38 NEBRASKA CATTLEMAN December 2024 PEERS SOUTH FOR THE WINTER ENVIRONMENT IMPACTS SELECTION, MANAGEMENT AND SUCCESS U.S. MEAT ANIMAL RESEARCH CENTER COMMUNICATIONS The holiday season is upon us! It is a time of bliss, joy and cheer – but also challenges for the cattle industry. Sure, cattle producers and their families experience the joys of the season, but that is when they aren’t breaking ice, building windbreaks or thawing their fingers and toes! It is an unspoken rule in the beef industry that the animals come first, no matter the weather and regardless of the calendar reading Dec. 25. Providing for cattle during the winter in Nebraska can look different from year to year; however, we know a few things for sure: it will be cold, there will be wind and cattle need to be fed. There are many places in the country where it is truly easier to produce cattle in the winter than it is in Nebraska. A Nebraska cattle producer in -30 degree windchill could only dream of feeding cattle in Texas in December. There are many factors that influence the success of a production system and weather is just one of them. Genetics, environment, management and socioeconomics are factors that must work together to contribute to a cattle operation’s overall success. The U.S. Meat Animal Research Center (USMARC) and collaborative facilities in Texas and Oklahoma are working to test this interaction and its impact on cattle performance. The Germplasm Evaluation Project (GPE) at USMARC is the longest running study of its kind. The GPE herd is comprised of crossbred and purebred cows from the 18 most prominent cattle breeds in the United States, and new genetics are specifically selected to be a representative mirror of cattle industry trends by using high-impact AI sires from each breed. Routine and novel traits for each breed are measured and allow these national selection trends to be evaluated. A grand challenge has been developed to test the performance of GPE cattle that have been traditionally produced in Nebraska for 50 years, in vastly different environments. A group of GPE cattle has been sent from Nebraska to the Texas A&M Research and Extension Center in Beeville, Texas, which has a subtropical climate, sits just 210 feet above sea level and is only an hour’s drive from the Gulf of Mexico. Needless to say, this is a drastically different environment than where these cattle were born and, for some breeds, what their ancestral lineage was ever exposed to. The weather isn’t the only thing that is different. The available forage, forage quality, pests and influence on the microbiomes of these cattle also differ. As we know, due to differing seasonal impact, cattle in Texas are also managed differently. Changing the environment and management factors will allow for USMARC researchers to measure the performance of the GPE herd and determine the impact of the location and management changes on the routine and novel traits, which will be compared to those of the cows that stayed in Nebraska. Another group of GPE cattle has been relocated to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Research Service Center in El Reno, Okla., where they will also experience changes in environment and management and be comparatively evaluated. CONTINUED ON PAGE 44 25th AnnuAl Production SAle Wed, February 12, 2025 At the Bull Center - neAr ClArkson, neBrAskA Preserving the power of Scotch Cap genetics Call or stop by anytime! 82235 567 Ave. • Clarkson, NE 68629 402-920-3171 • nickjindra@hotmail.com • www.jindraangus.com Ad Design by Chrisman Cattle Services JindrA off roAd foxhovenS endeAvor 203 lArgeSt Sire grouPS by Foxhovens Endeavor • Jindra Off Road • Ellingson Prolific • 4M Blockade 120 Simonson Stryker 942 • Jindra Open Road • S A V Magnum 1335 • Jindra Bravo • Jindra Xpansion Connealy Commerce • Connealy Craftsman • Jindra Assurance • Schiefelbein Top Gun Jindra Double Vision • Connealy Pinnacle • Jindra Executive • Jindra Cutting Edge Selling 165 regiStered AnguS bullS • 40 regiStered AnguS heiferS
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