Measure It To Manage It
Bulls That Bring Feed Efficiency to the Herd
In Red House, Va., seedstock producer Paul Bennett and his family develop and sell 400 bulls a year. He's all too aware of feed costs.
"Our whole goal is to maximize the profit for our commercial customers. Feed efficiency is obviously a big part of profitability. But it has been so difficult to quantify in the past," he said.
For the last three years, Bennett has made use of EPDs (Expected Progeny Differences) for residual average daily gain (RADG). This is a measure of feed efficiency that he has used to help make breeding decisions for the operation's Angus herd. He is still waiting for similar EPDs to use for the operation's Hereford and Gelbvieh/Balancer cattle.
DATA COLLECTION
It appears the tipping point is at hand. The USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) has a $5 million grant to research feed efficiency. That grant, awarded in 2011, is being used to finance a five-year study.
In the private sector, the technology part of the feed-efficiency equation is being addressed by individual feed intake equipment, such as GrowSafe. An automated feed stall with a reader pairs with radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags on cattle, collecting intake and feed efficiency data on individual animals within whole pens of cattle. In the case of the NIFA study, this has allowed researchers to collect data on 8,000 cattle from eight breeds: Angus, Red Angus, Hereford, Simmental, Gelbvieh, Charolais, Limousin and Waygu, as well as calves sired by several of these breeds. Seven institutions collect the data: the USDA Meat Animal Research Center (MARC) in Clay Center, Neb., the University of Illinois, the University of Missouri, Texas A&M, Iowa State University, the University of Minnesota and Washington State University. Researchers often have help from breed associations and from producers using the GrowSafe systems.
GENOTYPING THE DATA
Genomics takes over when the data and DNA samples are sent to animal scientist Jerry Taylor at the University of Missouri. The geneticist said, "To this point, we have genotyped about 6,000 animals."
Since they already had the GrowSafe technology, the University of Illinois got a head start on supplying Taylor with data. Dan Shike, University of Illinois animal scientist, said they contributed growth, feed efficiency and carcass numbers on 2,500 Angus-sired and Simmental-sired calves that they gathered before the NIFA study was financed. After the study was underway, they collected data on 740 more Red Angus and Charolais calves. Data will be collected on another 400 calves in 2014.
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Shike said he has had at least one surprise so far. "Feed efficiency and intake are correlated between forage and concentrate feeds. I thought efficiency would be more highly correlated than intake, but actually intake is more highly correlated between the two diet types," he explains.
At the University of Nebraska, Extension Beef Genetics Specialist Matt Spangler's role is leading a large field demonstration to get the information and technology out to those who use it.
Twenty-four seedstock producers in the Midwest and the Plains donated semen from their sires. The semen was used to breed cows at a commercial operation in western Nebraska and at MARC. Their calves were fed out at MARC and the University of Missouri.
Spangler said, "First we provided feedback to the seedstock producers on feed intake and feed efficiency. Next we plan to genotype those animals and see how well we can predict feed efficiency using genomics.
"The whole idea is to allow key technology adopters, the seedstock producers, to test-drive the technology," he emphasized.
Like Shike, Spangler has learned from the project. "In the preliminary work we've seen, high-density genomic information accounts for 20% to 40% of the differences we see in feed intake and feed efficiency," he said.
There is also a surprise in the Angus genome. "We found one genetic variant that explains 10% of the genetic differences in dry matter intake," he adds.
Breed associations, recognizing the value in this project, are working with the research community.
Jack Ward, chief operating officer and director of breed improvement for the American Hereford Association, said the association is providing phenotypic and DNA samples from their Young Sires test program. Each year, the breed association tests 10 to 15 young bulls against reference sires at Olson Ranch, in Harrisburg, Neb. Out of 900 cows bred at the ranch, they have fed out and collected numbers on 300 steers. Ward said based on a limited number of animals, it appears the feed-efficiency trait is fairly heritable in Herefords.
"Feed costs are a huge part of profitability. If we can identify the lines of Herefords that are good in feed efficiency, it's important information for seedstock producers and commercial producers," he explained, adding the breed is close to having a genomic-enhanced EPD for feed efficiency.
Missouri's Taylor said the next step in the development of feed efficiency is analyzing the genetic information to predict accuracies of feed efficiency -- related traits. "We expect 45 to 65%," he predicted. "We can make substantive genetic improvement with those accuracies."
The animal scientist said he's surprised by the differences in genetic makeup for the same trait in different breeds. "The model we might build for feed efficiency in the Angus breed won't work for other breeds, for example. We didn't expect to find that.
"In the next phase, we need to identify the individual DNA variants that produce the largest genetic effects on feed intake and efficiency," he added. "This will help to develop cost-effective DNA tests to produce genetic-enhanced EPDs."
As for Bennett, he's ready. The Virginia producer said feed efficiency will continue to be a big part of his selection criteria. "Cattle that are more efficient can literally be produced more efficiently. Plus, they can produce more efficiently for our customers."
THE FACE OF PERFORMANCE TESTING
If there is a poster person for USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture feed efficiency study, it's probably Dave Nichols. The Bridgewater, Iowa, seedstock producer began his career in performance testing in 1953.
Thirteen years old at the time, he and his parents started a purebred Angus operation where they recorded birthweight, yearling weight and feedlot gain on every animal they produced. As EPDs (Expected Progeny Differences) became available, and the industry trended toward grid marketing, Nichols measured and recorded more traits. But until the American Angus Association developed an EPD for residual average daily gain (RADG), a true measurement for feed efficiency eluded him.
"A beef animal gets half his weight on grass, and much of that time, he is with his mother. It is nearly impossible to get intake data. In large feedlots, individual feed intake is not only very difficult to measure but expensive," Nichols said.
"The use of crossbreeding and implants improve feed efficiency, but it is a win-win situation to increase feed efficiency genetically," he said.
Nichols is one of 24 seedstock producers who donated semen from their bulls for the USDA/NIFA-ponsored Feed Efficiency demonstration. He also serves as an adviser for the study, as well as for the USDA Meat Animal Research Center. He considers it all to be an investment in the industry and his own operation. Ever the businessman, he's looking forward to having more genomic information available. In addition to Angus, he breeds and sells Simmental and composite bulls, semen and embryos nationwide and internationally.
"As a seedstock breeder, I have to adopt the new technology in genetics first," Nichols said. "If we don't, our competition will. I have 54 years experience in selling growth. I know if we build it, they will come."
(VM/CZ)
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