Technological Advancements in the Industry

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by IBBA Executive Vice President Tommy Perkins, PhD., PAS

What a difference a year can make. We have gone from a steady, reasonable market to a fluctuating, volatile beef cattle market in just twelve months. The market signal is unpredictable, which can cause confusion. As a seedstock producer, this can be a time of tough decision making. However, I look at it as a great time of opportunity, where a complete evaluation of your current expense levels on each enterprise of the ranch could pay dividends. A disciplined approach to data collection and careful determination of culling criteria will make a difference in your bottom line.

As stated last month, this is an opportune time to retain ownership of some culled calves to gain valuable feeding and carcass data. I recommend doing this at a lower level if you have not previously fed cattle out, or do not have a good history of the genetics of your herd. On the other hand, those that have previously fed cattle out and know the genetics of gain, quality grade, yield grade, and animal health of their herd can participate at a higher level. With the lower value of a 500-pound feeder calf sold at weaning, you may be better served to background the calves at home, and then place them in a feedlot at a heavier weight to minimize days on feed while maximizing the excellent growth and feed efficiency that Brangus cattle have in the feeding phase.

This month we are focusing on the technology being utilized in the beef industry. You certainly have a lot of technology options that impact reproduction (artificial insemination, embryo transfer, etc.), pre-weaning gain (implants, creep feeding, etc.), and post-weaning gain (backgrounding, ultrasound, etc.). General management practices for identification (EID or electronic eartags, freeze brand, retinal eye scan), animal health (killed vaccine, modified live vaccine, injectable minerals), and handling (horse, all-terrain vehicle, drone) can certainly be impacted by use of technology. There are technologies available that impact genetic selection at the molecular level, such as DNA testing, cloning, gene editing, and others.

One must evaluate the economic impact of any form of technology on the ranch. If the gains from the use of any given source of technology is greater than the cost, then it should be considered. On the other hand, if it costs more than it returns, then it is not practical to implement. It is also important to evaluate all of the realized gains when using any and all forms of technology. For example, many ignore the value in genetic gains because it is difficult to put a true value on the knowledge gained in genetic improvement.

Use of technology at the ranch level can also have a significant impact on the association. I am reminded of the recent discussion I had with International Brangus Breeders Association (IBBA) Product Manager Emilio Silvas concerning the use of SNP profiling of embryos prior to implantation in recipient females. This technology produces a genomic profile of an unborn calf that can in turn have genomic enhanced expected progeny differences calculated before birth. Therefore, the association will have to consider the registration of embryos, as well as live cattle. The assignment of a registration number, without a birthdate, hasn’t really been considered in the past. These kinds of technological impacts will certainly have to be thought through as we build the new generation of IBBA registry software.

As you read this article, the staff will be settling into the new IBBA office building located at 8870 Highway 87 East in San Antonio, Texas. The contactors did a great job in remodeling the doctor’s office into a usable association office space. The building committee and board of directors are to be commended for their hard work and commitment to improve the long term assets of the association without using any financial reserves. They did this all while leaving ample funding in a building maintenance fund to secure proper maintenance of the new investment into the future. Likewise, they did a great job of including history from the old building in honor of those who gave time and money previously.

Do not hesitate to call me if you have any specific questions about information included in this column. For information about IBBA programs or other inquiries, please call (210) 696-8231. Stay connected to IBBA through Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, or receive news updates by joining our email list.