Selection Considerations to Improve Longevity

by Associate Professor & Extension Beef Cattle Specialist Longevity Jason Banta, PhD., PAS Every cow-calf producer wants a cow that is productive for 12 to 15 years or more. Longevity of both cows and bulls is influenced by a host of factors including disposition, feet and legs, udder and teat confirmation, fleshing ability, fertility, function…

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Building with Brangus is the Right Choice

by IBBA Executive Vice President Tommy Perkins, PhD., PAS As we move into the spring calving season for 2017, cattle prices continue to be on the upside of our recent roller coaster ride. The value of every pound of weaned calf continues to have significance in the commercial cattle segment. I do not know of…

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Nine in Five

by IBBA Communications Coordinator Peyton Waldrip IBBA member Clarence Tays is a Brangus breeder in Cookeville, Tennessee. An Ultrablack® female named MISS LOF 144, or “Lollipop,” was born into his herd on Aug. 30, 2009. After Tays’s granddaughter, Elizabeth, showed the heifer in 2010, the female was sold to a neighbor: Randy Randolph. Randolph is…

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Reproduction, Twinning and Genomics

by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Livestock Specialist Joe Paschal, PhD. Reproduction in cattle is generally thought to be lowly heritable (0.10-0.20 percent), and as a result selection response is low. Regardless of what reproductive trait is being selected, there is not a lot of variability in breeding value from which to select. These reproductive traits…

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