancy testing our first year’s group of tested heifers after they’d had their first calf, three were open. I checked the records and they had low stayablity. We didn’t want to believe they had low stayability because their mothers were 10 years old and still here, but the test showed us.”
“First calvers being open is the hardest financial hit. The past three years (having selected heifers with genomic tests as part of the selection process) have been delightful. We are not parting with very many first-calvers anymore.” It’s worth testing, just in this regard.
“In these challenging times when the cattle market isn’t good, we wondered if we should cut out doing tests this year. But to keep improving, this isn’t a place to cut corners,” Patty says.
“It wouldn’t be wise to cut out this part of the program when it matters so much now to have your cattle stand out above the rest, if you can, to try to get that extra nickel,” says Jon. “Less than 2 percent of commercial cattlemen are using this technology.”
Genomics isn’t for everyone
Testing is not for everyone, however. One producer in northeast Colorado who wished to remain unnamed used genomic testing for a few years through the Simmental Association, but decided not to continue. “Our ranch is diversified and DNA testing didn’t quite fit our operation. We gave it a good run, and it gave us a lot of data, and I’m sure that someone with the know-how and time to go through the numbers could put that data into something more concrete and useful and make it work,” he says.
“We grow corn, sugar beets, wheat, alfalfa, and finish cattle. We have a cow-calf herd and run yearlings. We have too much going on to keep going with DNA testing. I couldn’t justify the money or time. There’s nothing wrong with DNA tests, and I think that what the industry is using it for can help producers. It’s a great tool, just not for everybody,” he says.
“It may be more suited for seedstock producers who are after certain genetic goals. Our cow-calf operation has been using artificial insemination (AI) for more than 25 years, and this was part of the reason we used the test—to really see what our cows are made of. We have good genetics and good-performing calves, but revenue from our cow-calf operation is just a small part of our total farm operation; it just didn’t pencil for us,” he says.
Joe Hatch of Toedtli Ranch, near Stoneham, CO, is another rancher who tried it. Red Angus genetics have been a part of their ranch for 20 years. Joe, his father Doug, and Craig Toedtli run commercial Red Angus in partnership.
“It may be more suited for seedstock producers who are after certain genetic goals.”
The ranch is 14,000 acres, owned by the same family since 1958. “We run 400 mother cows, 500 yearlings, plus replacement heifers. We started AI and purchasing higher-caliber bulls in 2013 and used the DNA test for the first time in 2016,” Joe says. They selected 120 heifers as replacements and used Red Navigator to narrow selection to the top 80 head.
“Several years ago, we used the Zoetis i50K and didn’t like the way information came back. It was hard to sort and interpret. Then we used the Red Angus testing a few times, and it’s very simple. The information comes back in an Excel spreadsheet and you can sort it any way you want and it’s easy to use,” he says.
“We did this several years but this year changed our management style. We’re now trying to let nature help select our heifers.” That way they fit the environment and have to be fertile. Technology is great but sometimes you wonder if it pencils out or is worth the extra effort. He feels genomic testing is a good product, but not every producer wants the same things or has the same goals. It may not work for everyone.
