Bull selection is one of the most important decisions that a beef producer makes and can have a lasting impact on profitability. Factors such as the market endpoint of calves (e.g., newly weaned or finished cattle), whether replacements will be retained, and the level of nutritional management provided to the cow herd all impact which traits should be selected for and at what level. Understanding this complex relationship can be the difference between buying a “good” bull and buying the right bull.
The eBEEF.org team, a group of beef cattle geneticists from across the U.S., is trying to determine how beef producers are currently selecting their bulls and will use this information to develop educational materials to help improve this process. Knowing which traits to select for is often not the problem, it is the degree to which each should be emphasized that can be highly variable from producer to producer and can often be challenging to determine. Too often this process is more ‘seat of the pants’ rather than by factors affecting profitability. For example, trying to find the optimal level of calving ease without sacrificing profit by not emphasizing traits like sale weight of the calves enough.
To assess how beef producers are selecting bulls, within their level of management, we are asking you to fill out a brief survey. This should take approximately 10 minutes of your time and provide a wealth of information for the beef industry! This information will be used to compare the survey results to values generated by iGENDEC, a software package that determines the most profitable level of emphasis that should be placed on each trait within a specific production system.
Several incentives are being offered to encourage participation in this survey. The first is a random drawing for five $100 gift cards generously donated by the Beef Improvement Federation (beefimprovement.org). The second is a special webinar that will be offered to everyone that completes a survey, and provides their email address, to discuss the findings of the survey and resulting bull selection strategies. Lastly, and possibly most importantly, knowledge gained by beef producers by going through this process and the entire beef industry through better bull selection decisions.
Article by Darrh Bullock, University of Kentucky and Matt Spangler, University of Nebraska.
