Committee Technical Sessions:
Cow Herd Efficiency & Selection Decisions
Research Effort Seeks Predictors of Feed Efficiency
BOZEMAN, Mont. (June 2, 2011) — During the Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) 43rd Annual Research Symposium, Iowa State University geneticist Dorian Garrick announced plans for a five-year multidisciplinary project to research and develop DNA-based technology for predicting genetic merit for feed efficiency in beef cattle. Speaking during a combined meeting of BIF’s Cow Herd Efficiency and Selection Decisions committees, Garrick said a $5 million USDA Agriculture and Food Research Initiative grant will fund the collaborative project involving researchers from eight land-grant universities and USDA, including scientists at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center at Clay Center, Neb.
Garrick said the goal is to study factors that influence feed efficiency and develop tools for selecting cattle that require less feed while still delivering acceptable levels of performance. Reducing the feed resources required per unit of beef produced would reduce competition with humans for feedgrains. It could also reduce the beef industry’s environmental impact.
“We’ll look for reasons why some animals are more efficient by sampling animals that are superior as well as [those that are] inferior for feed efficiency,” Garrick explained.
Toward that end, phenotypic data will be collected on 8,000 animals representing eight different breeds. Researchers will measure feed intake, performance and carcass traits. They will evaluate differences in feed efficiency relative to different animal diets, whether grain-based or forage-based. Scientists will also collect animal DNA samples for gene mapping, seeking to identify gene markers associated with feed efficiency.
“Animals will be genotyped with the high-density 700,000 [marker] chip to identify genomic regions accounting for variation in feed efficiency,” Garrick added.
After sufficient data is collected and markers are validated, the next step is to develop genomic EPD (expected progeny difference) values that cattle breeders can apply to selection for more efficient cattle.
“It’s a five-year project, national in scope, involving multiple institutions, which undertakes basic and applied research to identify factors that impact feed efficiency,” Garrick stated. “It represents a shift from being output-based to being efficiency-based.”
To listen to this presentation and to view the PowerPoint that accompanied it, visit the Newsroom at www.BIFconference.com.
BIF’s 43rd Annual Research Symposium and Annual Meeting was hosted June 1-4 on campus at Montana State University, Bozeman, Mont.
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