6 star listings

[blacksnake]

Does anyone know of other places to get a listing of angus cattle that are lsited as 6 star using the GeneStar testing protocol. I found the listing that Genetic Solutions has posted but not much else.
Thanks for any info

 

[dph]

Yes. There are alot of companies coming around. I think you will find Bovigen has been at it the longest, came up with the second tenderness test, and has just added a second marbling gene to give everyone the possibility of an 8 star calf. We have a couple of the 6 star bulls for our own use. Kind of stumbled into them. Waiting to see if they carry the second marbling gene. I would imagine the companines only list the bulls tested through them. http://www.bovigen.com will list several bulls by breed, but I don't think they have updated since spring. And since they are in the New Orleans area, might not for some time. Which is rough on them since they just came out with the new marker in August.

 

[paul swisher]

I received notice from Bovigen last week that they were ok and would resume normal operations Monday 3 Oct. I have one young bull to be tested so I mailed it Thursday. Another tenderness DNA test is igenity a division of Merial. You can find them at http://www.igenity.com If you are interested you can see some of our results at http://www.cattletoday.com/circlereds and/or http://www.pinzgauers.org

 

[blacksnake]

Any idea how long it takes to get the results back? I have a bull I am interested in testing. His paternal brother is listed as a 6 star bull, so I thought I had a good chance that mine would be at least a three star, maybe more. I just had my first set of calves from him. If he teted 5 or higher, I was going to test the calves but since it is about $95 per test, I only want to test if there is a good chance they would test high. I am sending for the Genestar test kit.
Thanks for all the info.

 

[paul swisher]

Bovigen says "if completed order form, payment and samples are received by Wed the results will be sent out by the following Wed" They have always been very prompt for me.

 

[dph]

bovigen's charge has actually gotten cheaper. They have updated some equipment, etc. I think it might be around $65 now. Do you sell bulls, blacksnake, or what is your interest in testing the calves, if you don't mind my asking?

I would guess Bovigen has a considerable backlog, and I would also guess the major breeders are being given preference currently. I sent ours in the Wed before Katrina, still waiting, but would expect to get something back in the next couple of weeks.

The reason I suggested bovigen is because of this second marbling marker. They are the only ones testing for it that I am aware of. I believe they partner with genetic solutions on some things, so perhaps they off it also. Personally we are more interested in the tenderness side of things in the event that one day you could be paid a premium for it, but practically bovigen has shown that if the animal is homozygous for the two identified marbling genes it will grade choice at the least. I imagine, with the new release of this marker, they are getting pretty swamped with requests.

We are not breeders, and our biggest interest in this is to concentrate these few, identified, and desired genes in our herd through our replacements. By and large, there doesn't seem to be a premium on 6-star bulls like there is on LBW bulls. Often the top 6 star bull at a sale commands a hefty premium, but after that I haven't witnessed much of one at all. Additionally, if you give up one star, there is no premium whatsoever. We still select bulls based on structre, epds, etc, but the number of copies of these genes is what is breaking ties for us.

 

[blacksnake]

Although I do sell a few bulls, that is not my primary intention. I am wanting to form a small foundation herd with the best genetics psobbile. I and a couple of other small producers would like to then use this group to expand and improve the herds. I'm sure there will be many more genetic markers discovered in the future as the bovine genome project progresses. Although there has been a definite link between the marbling genes and cattle grades, it is interesting when an animal with high %IMF actually can have none of the genes. I would just like to use all the tools available for improving my small herd. I just don't want to zero in on any one trait.
Thanks for all the replies

 

[DOC HARRIS]

A note to ALL reader's of this Forum: The comments by these three contributors to this post, blacksnake, dph, and Paul Swisher, in my opinion, is an indication that the future of the Beef Cattle Breeding Business is alive and thriving! These business people are thinking correctly, and doing their jobs with fervor and vigor! I would suggest that you read their posts again and understand the thought and planning that they are doing for the furtherance of their enterprises! They are making use of the study and developments and efforts of many different people and collateral enterprises for the benefit of the Beef Breeding BUSINESS. I applaud them for their foresightedness and planning!

DOC HARRIS

 

[jscunn]

I agree with Doc Harris. The keys to success is multi trait superiority. Not focusing on more EPD or type of EPD(Carcass traits) is the true key to success that and patience.
Dont try to achieve all your EPD goals in one or two generations, if you do you might be sacrificing something more important, like fertility. Good work guys.

 

[dph]

Doc, JS, thanks for the kind words. Blacksnake, I was thinking about that same idea for heifers. What is hard is to find a good 6 star bull of any breed. I am afraid as this catches on there may be a lot of 6 star bulls on the market that would have been better 6 star steers (actually, now I guess it is 8 star bulls and 8 star steers.), and that is probably the situation today. Bob Sears, the fellow that seems to have gotten the ball rolling on all of this, sees another angle. He runs a large feed lot and is building up a herd based on the genestar program. His hope is to sell high starred bulls to neighbors, then turn around and feed their progeny. He beleives the future is really with the tenderness genes, if one can establish a premium for them.

As far as finding the bulls, Dad and I are still comfortable with the price range that they sell for, but one of these years we, as small commercial producers, will be priced out on complete, sound bulls with all the right genes, unless supply keeps up with demand. When that happens, we will probably opt to AI heifers to the complete package, and just simply forefit one copy of a marbling gene. I can tell you right now, the only 8 star bull known about is one owned by Express Angus in Oklahoma. Express, I believe, has an interest in Bovigen. But, as we have discussed, there is a bit of a problem in getting all the tests ran. We will see how things look in a month or so.

To my very limited understanding, Bovigen and the others are also working on genes for feed efficiency and health related issues. Personally, I would like to see them focus on some maternal traits, but I suppose there is little $ there for them. Imagine finding the genes responsible for poor udders and poor fertility. Good luck to everybody in their endavors.