Ultrasound Basics

Resource: Matthew Spangler, Asst Professor, Animal Science, Univ. of Nebraska - Lincoln

Ultrasound EPDs have lead to genetic progress for carcass traits and the following videos show how this information is garnered, how it relates to actual carcass measurements, and how information travels from the farm to the breed association.

The use of ultrasound to indicate the carcass potential of an animal serves as a very useful tool particularly in ranking and ascertaining genetic differences among potential sires. For those who are interested in becoming an Ultrasound Guidelines Council (UGC) certified technician, the following videos concerning equipment, scanning technique, breed association paperwork, and carcass anatomy will prove to be very useful as you learn what you need to scan, how to do it, and the corresponding carcass traits that are being measured. More about becoming a UGC certified technician can be found at Ultrasound Guidelines Council. If you are a seedstock producer who is interested in having cattle scanned or are already doing so the video pertaining to breed association paperwork will prove valuable in determining what you need to do before and after your cattle are scanned to make sure that the scan data generated is used in the calculation of EPDs. If you are a commercial producer who places emphasis on ultrasound EPDs when buying bulls it is important to know how these measures relate to the carcass traits that you are trying to improve and the economic relevance of improving these traits which is detailed in the carcass anatomy presentation.

 

Equipment (Presents: Craig Hays, UGC Certified Technician)

Scanning Techniques (Presents: Craig Hays, UGC Certified Technician)

Carcass Anatomy (Presents: Dr. Dennis Burson, Professor of Animal Science, UNL)

Breed Association Paperwork (Presents: Larry Keenan, American Red Angus Association)

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