26 NEBRASKA CATTLEMAN November 2024 sires that demonstrated there are multiple proven Angus sires whose female offspring are predicted to have above-average mature cow weight and below-average feed intake. Lalman said the ultimate goal of “building a better cow” is to create a cost-effective and sustainable operation. “One of the biggest improvements most ranching operations can make in building a better cow or improving cow efficiency is harvesting more of what they grow and growing it more efficiently,” Lalman said. “What we’re really talking about is improving upon this aspect – converting sunlight, carbon dioxide and water into a nutritious, delicious, human food source.” Genomics Christine Baes, Ph.D., is a professor at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, and serves as the Canada Research Chair in Livestock Genomics. Her presentation, “Have Your Cake and Eat It Too: Breeding Cows for Fertility, Disease Tolerance and Efficiency” took a deeper look at genomic selection in cattle and how the research behind it is enhancing cattle efficiency and sustainability. Baes’ research is based on dairy cattle in Canada and is called the Resilient Dairy Genome Project. The study collected methane production data daily from 496 dairy cows. “What we found is that we could accurately predict the amount of methane produced by these cows with an accuracy of .7, which kind of blew our minds because that was pretty good,” she said. “Then we looked at the genetic correlation between these traits and we saw that it was .92. Therefore, with this data set, we’re pretty confident that we can select for reduced methane production.” The research first found cattle with good phenotypes associated with “closer-to-biology” fertility. The next activities focused on disease resistance, and the final aspect focused on improving feed efficiency and reducing methane production. Baes said it is important to remember that methane production and methane emissions are not the same thing. Methane efficiency is a new trait that has been developed to be independent of production traits. Through the data collected, Baes reported that methane efficiency has not been found to have any negative correlations to other evaluated traits. The correlations to health and fertility data were positive. This, tied with current production trends, will hopefully lead to cattle that are more adaptable and therefore sustainable in the future. Although this data has been collected in dairy cattle, there are high hopes for the correlations to be similar in beef cattle. The project is looking into the genomic and environmental relationships across multiple generations and its longterm effects. By looking through the lens of genomics, ethics, environmental, economic, legal and societal aspects, the ultimate goal is to create genomic tools that can help producers select for sustainable cows through data translation and implementation. This approach allows for enhancing the health and productivity of the cattle to be at the forefront while addressing environmental concerns and maintaining the focus This table from Christine Baes’ presentation compares the economic deliverables before, during and after the adoption of genomics from 2004 to today and the addition of greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation. This table from David Lalman’s presentation compares weaning percentage and weights across 20 years. CATTLE EFFICIENCY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 25
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