News and Announcements
Using Sexed Semen to Navigate the Genetic Fork in the Road
Some cattle are excelling at rapidly producing a high-quality end product; however, they are usually not the low maintenance females that producers want to have in their cow herd. Similarly, the ideal bull for producing replacement females may not produce high-value feeder or carcass cattle. Rather than focusing our breeding…
Terminal Crossbreeding: A Missed Opportunity
Crossbreeding is one of the most underexploited breeding tools in the beef industry. The industry’s recent push for larger carcass weights while keeping cow costs at a minimum has brought terminal crossbreeding programs to the forefront. Dr. Mark Thallman, a research geneticist from the USDA Meat Animal Research Center in…
Nothing to WOW
Producers share their journey in the beef industry. by Lauren Gatz, BIF communication intern “It was almost like a seven-year internship where we got to make the decisions. We got to make mistakes and figure out what we were doing,” said Lydia Yon about her early experiences in the cattle…
Beef and Dairy Breed Composition Effect on Finished Cattle Heart Scores
“This (heart failure) can occur at any type of operation, at any age, and any level of altitude,” said Isabella Kukor, doctoral candidate at Colorado State University, Fort Collins. Kukor gave her talk, “Heart Score Comparisons between Finished Beef and Beef on Dairy Animals,” during the 2024 Beef Improvement Federation…
With Cow Efficiency #PhenotypeIsKing
“That’s the one driving force in the UK funding and government policy – is how to reduce methane per kilogram of product… a couple of important words there: now and speed. We can’t wait to do it and when we decide to do it, we need to do it fast,”…
The Critical Role of Longevity and Maternal Performance
Insights on the economic impact and sustainability of cow-calf operations by Lauren Gatz, BIF communications intern “The question that was posed to us was why is longevity and maternal performance important? And I think that question is very obvious to this audience, and it’s because both of those have a…
Leveraging Beef Genetics as a Climate-Smart Sustainability Practice
Since 1975, the industry has increased beef production while cow inventory has reduced. Acknowledging and appreciating the sustainability improvements the beef industry has already made is how Dr. Robert Williams, Trust in Food Sustainable Livestock Technical Manager, kicked off his presentation during the Advancements in Efficiency and Adaptability breakout session….
The Full Picture of Cow Efficiency
How balancing production cost control and efficiency can change your operation by Lauren Gatz, Beef Improvement Federation intern “Improving production or output is important, but in most publications, controlling costs trumps increasing output.” said Dave Lalman, Oklahoma State University. In commercial cow-calf operations, cow cost accounts for about 60 to…
Kuehn Reports Results from the ARS Beef Grand Challenge
“The ARS Grand Challenge is a collaborative project designed to meet multiple goals including improve production efficiency, reduce environmental impact, encourage sustainable production, and focus on integrated research programs” said Dr. Larry Kuehn, research leader at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center (USMARC) in Clay Center, Nebraska. Kuehn gave his…
Making Genetic Progress in the Fescue Belt
“In Kentucky and Tennessee, we’ve been fortunate to have some cost-share dollars that have been going into a genetic improvement program that each of the states has done independently,” said Dr. Darrh Bullock,University of Kentucky extension professor, Lexington. Bullock gave his presentation “Genetic Improvement Programs in the Fescue Belt: Do…