As a seedstock producer, watching the value of your operation’s genetics hop into a customer’s trailer on sale day should be one of the most satisfying days of your year … and one you should feel confident about!
Have you sent genetics into the value chain that will make a difference for the commercial producer who purchased them? What safeguards did you put in place to ensure that value?
Dr. Troy Rowan, assistant professor of genomics at the University of Tennessee, sheds light on how genomic testing is not just a scientific tool, but an ally for the industry, helping seedstock producers deliver long-term customer satisfaction and commercial producers mitigate some of the risks associated with bull purchases.
Built-in risk management
“I always frame the bull purchasing decision as a really risky one. In economic terms, you’re assuming a lot of risk as a commercial producer. You’re buying an animal, you’re putting a pretty large upfront investment in an animal that you don’t have very much information on,” he says.
“It’s a scenario many of us are familiar with. You’re at the sale, eyeing that promising young bull, but in the back of your mind, you’re wondering if he’ll live up to his potential. This is where genomics steps in to ease those worries.”
Genomic testing helps mitigate bull buying risk by providing more accurate and reliable information about an animal’s genetic potential. As a commercial producer, it’s like having a crystal ball that gives you a clearer picture of what that bull could pass on to his offspring. A true look “under the hide” of an animal and add accuracy to EPDs.
Both EPDs and genomic testing help prevent train wrecks, and because genomically enhanced EPDs are more accurate, they help move the needle on the traits that an operation is trying to improve faster. The increased confidence via genomic testing allows a commercial producer to progress their herd more rapidly.
Customer service
For seedstock producers, offering genomically enhanced EPDs is more than just a selling point, it’s a form of customer service. By investing in genomic testing, you’re demonstrating your commitment to providing the most accurate and valuable information possible to your customers.
“Seedstock producers who are being really upfront about the genomic testing investment they are making, with an eye on the commercial customer, says a lot to me about the integrity of that seedstock operation,” offers Rowan. “The service not only helps build trust between seedstock and commercial producers but also contributes to the overall reputation of the breed and the industry as a whole.
Navigating the numbers
For commercial producers who find EPDs overwhelming (and let’s be honest, who doesn’t sometimes?) Rowan recommends focusing on economic selection indexes. These indexes combine multiple traits into a single value, often expressed in dollars, making it easier to compare animals and make decisions aligned with breeding objectives.
“For commercial producers, if they are going to look at just one thing, it’s the best aligned economic selection index the breed association of the bull they are looking at buying reports,” Rowan explains. “For Charolais, I would say that is the Terminal Sire Index (TSI). That index really takes all of the different numbers and weights them appropriately relative to one another in a way that maximizes profit. It’s real world dollars of value that that bull will add compared to another bull.”
Opportunities
Genomics isn’t the be-all, end-all, as any producer, commercial or seedstock and association will share. It’s another tool in the toolbox all producers can use to gain ground in producing better beef more efficiently and profitably.
Rowan says that genomic testing doesn’t preclude the need to report phenotypes back to the breed association.
“If we stopped recording phenotypes, any breed, and relied on genomically-enhanced EPDs alone, we would see the quality of those EPDs drop almost overnight,” he warns.
As a tool, however, Rowan notes that genomics have great potential to open up new market opportunities with programs beginning to pay premiums for animals with verified genomic information.
Genomic testing isn’t just a tool to move your herd forward, it’s a tool to move your customer’s herd and your operation’s customer service and satisfaction forward. There isn’t a producer today who would say that they want less information about the choices they make. After all, knowledge isn’t just power—it’s profit! — AICA
