Beef CRC project delivers priceless fertility data - Beef CRC - Beef Genetic Technologies
One of the longest-running genetics projects in Australian cattle, spanning twelve years of intensive recording, completed its course on May 31, 2011 when the last group of “Number 3 cows” had their calves weaned at Swan’s Lagoon station in northern Queensland.
The massive data collection exercise involved recording 2,200 Brahman and Tropical Composite female cattle over nine years, their steer half brothers over three years and about 3,500 of their bull calves over the first two years of their lives in a flagship project of the CRC for Beef Genetic Technologies (Beef CRC).
It has been a huge cooperative effort of science and industry and the majority of cattle have been run on five Queensland research stations.
Critically, the project would not have been possible without the long term financial commitment of the northern pastoral group of companies and individual seedstock breeders.
Lead researcher, Dr David Johnston, Animal Genetics and Breeding Unit at the University of New England, praised the commitment of producers and the highly skilled technical expertise from CSIRO Livestock Industries, DEEDI and AGBU that led to the project’s positive outcomes.
“These collaborations have resulted in a world-first comprehensive understanding of whole herd profitability, with the key focus being the genetic basis of female reproduction in tropical cattle from puberty to six calvings.”
“I can’t stress enough how important and rare this level of information is. Extensive measurements were performed on every cow many times, including ovarian scans, weight and condition scores, adaptation scores and temperament assessments, with meat quality and feed efficiency measured in their steer half-sibs.” he said.
This means big spin-offs for the northern beef industry. The data is already being used extensively in BREEDPLAN. New knowledge about the genetic relationships between heifer puberty, lactation anoestrus in cows as well as indicators of female reproduction in bulls, all provide management recommendations for producers. Many more genetics results will become available as the data continue to be analysed over coming months; and DNA testing also means the genomics of tropical breeds and composites can be explored in these cattle.
NAPCO has been involved with the Beef CRC since 1993 with the donation of cattle for the original cross breeding program conducted at Duck Ponds near Comet in Central Queensland. NAPCO’s General Manager – Growing and Marketing, Geoff Kingston said since then, NAPCO has incorporated research outcomes into its own composite breeding programs.
“This has delivered a level of sophistication for our bull breeding programs unimaginable ten years ago. Our animal selection has evolved from simple growth ratios to the use of EBVs and $ Indexes incorporating many of the technologies and research findings from this genetic project,” he said.
To put the project in context, across all measures in total there have been around 775,000 live animal records taken in the 2,200 cows alone. This is an extremely powerful set of data.
It has not always been an easy task to accumulate these records. Since the project commenced in 1999, it has endured droughts, floods and cyclones which have not only interfered with experimental timetables, but in some cases also forced the relocation of cattle. Most importantly though, stock losses were avoided.
“There were the inevitable difficulties in maintaining funding for the necessary time, but thanks to the commitment of the northern producers and our CRC staff we got through as planned, and we now have lifetime records on 2,200 tropical cattle,” Dr Johnston said.
“The value of the knowledge dataset should have long-lasting impacts for the Northern Beef Industry and prove to be an invaluable resource that allows future research to validated data for years to come,” NAPCO’s Geoff Kingston said.
Dr Johnston said genetics is a key factor for lifting reproductive performance in northern Australia.
“Producers need to focus particularly on their first-calf cows that are back in calf as three-year-olds and ensure they retain their progeny. There are tropical cattle out there that will calve every year. You’ve just got to know how to look for them,” he said.
For more Information: Dr David Johnston, 02 6773 2658, Email:djohnsto@une.edu.au
Media contact: Robert Nethery, 0439 40 50 77, Email: rob.nethery@beefcrc.com.au
Source: Argentine Beef Packers S.A.
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