Transcript PowerPoint - ASA Fall Focus

Designing Genetics and Selection for
Seedstock Breeders, Commercial
Cattlemen and Show Ring Enthusiasts
ASA Fall Focus 2015: Confidence Builds Success
Scott P. Greiner, Ph.D.
Extension Animal Scientist
Virginia Tech
[email protected] 540-231-9159
Putting Genetics to Work
What are
your herd
goals?
How fast can
you get
there?
What do you
focus on?
Seedstock
Cow-Calf
Feeder
Processor
Consumer
Genetic Improvement
Rate of genetic change influenced by:
• Accuracy of selection
• Selection intensity
• Generation interval
∆G
Accuracy and Possible Change
BW
EPD
BIF
Accuracy
Possible
Change
“true” EPD
Range
Sire A
+1.0
0.25
±2.0
-1.0 to +3.0
Sire B
+1.0
0.90
±0.3
+0.7 to +1.3
Magnitude of Selection
Simm
top 20%
CE
EPD
+11.6
WW
EPD
+70
MB
EPD
+0.26
bottom 20%
+5.8
+55
+0.00
Difference
5.8 %
15 lb.
26 MS
Simm Hybrid
top 20%
CE
EPD
+13.7
WW
EPD
+68
MB
EPD
+0.51
bottom 20%
+7.1
+51
+0.13
Difference
6.6 %
17 lb.
38 MS
Genetic Progress in
Multiple Traits
Application of well-designed crossbreeding
system
• Heterosis
• Breed Complementarity
Effective use of EPDs
• Within Breeds
• Across Breeds
Assumptions
Maximum profitability in cow-calf sector is
associated with crossbreeding (primarily through
maternal heterosis)
Angus, Red Angus, and Hereford are the British
breeds of choice and compose primary base of
US cow herd
Continental x British crosses are most desirable
for optimizing goals of cow-calf, feeder, packer,
and consumer
Breed Average EPDs: Across Breed Basis
BW
WW
YW
Milk
MB
REA
FT
Angus
+1.4
+50
+88
+23
+0.46
+0.41
+0.01
Red Angus
+1.8
+30
+56
+21
+0.09
+0.11
-0.02
Hereford
+5.9
+45
+52
+2
-0.26
+0.22
-0.05
Simmental
+5.5
+58
+82
+25
-0.25
+1.20
-0.19
Simm
Hybrid
+4.3
+55
+82
+25
-0.06
+1.02
-0.17
Simmental among Continental breeds:
Higher CE, maternal CE, WW, YW, QG, and feed
efficiency
100
75
Diff = 38 lb
50
Diff = 0.4 lb
Diff = 61 lb
25
0
Angus
Simmental
Kuehn, US MARC
2008
2006
2004
2002
2000
1998
1996
1994
1992
1990
1988
1986
1984
1982
1980
1978
1976
1974
1972
-25
Major Breed Differences Today
Continental vs. British breeds
 Continental breeds have dramatically reduced birth weights and improved
calving ease over last 30 +years
 Angus and Red Angus sire lightest BW calves with most calving ease
 Daughters of Continental and British breeds similar in reproduction, calving
ease, calf survival and similar in mature size
 Breed differences in weaning weight and milk much smaller than 30+ years ago
 British and Continental sired progeny do not differ significantly in postweaning
growth or efficiency of live weight gain
 Large differences exist between British and Continental breeds for carcass traits
Sire breed least squares means for height, condition score, and weight of F 1 cows
(adjusted for condition score) at 4 years of age
Four-yr-old
Four-yr-old
Four-year-old
Breed
Height
in
Condition
Score
Weight / (Adj. Wt.)
Lb
Hereford
53.1ab
6.47a
1360 a (1348a)
Angus
52.5bc
6.54a
1348 a (1342ab)
Red Angus
52.2c
6.63a
1342 a (1321ab)
Simmental
53.6a
6.40ab
1357 a (1353a)
Gelbvieh
52.9abc
6.01c
1273 b (1282b)
Limousin
53.5a
6.13bc
1320ab (1330ab)
Charolais
53.3ab
6.47a
1344 a (1339ab)
LSD <0.05
0.8
.29
54
(51)
source: Cundiff et al., 2005, Germplasm Evaluation Program
Simmental
Complimentary traits to Angus
• Muscle/Red Meat Yield
• Growth
• Efficiency
• Maternal
Maintain
• Marbling/QG
• Calving ease
• Market acceptability (phenotype, color)
• Mature size
Commercial Breeding Programs
 Merchandise pounds
 Goal:
• Output per unit of input
• Optimize performance within resources while maintaining low
cost
 Tools
• Selection pressure (within and across breeds)
• Breed differences
• Mating system
Better Feeder Cattle…
 Effectively Immunized
 High Growth
 Efficient Growth to
Payweight
 Meet Carcass Target
Specifications
 Properly Packaged
 Right Price
Sire Profit
Rankings:
Feedyard
TCSCF, Strohbehn & Busby, 2014
Post Weaning Trait Correlations
with Lifetime Profitability
 Final Wt.
 Feed:Gain
 ADG
 Carcass Wt.
 RE
 YG
 MB score
 CH- and up
0.80
-0.34
0.67
0.85
0.51
0.15
0.32
0.35
 Health cost
 Cost of gain
-0.23
-0.41
TCSCF, Strohbehn & Busby, 2014
In Search of the Optimum Cow….
 Calves successfully at 2 years, annually
thereafter, with minimal calving difficulty
 Weans valuable calf annually that fits
demands of marketplace and satisfies
consumers
 Highly adapted to environment and
managerial resources
 Optimizes revenue vs. costs of production
over long life
Returns a profit!
Maternal Heterosis
Advantage of the Crossbred Cow
 Advantage of crossbred cow vs.
straightbred
• Reproductive efficiency
• Maternal ability
• Longevity
 Increased lifetime productivity
 Maternal heterosis accounts for largest
portion of total heterosis advantage (60%)
Heritability and Heterosis of Various Traits and Their Impact
on Components of Cow-Calf Profitability
Heritability
Heterosis
Impact on
Production
Costs
Reproduction
Low
High
Favorable
Positive
Calf Survival
Low
High
Favorable
Positive
Longevity
Low
High
Favorable
Positive
Milk
20%
Mod.
Variable
Positive
Calving
Difficulty
15%
Mod.
Unfavorable
Negative
Mature Size
50%
Mod.
Variable
Positive
Calf Weight
40%
Mod.
Variable
Positive
Trait
Impact on
Production Output
Genetic Targets
 OPTIMIZING PRODUCTIVTY





Reproduction
Calving Ease/Survival
Growth
Maternal Ability
Carcass Merit

MANAGE COSTS OF
PRODUCTION

Reproduction
Mature Size
Milk Production
Stayability



Benchmarks: PB Simm
Benchmarks: Simm Hybrid
Key Traits: Cow-Calf
 Calving Ease Direct
 Growth (weaning, post weaning)
 Carcass merit- RE, MB
 Maternal Calving Ease
 Milk
 Reproduction, Longevity, Stayability
 Mature size/frame
 Coat color
 Udder quality
 Phenotype
TSI
API
Seedstock Programs
 Merchandise breeding value (genetics)
 Goal:
• Provide superior genetics for use by commercial
producers
• Optimize investments in technology and costs of
production with revenue
 Tools
• Selection pressure
• Technologies
Seedstock: Keys
Focus on the profitablity of their customers
Base decisions on data and customer feedback
Participate in total herd enrollment
Utilize genetic technologies
Engaged in the success and challenges of their
customers
Genetic Positioning for the Future
Where have we been?
Where are we now?
Where are we going?
How do we get there?
Beef Operations, Inventory, and Herd Size
Small Herds
90% operations
44% inventory
Large Herds
10% operations
56% inventory
NASS, USDA
Basic Principle of Genetic
Improvement:
Any trait(s) of relevance must be
measured and recorded to
provide a benchmark and basis
for moving forward!
Importance of THE
EPDs for economically relevant traits which are
particularly important to cow-calf producers
• Reproduction
• Stayability
Enhanced accuracy of selection for all reported
traits (ie. better EPDs)
Sire
Dam
WW EPD +40
Pedigree Estimate
Low Accuracy 0.05-0.20
WW EPD +30
WW EPD +35
Individual Performance
Genomics
Low-Medium
Accuracy 0.20-0.35
WW EPD +40
Medium Accuracy 0.60-.80
WW EPD +45
High Accuracy 0.80-0.99
Few Progeny
WW EPD +47
Many Progeny
Genomic Influence on ACC
Genomic results incorporated into EPDs as
correlated trait
Impact on ACC dependent on proportion of
additive genetic variance explained by genomic
result
• Most traits 36-49%
Similar to 8-20 progeny records (trait
dependent)
Influence of Information
on EPDs and Accuracy
Yearling Bull- pedigree + own CE, BW, WW, YW (smaller
amount of data)
+ genomics
CED
EPD
BW
EPD
WW
EPD
YW
EPD
Milk
EPD
+7
0.05
+7
0.35
+1.9
0.05
+1.0
0.35
+57
0.05
+61
0.29
+101
0.05
+107
0.32
+22
0.05
+23
0.24
Genomics
Genetic predictors for hard to measure traits
• Tenderness
• Carcass
• Heifer pregnancy
• Intake/efficiency
Enhanced API
What about genetic diversity?
Genetic variation within breed is important to
minimize inbreeding while allowing continued
genetic progress
Pedigree diversity without compromising genetic
merit
Key Traits: Seedstock
Cow-Calf
 Calving Ease Direct
 Growth (weaning, post weaning)
 Carcass merit- RE, MB
 Maternal Calving Ease
 Milk
 Reproduction, Longevity, Stayability
 Mature size/frame
 Coat color
 Udder quality
 Phenotype
TSI
API
Is Phenotype Economically
Relevant?
Heritabilities of Phenotypic Traits










Stature (height) .60
Body length .39
Muscling .42
Capacity .44
Femininity .32
Rear legs (hock set) .12
Foot/pastern angle .13
Udder attachment .23
Udder depth .35
Teat size .39
Kirschten, 2002
History of Showing Livestock
Historically to Promote Ideals
Estimate Animal Value
Encourage Quality and Genetic Change
Promotion of Livestock and Meat Industry
Promotion of Individual Programs
Youth Education and Development
Today?
Promotion of Individuals and
Programs
Youth Development and Education
Promote Phenotypic Ideals
Add Value…..
Promote Positive Genetic Change?
History of Performance Shows
 Several Breeds Have Experience
 Simmental and Red Angus
 Substantial Cost…..Substantial Value?
 Created vs. Mitigated Controversy?
 Variation in the Priority and Application of Genetic Info
have been Substantial.
 Variation in the Priority of Phenotypic Traits have been
Substantial.
 It’s Still Judging……..Bottom Line!
ASA Progress Through Performance
(PTP) Shows
Encourage the incorporation of performance
data in the showring
Educate breeders regarding EPDs and their use
in the industry
Blending Shows and EPDs
Use of EPDs enhances relevance to other
segments of industry
Effects reputation/impression of breed
Adds level of objectivity to showring
Junior exhibitors- education, industry application
Shows continue to be forum for socialization,
gathering of breeders and discussion
Phenotype is economically relevant, however not
in leu of documented genetic merit
CE
+7.1 (55%)
CE
+9.7 (40%)
YW
+83 (2%)
YW
+99 (1%)
MB
+0.21 (40%)
MB
+0.56 (20%)
API
+113 (30%)
API
+134 (15%)
TI
+73 (3%)
TI
+95 (1%)
Summary
 Simmental is well positioned to be the
complimentary breed of choice to British genetics
 Breeding programs should focus on complimentary
traits relevant to all sectors of the industry
 Technology (THE, DNA, etc.) are critical for assessing
genetic merit and designing genetics
 Phenotype is economically important, but not in leu
of objective predictors of genetic merit