IBBA Introducing Commercial Cattle Genomic Service Yielding Three Selection Indexes

The International Brangus Breeders Association (IBBA) will introduce a new DNA test for the profiling and selection of commercial replacement heifers.

IBBA is rolling out the Igenity® Brangus profiler in partnership with Neogen GeneSeek Operations as part of a plan to diversify and grow its genomic services and enhance the tools available to producers.

Commercial producers can already purchase Brangus seedstock that are backed up by Genomic-Enhanced Expected Progeny Differences (GE-EPDs), according to IBBA Executive Vice President Tommy Perkins, PhD., PAS.

Soon they also can use similar technology on their own ranch to select Brangus replacement heifers.

“This service will help them move faster and more cost-effectively towards their production goals through earlier selection of heifers with the right combination of economically relevant traits associated with the Brangus breed,” he said. Producers also will be able to predict tenderness and confirm parentage in the heifers that they select to retain.

“This will be incredibly important information that will impact their production system economics along with their ability to represent their steers in the feeder calf market.

Igenity Brangus will profile traits currently provided as birth, growth and carcass trait EPDs by IBBA, plus the test will use Taurus and Indicus parentage markers for sire identification along with tenderness markers. The traits will be provided as easy-to-use 1 to 10 scores. The scores actually predict traits that profiled heifers would pass on to their offspring, he said.

For example, a Brangus heifer that scores well for moderate birthweight, easy calving, good yearling weight and good tenderness would be an ideal keeper, he noted.

“Using genomics, you can look at those characteristics when heifers are young calves, before you put a lot of investment into them as replacements, and make some decisions about which are the best to keep and which will be sold as feeders,” Perkins said.

Brangus-specific indexes will be used in the reports to help producers put selection pressure on multiple traits simultaneously, he added.

Traits will include:

• Maternal: Birth weight, calving ease direct, calving ease maternal, scrotal circumference
• Performance: Weaning weight, yearling weight, milk
• Carcass: IMF, REA, fat, tenderness
• Parentage: Targus/Indicus markers

Commercial producers will order the tests from IBBA and send their test samples to the association, where orders will be entered and forwarded on to GeneSeek.

“Our goal is to give commercial producers information they can use to measure and select their future brood cows and Brangus steers. We also aim to further define our EPDs for fertility, performance and carcass merit for purebred Brangus breeders by accelerating the use of genomics and phenotypic data collection by commercial cattleman using the Igenity® Brangus profiler product,” he said.

Brangus will partner with Neogen GeneSeek for genomic services to run the tests and is using the established Igenity brand name to quickly build a recognized commercial cattle profile.

“Neogen GeneSeek has been an important partner in our DNA testing services, and we appreciate tapping into their broad experience across the commercial cattle market to design and field this new test,” Perkins said. “Their innovation cycle and the bioinformatic services that they provide to our staff make this new product a natural extension of our business relationship.”

“We are very pleased to expand our partnership with the International Brangus Breeders,” said Dr. Stewart Bauck, vice president of agrigenomics for Neogen GeneSeek. “We look forward to working with them to provide fast, effective, affordable DNA testing solutions for their members and customers.”