American Braunvieh Association | American Rancher March, 2019

coming up pick out a very feed efficient bromby bull and when you pair it with a feed efficient female you'll really cover some ground quickly na it'll pay off for you in the feed yard this is the most valuable tool they have to move their herd forward there would be a lot of dollars involved in the feed yard chemists learn how brontë breeders are selecting for feed efficiency next on the american rancher [Music] [Applause] [Music] hello and welcome to the American Rancher I'm Pam Minich one of the most elusive selection traits and beef animals is measured feed efficiency now after years of residual feed intake or RFI data collection the Bronte Association of America has cracked the code on true efficiency the bran V Association of America now offers a multi breed RFI EPD for the entire industry to use and selecting for efficiency when using bran vee cattle their quest began in 2007 at the start of the ongoing broad V national bull test before then only entire pins of animals were measured for feed to gain the National bull test uses technology that accurately measures an individual animals daily feed intake and compares it to daily gain and the broad of the associations dedication to that quest has paid off not just for the Braun V breed but for the beef industry as a whole producers measure residual feed intake so they know how efficient the gain on an animal is all animals eat and all animals gain we're residual feed intake does it puts those two in relationship so you know how efficient their gain is to calculate a residual feed intake first you have to collect the dry matter intake and then you compare that to the amount of gain an animal has during that same period that has been our problem when we started we begin to test our cattle in contemporary groups and we were testing pens of cattle identifying the one that gained the most but we didn't know how much they so 20 years ago when we started measuring a lot more things from ultrasound to weights we always asked wouldn't it be cool if we could just measure how much an animal eats RFI contemporary individual animal calculations are measured on grow safe equipment and technology they're in pen weighing system grow safe beef collects daily data on individual animals and generates high the accurate average daily gain calculations gross safe beef provides very accurate weights which traditional chute weights cannot account for because of variations in behavior patterns that lead to room and fill and water consumption variables the bunks themselves that they eat out out of have have scales in them and the animals have a Eid tag inner ear and it identifies what animals eating out of that particular bunk there's two pieces of equipment that are utilized one is the feed intake node so every day that an animal is on trial the animal comes to feed and the daily feed disappearance for that animal is measured the other piece of equipment is the grow safe beef technology which is an impending system that surrounds the water trough so every time an animal comes to drink it steps up on a partial body scale and its weight is caught multiple times per day and averaged out to give it a daily weight assignment which is converted then to a full body weight when we can compare daily intake with daily weight our data gets very robust when you can compare head-to-head what an animal eats and what it gains every day over the period of a trial this is very robust data this is better data that we've ever been able to collect before and measuring gain and efficiency this data is collected by a third party and it's monitored by grow safe which is a third party also to the producer into the test location so there's a lot of there's a lot of checks in place to make sure that this data is highly accurate and very responsible after the data is collected it must be interpreted we have a contemporary group of 32 goals 32 bromby bowls based on their age based on their breed based on their weight we come up with an expected intake for that contemporary group whether it's 32 pounds 35 pounds 37 pounds so we expect that contemporary group to eat an average 35 pounds and so you you have Bulls that eat above that and below that if they eat below that expected average they will get a negative or fine number which is what we're going for it's like a golf game a lower score is better less feed consumed is better with gross safe producers have the information they need to genetically select for our Fi on an individual basis clearly our fi calculations on individual beef animals can be leveraged in a breeding program to generate significant cost savings Studies on the residual feed intakes show that when you select for a lower RFI number on an animal you can lower feed costs through the lifetime of that animal we made a decision having studied the growth safe system for a number of years that it was would be one of the best investments of our money and resources in time we test every animal on the place both heifers and bulls studies indicate that you might be able to run as many as 20 to 25 percent more cows on the same pasture land or increase your stocking rate if you select for high feed efficient animals over about three generations retaining those heifers we have a conversion window in our industry that runs from just short of five pounds to just over ten pounds of feed dry matter intake per pound a game well if your average is seven and a half which is kind of about where our industry is seven half eight pounds of dry matter intake per pound again well if we can be at five versus ten well obviously because to gain his hat so basically if you're looking at a spread of as much as five pounds of feed per pound of gain difference between the low RFI and the high RF ID numbers and you extrapolate that over 700 pounds taking your feeder calf from 550 to 1250 and you factor in a hundred and fifty to two hundred dollars per ton for your feed the savings are dramatic right now sustainability is a huge buzzword and when it comes right down to it when you select for efficiency there's nothing you can do that applies more to being a sustainable producer than selecting for efficiency and where this is going it's it's amazing if a producer selects for efficiency using the RFI efficiency EPD this is the most valuable tool they have to move their herd forward because if you start looking at all the claims that we make in marketing beef we've looked at source claims we've looked at antibiotic free claims we've looked at welfare claims I really think that the consumer out there right now what they're looking for now is they want to feel good about the beef that they eat so if they know that it's been responsible for the environment that it was beef it was raised on less feed with a softer carbon footprint I really think that that's going to be a marketing tool for the future and when you look at future applications for selection for efficiency that's what you're positioning for now with years of growth safe data collected expected progeny differences or EPDs have been established using these records grow safe RFI data is provided to a third party genetic provider who calculates a multi breed RFI EP D so every time an EP D run is completed for zidgel feed intake all of the producers data paired with pedigree information is submitted to a third party genetic provider with the EPDs being calculated currently grow safe has the largest efficiency database in the world which drive the calculations for this RFI EPD i like to say it's a hundred and twenty thousand on the way to 1.2 million because every day we generate more and more records volume of data across years of tests across different test locations across different breeds makes us the most viable efficiency epd that producers have to utilize in selecting for efficiency the brøndby Association of America recognizes the significance of an EP D that predicts feed efficiency through an industry-leading agreement with Gro safe Braun V is proud to be the first breed association to publish a multi breed RFI EP D so we're kind of out ahead of our competition as far as that goes and you know modern modern ranching is moving that way anyhow with carbon footprint and everything that we hear on the news today you know you got more efficient animals their flesh and easier the grouse safe feed efficiency database contains a hundred and fifty thousand pedigree records including 22 breeds and these numbers grow every day the Braun V Association of America website post RFI EPDs for tests and Braun V animals and their relationships to other pedigrees coming up so Broadway's got ten plus years of history to drive their efficiency database learn how a twelve-year-old brøndby test program is setting new standards and profitability next on the American Rancher [Music] welcome back to the American Rancher it's been a long journey for the broadly Association of America to publish their RFI EPDs the National Braun V bull test and its associated bull sale is a major component of that journey in 2007 the Bronte Association initiated a national brand a bull test program these tests were done only at test stations which had the grow safe technology so they could measure for daily feed intake and weight gain to calculate an RFI calculation Sobrante has got ten plus years of history on well over a thousand animals of individual records to drive their efficiency database which is then plugged into the multi breed database of all of the animals tested through grow safe so that you can compare cattle for RFI from location to location and year to year and breed to breed the targeting and application of EPDs and associated genetic markers are foundational for generating profit in commercial cattle operations EPDs are a good tool to begin to shape your herd if you've got areas and your herd you want to improve in maybe you want to do carcass traits maybe you want to go for a higher efficiency whatever you're looking for the epd is something need help you shape and mold your hurt it is one of the tools that you can use you don't get any PDS with non registered cattle the Braun Bay breed has been testing for efficiency for ten plus years on grow safe equipment and technology even prior to that Braun Bay knew that they had some efficiency values that are inherent to their breed through testing at the Great Western beef Expo where they had a lot of success in identifying different sire lines that were efficient for feed the gain since the 1990s events such as the Great Western beef Expo have demonstrated that bran D is already a feed efficient breed the National Braun V bull test pushes that trait to the next level can ducted at 8 grow safe testing locations the Braun V bull test has calculated RFI data on well over 1,000 Braun v animals represented by 50 different breeders in 20 states and Counting now that's a robust sample and the benefits for Broadview breeders are evident anytime you have more efficient animals and you're testing for for feed intake or residual feed intake that it's going to affect your bottom line in a positive manner whoever you are it's going to help what you're doing they're more efficient they're easier fleshing and did it's money in your pocket we got involved with with grow safe systems and went to Midland bull test in Columbus Montana fed up there for I think a period of five years since we fed in five different grow safe systems in five different states right now we're feeding and took them to come carry New Mexico with New Mexico State University we really enjoy feeding there and I've enjoyed feeding with all of the girls safe systems and we just learned so much it's been about two or three years ago that I used RFI for the first time I was having a hard time marketing bulls so this decision was made to send some to a test facility that used grow safe and by doing that we're able to add value to our animals and also legitimize them at that point and ask premium dollar for for the end product one grouse safe test facility is the genetic Development Center outside of Navasota Texas it's very hard to compare RFI between breeds you can't compare the way a bromby bull grows to a sand Gertrudis or beef miserable they they mature different they lay fat down different they lay lean muscle tissue down different but what you can't compare is feed conversion and growth and you know we're constantly having high average daily gain bromby Bulls you know good feed conversions what we collect here is raw data it is what it is that's their average daily gain it's their feed conversion it's their RFI it's their ribeye or it's their IMF that stuff doesn't change it is what it is we do everything at the same time all the cattle they're all treated the same way so everyone has an equal opportunity to excel and the system is very accurate we will record what any one Bowl eats in a 24-hour period down to the ground so we target our Bulls at three and a half pounds of weight per day and we target our females at two two and a half pounds of weight per day and they've been they've been hitting that spot on even though they were raised in widely diverse cattle country brøndby Bulls at the test facility demonstrate consistency and efficiency and daily gains even when being tested in South Texas we've got Brahmi bulls from West Virginia Kansas Texas Panhandle Nebraska so they're coming from all over the all over the country they do well in the summer and they do well in the in the fall they they seem to be pretty consistent on their gains from a hot summer to a cold fall a lot of people come in here looking at you know different breeds just and they always seem to come by the bromby pen and and and stop and take a closer look at them even walk out a pen and you know we've sold Bromley boast of people they've never had them they just catch their eye they start looking at the depth and the the muscle and the frame on them you know at the end of day it's all about pounds and it's a it's a breed that that can give that to you and we worked these cattle so much you know we're in the pen with them every day we're weighing and we're scanning them we're fertility testing and it's nice to be able to go through a pin of bulls and just ride around on them and you know bump into them scratch them on the back they just gonna turn around and look at you so yeah and that's a big selling point you know people want to buy you know good temper minimal next there will be a lot of dollars involved in the feed your dentist the impact of RFI EPDs will be felt industry-wide that's coming up after the break you're watching the American rancher [Music] for Kings ranch in scenic eastern Oklahoma offers full-blood purebred percentage and f1 cattle so if you were in the market for a new bull or replacement heifer stop by or email Colby King Rock Creek bromby located in southeastern Nebraska has been breeding black and pulled bravi since 1985 call Kendall Schlage for your commercial bull needs j-bar bromby believes efficiency and fertility are the most important traits in the herd with their good partner Circle C ranch J bar bromby is now offering performance tested bulls and volumes supplier ready for service these are range ready hard footed bulls that work for ranchers in big rough country outstanding females are also now available j-bar bromby provides cattle to work for you looking for bronzy bull efficiency and performance consider Diamond dates Braun v all diamond H bull sold are fully tested for RFI average daily gain and ultrasounded for ribeye marbling and back fat the data we get from testing not only allows us to press our Bulls fairly but to manage our females and find the next great diamond H sire to move our performance-based program forward so if you're looking for a bull to increase your wean weights put more efficiency and milk and bone in your herd call us or log on to brawn V bull comm join W cattle Friday March 29th at 7 p.m. at the Athens stockyard and Athens Tennessee this year we're offering 50 RFI performance tested Braun V Angus and Sen Angus bulls to full-blood bronzy hunters straight out of our ET program and 30 broad v influence commercial heifers from JH cattle including ten first calf payers and 20 bred commercial efforts the sale will be broadcast on TV auction Co for more information or click cattle in demand calm welcome back to the American Rancher the brøndby Association of America is the first breed association to publish a multi breed residual feed intake EPD the RFI EPD is only one trait but its significance in predicting feed efficiency for the entire beef industry is substantial it adds the most value the fastest to what you're doing and and it does that by again taking out the the subjective opinions of what you're producing you have hard facts to back up what you're trying to sell if we can reduce our costs to gain the amount of feed that it takes to produce beef there will be a lot of dollars involved in the feed yard industry it's you know if they're efficient here eating out of the bunk they're gonna be fishing out in the pasture and it'll pay off for you in the feed yard I use RFI as a selection tool as just one component of the whole process when I'm calling and selecting animals it's not the do all end-all of traits you still need animals that that are good on their average daily gains they test well with ultrasound data and DNA so it's just one part of the whole puzzle so if you push and breed for feeder fishing cattle that do more with less feed you will not fall behind on any other growth traits that your that you're pushing for you know rear by area marbling growth you know scrotal size you know it's it's an individual selective trait and you can really cover some ground quickly when we'll pick out a very feed efficient RFI bromby bull with other selective traits that are great feed conversion growth carcass qualities fertility and when you pair it with a feed efficient female you'll really cover some ground quickly at the end of the day Braun V cattle perform and the RFI EP D will be a powerful genetic selection tool that further enhances this powerful breed when I think of these bromby bulls that are that are behind me now is one word and that's power the breed has done a good job of moderating the size of these bulls to when they're mature they're not going to be too big for your cattle but they do bring power to the equation so if I'm sitting down with a commercial cattleman that's thinking about using bromby bulls they can get a Brahma bull of pretty much a traditional color they can get a homozygous black bull that will always throw black cats they can get a bull that will throw a moderate birth weight when that calf hits the ground it's gonna grow very very fast and ultimately end up looking like the cattle there behind me right now so they bring power to the equation which i think is a detriment to some of the other breeds that haven't been able to really focus on that like they should but these cattle have the Brawn v Association of America's leadership in establishing multi breed RFI EPDs is a milestone for the entire beef industry the significance of predicting for feed efficiency cannot be overstated and with the Braun V breeds history of excellent feed efficiency the rollout of the RFI EP D will elevate the breeds reputation to a new height that's all the time we have today thanks for joining us to learn more about us log on to our website the American Rancher calm or connect with us on Facebook I'm Pam medic for our entire American Rancher team thank you for joining us we'll see you next time [Music] [Applause] [Music] that was superior

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Length: 24min 1sec (1441 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 02 2019