98 NEBRASKA CATTLEMAN February 2024 PEERS BENEFITTING THE BEEF INDUSTRY U.S. MEAT ANIMAL RESEARCH CENTER COMMUNICATIONS The cattle industry is led by tradition. We respect the practices of those who came before us, the lessons they learned and the ideals they instilled that guide the decisions we make today. In the beef industry, experience is wisdom. However, our industry is also challenged with the “we’ve always done it this way” mentality. Innovation can be a hard pill to swallow when it requires change and when our families have been operating the same way for generations. We tend to think of the downsides or “what ifs” when confronted with new ways of doing things. When presented with new opportunities or ideas, we must remember that everything that is now standard practice was once considered new. We can’t be afraid to try something new for the continued success of all things beef! The U.S. Meat Animal Research Center (USMARC) has been producing innovative ideas, techniques, solutions and opportunities to help producers address their challenges for more than 50 years! USMARC consists of 35,000 acres and, at full capacity, manages approximately 22,000 head of livestock, nearly 16,000 of which are cattle. USMARC practices intensive grazing with 7,500 cows and can house 6,400 cattle in the research feedlot. As one of the largest research centers of its kind in the world, the work done at USMARC is not only ground-breaking, but most important, is directly impacting the livestock industry. More specifically, researchers at USMARC are broadly focusing on genetics, animal health genomics, nutrition and growth physiology, bio-systems, environmental sustainability, meat quality and meat safety. Collaboration between research units and the animal operations teams produces efficient and impactful research relevant to industry production standards by mirroring current industry practices and trends. USMARC has been producing impactful projects, innovations, discoveries and valuable data since 1970. Cattle producers may be familiar with the Germplasm Evaluation (GPE) herd. This project evaluates the most prominent beef breeds in the United States, comparing crossbreeding vs. purebred characteristics, helping producers make selection decisions across beef breeds. The meat-grading camera system developed by USMARC researchers is a well-known innovation that has helped to modernize beef carcass grading. USMARC work that made headlines recently is the story of “Ginger,” the bovine viral diarrhea-resistant, genome-edited calf that could. This research could significantly impact the beef industry by effectively eliminating the disease and the associated hundreds of millions of dollars spent fighting it annually. Other USMARC discoveries that have shaped the industry include determining the genetic causes of bovine congestive heart failure, breakthroughs related to E. coli, salmonella and food safety; research combating pinkeye; antimicrobial CONTINUED ON PAGE 100 Feb. 24, 2024 1:00 p.m. At the farm near Burchard, NE Selling 35 Polled Hereford Bulls 40 Bred & Open Females Joel Birdwell Auctioneer Kingfisher, OK 405-368-1058 Bid online See all of our BIG LEAGUE LINEUP at www.TegtmeierPolledHerefords.com Russ Tegtmeier - 402.865.5805 h / 402.335.0470 c 71556 609 Ave., Burchard, NE 68323 CT GOLD RUSH 102K ET CLOSING PITCHER Top Herd bull prospect by Gold Rush, and out of F94, maternal sister to Bennett Encore. Tegtmeier Polled Herefords Tegtmeier Polled Herefords 64th Annual Bull & Female Sale Build Your Winning Team with TOTAL PERFORMANCE GENETICS from TEGTMEIERER TEGTMEIER POLLED HEREFORDS BIG LEAGUE LINEUP!
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