More to Successful Breeding than Bulls
With spring calves hitting the ground around the state, Kentucky cattle producers should begin to plan now for the breeding season to follow. Most young, healthy cows come back into heat within a few weeks after calving.

Epigenetics: A new Challenge in the Post-Genomic Era
While controversial, epigenetics does appear to offer potentially significant value to livestock genetic programmes. Oscar Gonzalez-Reico from the Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria, Madrid, Spain looks at the challenges...

Using Genomics to Improve Dairy Cattle
The British Society of Animal Science looks at how genetics can help producers improve their herd, not just for production traits, but also for traits such as greenhouse gas emissions and welfare.

Developing Dairy Origin Beef Systems
Forty seven per cent of prime beef in Northern Ireland in 2011 came from dairy origin beef, said Dr Francis Lively at the 2012 British Cattle Breeders Conference. With this in mind there is a huge potential for dairy origin beef, writes Charlotte Johnston,...

Understanding and Improving Dairy Fertility: Fertility & Reproduction
An overview of the latest understanding of the genetic regulation and physiology of important aspects of fertility from the final scientific report from the EU group, Sustainable Animal Breeding (SABRE) subtitled 'Cutting Edge Genomics for Sustainable...

Tools for Science and Selection: Numerical Genomics
Traits of economical importance can be identified through genomic analysis. An overview of the reasons for genomic analysis and software tool development from the final scientific report from the EU group, Sustainable Animal Breeding (SABRE) is presented...

Demonstration Studies in Dairy Cattle: Genomic Selection
The final scientific report from the EU group, Sustainable Animal Breeding (SABRE), subtitled 'Cutting Edge Genomics for Sustainable Animal Breeding', explains how genomic selection could be used in practice in two dairy cattle populations.

Improving The National Breeding Programme
Teagasc, in association with the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation and Sheep Ireland, has been making strides in the development of the national genetic evaluations for cattle and sheep in Ireland. However access to reliable data is hindering result...

Demand Rising For US Genetics In Eastern Europe
Poland’s demand for US dairy genetics continues to expand, with seven months 2011 trade data showing a 10 per cent increase over same period 2010. For 2010, Poland’s imports total 1.183 million, an increase of $300,000 or 46 per cent over 2009.

Using PLI To Breed For Profit
In the last 10 years, genetic indices for dairy cattle across the world have been moving toward the breeding of a more sustainable cow with a shift towards lifetime production rather than lactation production.

Advancing Genomic Selection
Genomic selection supplements the traditional method of genetic evaluation with information on the DNA of an animal to improve the accuracy of identifying genetically elite animals. Noirin McHugh and Donagh Berry from Teagasc say that greater gains can...

Peering At Genes To Detect Origin Of Cattle Diseases
The eyes are said to be the windows into the soul of humans, but in the case of cattle, they may hold clues to overall animal health. A closer look at pinkeye is offering insight into other costly bacterial diseases as well.

Boosting BreedPlan
Three funding terms of Beef CRC have ensured that new, hard-to-measure but economically very important traits have been added to BREEDPLAN, significantly increasing BREEDPLAN’s value to the beef industry. Prediction equations based on DNA information...

Selecting Beef Animals For Feed Efficiency Improves Carcase Traits
Selecting beef animals for improved feed efficiency will also result in larger and leaner carcases, according to Teagasc.

Calving Ease Proofs Rate Sires For Calving Performance
Calving ease proofs will help to reduce calving difficulties and their cost, although the heritability is low.