Beef cow learning modules

black cows bunched up in the pasture

Learning modules

Chute Scoring Beef Cattle
Body Condition Scoring Beef Cows

Guide to Body Condition Scoring Your Beef Cow Herd

Nine Point Body Condition Scoring for Beef Cow Herd

Bos Taurus (European beef breeds) Body Condition Scoring Visual Guide

Bos Indicus (Asian beef breds) Body Condition Scoring Visual Guide

Using Body Condition Score to Manage a Nutritional Program

Body Condition Scoring – A Management Practice That Can’t be Overlooked

Udder & Teat Scoring Beef Cows

Udder and Teat Scoring Beef Cows

Beef Cattle Breeding and Genetics
  • Understanding and Using Expected Progeny Differences (EPDs), Selection Indexes, and Gene Marker Information When Selecting Beef Bulls (recorded webinar)
    • Learn more about beef cattle EPDs, Selection Indexes, and Gene Markers. All the information presented in a sale catalog can be really confusing. This webinar will help you sort out what the information means and how it can be applied. This webinar was presented by Dr. Bob Weaber and Dr. Matt Spangler. Bob and Matt are beef cattle specialists with a focus in Beef Cattle Breeding and Genetics.
  • Collecting DNA Samples In Beef Cattle (video)
    • There are a variety of reasons why a beef cattle producer might want to collect a DNA sample from an animal. Some seedstock producers might need to verify the parentage of an animal before the animal can be registered. With the recent discovery of many genetic defects, producers might need or want to test animals that are potential carriers of a certain defect. There are also several commercially available DNA marker tests for production and carcass traits. All of these require obtaining a clean (i.e. no manure, dirt, or other contamination) sample from an animal. This video describes different methods of collecting a DNA sample including hair, blood, and tissue.
  • eBeef
    • eBEEF is the beef genetics/genomics community of practice with eXtension. Our mission is to foster a research and outreach community, engage beef cattle producers and ag professionals through trainings and publications, and support research and outreach projects. This website has a lot of resources relating to beef genetics and genomics. 
    • iGENDEC
      • iGENDEC is a web-based tool to enable the construction of economically optimal selection indexes. iGENDEC allows index customization through adjustment of economic and production parameters to reflect unique enterprise or production scenarios, including sale-point of calves, current phenotypic means, economic parameters, breed(s), and planning horizon. Although the web-based system is user friendly, we strongly encourage that users possess a solid background in beef cattle genetics, especially index selection theory or seek advice from someone that does. This tool can be used to develop general-use indexes offered by beef breed associations or customized indexes for specific enterprises. iGENDEC can also be used as a teaching tool in the classroom and in extension programming efforts.
      • Video overview of iGENDEC with Dr. Matt Spangler, UNL
Feeding and Nutrition Management
Beef Cow Reproduction

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