certherfbeef
Well-known member
Interesting article I ran across. Thought I'd share.
2/21/2006 5:20:55 PM
Wild Thang I think I'll Cull You
by Becky Mills
It is hard to put a price on the aggravation factor of a heifer who throws up her head and takes off right when she gets to the corral—and naturally takes the rest of the heifers with her. Or the idiot steer that makes sorting and loading one truck an all-day affair. Not to mention the certifiable nut case that wrecks your holding pen and/or puts you in the hospital. But lo and behold there are actual dollar figures to show that crazies cost you money.
"We have new data that shows docile calves are worth $62 a head more in the feedlot than aggressive calves," says Darrell Busby, Iowa State animal scientist. Since the late 1980s, Busby and his crew have been disposition scoring the calves in the Tri-County Steer Carcass Futurity when they work and weigh them. In the last four years they have scored more than 8,000 calves using the Beef Improvement Federation disposition score of one (docile) to six (aggressive). Iowa State and the feeders in the futurity also routinely keep complete feedlot and carcass data on the futurity calves, making it possible to link disposition and performance data. Disposition counts in a big way in heifer marketing, too.
The cost of bad apples. University of Georgia animal scientists use the same scoring system on the heifers in the Heifer Evaluation and Reproductive Development (HERD) program. In the fall, producers across the state bring their heifers to one of two central locations. Gain and reproductive tract scores are taken along with disposition scores. The heifers are bred to calving ease bulls and the ones that meet the requirements are sold in two special HERD sales in the spring. Producers can also opt to take their heifers back to their home farms.
"When we sort this data, the heifers with higher disposition scores, on the average, bring a few hundred dollars less," says University of Georgia animal scientist Robert Stewart. "Now that the buyers understand what the disposition scores mean, they treat them like bull buyers do EPDs. They won't even look at the ones with higher scores. Even in the first sale, the fours were not in demand."
There have now been six sales in the south Georgia location and five in north Georgia.
The Northwest Georgia experiment station in Calhoun is headquarters for one of the HERD programs. Station superintendent Phil Worley agrees with Stewart.
"The figures from the HERD sale are dramatic when they are sorted by disposition score and selling price," Worley says. "The heifers with bad disposition scores just don't sell. Consignors learn quickly; and the heifers in the HERD program have tremendously better disposition scores now." So, disposition does affect the bottom line. Granted, handling is a part of the equation, but Kent Andersen, executive vice president of the North American Limousin Foundation (NALF), says disposition can be improved genetically.
NALF has more than 10 years of data to prove it. Actually, their story started 15 years ago with a symposium in Kansas. "We took a real hard look at the breed and its strengths and opportunities for improvement," Andersen says. "We knew there was a lot to improve with temperament."
The association developed a chute scoring system with a score of one (docile) to six (aggressive). Sound familiar? It is the same one adapted by BIF. On the advice of Colorado State animal behavior expert Temple Grandin, the association members scored calves at weaning. Andersen says at that stage the calves are old enough to show their temperament, but probably haven't had enough trips through the chute for a bad experience to influence the score.
"In the first two years, we collected 50,000 records and found the scoring system does a pretty good job of identifying genetic differences," Andersen says. "We also found disposition has a heritability of 0.4."
In 1994, NALF published the first docility EPDs with EPD expressed in units of probability of acceptable behavior. It ranged from a -20 to a +35. "In ten years we have seen a favorable genetic trend," Andersen says. "The average docility EPD is now a +13. We found the sires that produce a disproportionate number of trouble makers don't get used. It is a really neat example of how if you develop a way to measure a trait, you can change it. It is also very possible to improve a trait in a short period of time."
Pick and choose. Hiawassee, Ga., cattle producer Eddie Bradley has disposition on his list of selection criteria. "Life is too short to put up with a bunch of idiots," Bradley says. "The calves won't do good in the feedlot, and if you keep crazy heifers they won't settle as well AI." Bradley breeds his whole herd—both 20 registered cows and 70 commercial cows—AI at least once before he turns in a clean up bull. Neither one of the breeds he uses, Angus or Simmental, has developed an EPD for docility yet, but he uses the advice of the stud service representatives, as well as word of mouth from other producers when he selects sires.
Mississippi State researcher Rhonda Vann says producers are wise to do their homework on sire selection. She has been involved in a regional disposition project for four years.
"We are seeing some sire effects," she says. "Every breed has its issues. But producers can make progress with selection." But what about the mama cow? Where do you draw the line between being protective of her calf and being a lunatic? "We have coyote problems—we need protective cows," Bradley says. "I will tag a calf in the back of the truck and that doesn't bother me. But I don't want one that will get me a month later."
Travis Turnquist, manager of the herd at the Northwest Georgia Experiment Station, agrees. "We tag, tattoo and implant at birth. We want the cows to be good mamas and if we have to work out of the back of the truck, that's fine. But two days later when we move them to another pasture, she better not hunt me down."
The Limousin Association's Andersen agrees there is a happy medium. "We're beginning to suspect that maternal protectiveness and calf vigor are related," he says. Some dairy cattle and their lack of maternal instincts are a prime example, Turnquist says.
The next few years will likely reveal more disposition data to use in your selection process. Mississippi State's Vann and Ron Randel at Texas A&M–Overton are researching the effects of disposition on herd health, specifically immune response from vaccinations. They'll also be doing more work on the link between disposition and carcass quality.
"We hope to eventually identify gene markers for disposition," Vann says.
© 2005 AgWeb.com. All Rights Reserved.
2/21/2006 5:20:55 PM
Wild Thang I think I'll Cull You
by Becky Mills
It is hard to put a price on the aggravation factor of a heifer who throws up her head and takes off right when she gets to the corral—and naturally takes the rest of the heifers with her. Or the idiot steer that makes sorting and loading one truck an all-day affair. Not to mention the certifiable nut case that wrecks your holding pen and/or puts you in the hospital. But lo and behold there are actual dollar figures to show that crazies cost you money.
"We have new data that shows docile calves are worth $62 a head more in the feedlot than aggressive calves," says Darrell Busby, Iowa State animal scientist. Since the late 1980s, Busby and his crew have been disposition scoring the calves in the Tri-County Steer Carcass Futurity when they work and weigh them. In the last four years they have scored more than 8,000 calves using the Beef Improvement Federation disposition score of one (docile) to six (aggressive). Iowa State and the feeders in the futurity also routinely keep complete feedlot and carcass data on the futurity calves, making it possible to link disposition and performance data. Disposition counts in a big way in heifer marketing, too.
The cost of bad apples. University of Georgia animal scientists use the same scoring system on the heifers in the Heifer Evaluation and Reproductive Development (HERD) program. In the fall, producers across the state bring their heifers to one of two central locations. Gain and reproductive tract scores are taken along with disposition scores. The heifers are bred to calving ease bulls and the ones that meet the requirements are sold in two special HERD sales in the spring. Producers can also opt to take their heifers back to their home farms.
"When we sort this data, the heifers with higher disposition scores, on the average, bring a few hundred dollars less," says University of Georgia animal scientist Robert Stewart. "Now that the buyers understand what the disposition scores mean, they treat them like bull buyers do EPDs. They won't even look at the ones with higher scores. Even in the first sale, the fours were not in demand."
There have now been six sales in the south Georgia location and five in north Georgia.
The Northwest Georgia experiment station in Calhoun is headquarters for one of the HERD programs. Station superintendent Phil Worley agrees with Stewart.
"The figures from the HERD sale are dramatic when they are sorted by disposition score and selling price," Worley says. "The heifers with bad disposition scores just don't sell. Consignors learn quickly; and the heifers in the HERD program have tremendously better disposition scores now." So, disposition does affect the bottom line. Granted, handling is a part of the equation, but Kent Andersen, executive vice president of the North American Limousin Foundation (NALF), says disposition can be improved genetically.
NALF has more than 10 years of data to prove it. Actually, their story started 15 years ago with a symposium in Kansas. "We took a real hard look at the breed and its strengths and opportunities for improvement," Andersen says. "We knew there was a lot to improve with temperament."
The association developed a chute scoring system with a score of one (docile) to six (aggressive). Sound familiar? It is the same one adapted by BIF. On the advice of Colorado State animal behavior expert Temple Grandin, the association members scored calves at weaning. Andersen says at that stage the calves are old enough to show their temperament, but probably haven't had enough trips through the chute for a bad experience to influence the score.
"In the first two years, we collected 50,000 records and found the scoring system does a pretty good job of identifying genetic differences," Andersen says. "We also found disposition has a heritability of 0.4."
In 1994, NALF published the first docility EPDs with EPD expressed in units of probability of acceptable behavior. It ranged from a -20 to a +35. "In ten years we have seen a favorable genetic trend," Andersen says. "The average docility EPD is now a +13. We found the sires that produce a disproportionate number of trouble makers don't get used. It is a really neat example of how if you develop a way to measure a trait, you can change it. It is also very possible to improve a trait in a short period of time."
Pick and choose. Hiawassee, Ga., cattle producer Eddie Bradley has disposition on his list of selection criteria. "Life is too short to put up with a bunch of idiots," Bradley says. "The calves won't do good in the feedlot, and if you keep crazy heifers they won't settle as well AI." Bradley breeds his whole herd—both 20 registered cows and 70 commercial cows—AI at least once before he turns in a clean up bull. Neither one of the breeds he uses, Angus or Simmental, has developed an EPD for docility yet, but he uses the advice of the stud service representatives, as well as word of mouth from other producers when he selects sires.
Mississippi State researcher Rhonda Vann says producers are wise to do their homework on sire selection. She has been involved in a regional disposition project for four years.
"We are seeing some sire effects," she says. "Every breed has its issues. But producers can make progress with selection." But what about the mama cow? Where do you draw the line between being protective of her calf and being a lunatic? "We have coyote problems—we need protective cows," Bradley says. "I will tag a calf in the back of the truck and that doesn't bother me. But I don't want one that will get me a month later."
Travis Turnquist, manager of the herd at the Northwest Georgia Experiment Station, agrees. "We tag, tattoo and implant at birth. We want the cows to be good mamas and if we have to work out of the back of the truck, that's fine. But two days later when we move them to another pasture, she better not hunt me down."
The Limousin Association's Andersen agrees there is a happy medium. "We're beginning to suspect that maternal protectiveness and calf vigor are related," he says. Some dairy cattle and their lack of maternal instincts are a prime example, Turnquist says.
The next few years will likely reveal more disposition data to use in your selection process. Mississippi State's Vann and Ron Randel at Texas A&M–Overton are researching the effects of disposition on herd health, specifically immune response from vaccinations. They'll also be doing more work on the link between disposition and carcass quality.
"We hope to eventually identify gene markers for disposition," Vann says.
© 2005 AgWeb.com. All Rights Reserved.
