Meristem: Beef Science

New technology which will help beef producers and cattle feeders identify breeding stock with the genetic potential to gain weight on less feed, could save the Canadian beef industry hundreds of millions of dollars per year, say researchers.

The technology, being used at bull test facilities at Olds College north of Calgary as well as a private feedlot - Cattleland Feeders at Strathmore east of Calgary - makes it possible to precisely measure the feed intake of individual animals.

With that information, the beef industry will be able to identify breeding animals with the genetic potential to be more feed efficient. As the genetics of those animals are introduced into commercial herd breeding programs on farms and ranches across the country, more animals entering feedlots will have improved feed efficiency.

"The value of being able to identify cattle with superior feed efficiency will have a tremendous impact on the beef industry," says Dr. John Basarab, an Alberta Agriculture Food and Rural Development beef research scientist based in Lacombe.

"We estimate as the genetics of more feed efficient cattle spreads through the industry over the next few years, cattle feeders will save more than $100 million annually and there will be at least that much savings accrued by cow/calf producers."

The genetic potential for one animal to be more feed efficient over another is a moderately heritable trait that can be passed from one generation to the next. There's good probability that both male and female progeny or offspring of bulls showing high feed efficiency will also carry that trait through their production cycles.

Feeding trials at Olds College over the past three years showed over a 120-day feeding period as much as an $80 per head feed savings for cattle with the higher genetic potential for improved feed efficiency compared to other cattle.

"Along the production chain that potentially means cow/calf producers will see calves reach weaning weights either faster or on less feed," says Neil French, college instructor specializing in feedlot management and animal breeding.

The concept of selecting cattle based on genetic potential for feed efficiency isn't new. Researchers first identified a genetic potential for feed efficiency back in the 1960s, but little was done with that information. However, in the 1990s Australian researchers began working with the concept, and in the early 2000s Canadian beef researchers took a serious look at this heritable trait.

Basarab, working in a collaborative effort with a several researchers and agencies over the past few years, developed the NFE process which was tested at Olds College before being made available to commercial feedlots.

As feeding data is collected, other researchers such as Dr. Stephen Moore, genomics chair at the University of Alberta, leads a program to identify the genetic markers which one day will make it possible to rely on a blood test to identify cattle with the greatest potential for improved feed efficiency.

Along with being a tool for selecting more efficient cattle, the technology also benefits the environment. Cattle eating less and making more efficient use of rations helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Research at the University of Alberta, for example, shows improved feed efficiency can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by nine to 15 percent. Methane, in particular, can be reduced by up to 28 percent in more efficient cattle.

The NFE research and demonstration work at Olds College is supported in part by the beef sector of the Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Program for Canadian Agriculture. The federal program, administered by the Canadian Cattlemen's Association, was designed to support dozens of projects across the country that demonstrate practices that not only improve production but also reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural industry. For more details on the NFE project visit the CCA website at www.cattle.ca, go to the Stewardship section and follow the links.

The new technology for measuring feed intake is a critical tool in developing the whole concept of net feed efficiency, says Connie Burton, an Olds College instructional assistant who has worked closely with French during the three-year NFE project.

A key element making it possible to identify the most feed efficient animals is sophisticated feeding technology developed by the Airdrie, Alberta-based GrowSafe Systems. GrowSafe developed computerized bunk-style feeders that can measure and record the feed intake of individual animals each time they come to the bunk to eat. A sensor on the edge of the feeder reads the electronic ear tag of each animal. The GrowSafe feeder weighs the total amount of ration placed in the bunk and then records the amount consumed during each visit by cattle.

Before this technology was introduced it was difficult and much more expensive to accurately measure feed intake. Each animal had to be monitored separately and it was much more labor intensive. Using the GrowSafe system properly tagged cattle can be monitored in a commercial feedlot setting.

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Feeding technology to save beef industry millions