Agricultural News
Genomics Offer One of the Keys to Producing More Beef and Better Beef
Tue, 25 Mar 2014 04:44:15 CDT
The tools are in place for the Beef Cattle Industry to help feed the expanding world population in the years to come. So says the COO and Director of Breed Improvement for the American Hereford Association, Jack Ward. Ward told Radio Oklahoma Ag Network's Ron Hays at the recent Oklahoma Youth Expo that animal agriculture will have to play a big role in providing high quality protein in the diets of the global population that is expected to double by 2050 or soon thereafter.
For the beef industry, Ward contends the tools are in place, especially the DNA component, the will allow cattle producers to exploit the full capability of their animals in producing beef. Ward points out that the generational turns are slower in cattle versus the pork and poultry sectors so "it becomes even more imperative and more important that we use as many tools as we can to make the right kind of educated decisions to move our genetics in the right direction.
The Hereford Association Exec says that adding genomics to EPDs has added speed to the equation. He says it allows breeders to identify high level performing sires younger in their life. The bottom line is that genomic EPDs provide the ability to "select animals much earlier in life with more proof" about their ability to deliver on the specific traits that the cattleman is selecting for.
Ward joins Ron Hays on today's Beef Buzz as he explains this brave new world of genomics being used in the purebred end of the beef busienss.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network- but is also a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR below for today's show- and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
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