Maternal traits have been the core consideration for cow-calf producers when making breeding decisions and for good reason. The cow is the engine of productivity at the producer level.

Progressive Cattle Editor Tyrell Marchant visits with Ken Odde from Kansas State University about his work on the newly formed Genetic Merit Pricing Task Force and how he thinks genetic data will impact how cattle are bought, sold and raised in the future. Then, Tyrell sits down with Justin Derner from USDA-ARS at the Range Beef Cow Symposium to discuss what producers can do to make sure their pasture is doing everything it can for their cattle, and vice versa.

“The U.S. beef cow herd is the smallest since the 1950s,” says John Hall, a professor and extension beef specialist at the University of Idaho. In light of this, both those buying and selling bulls will feel the effects.

“Genetic improvement” is a term with far-reaching implications, uniquely and individually defined by those in the beef industry.

Using an EPD versus an animal’s phenotype is an ongoing debate among cattlemen. The question really boils down to whether the animal’s actual performance or the performance of its offspring is your primary interest.

Known as the “six essentials,” selection for these traits can improve profitability of any herd, of any breed, in any location: disposition, fertility, weight, conformation, hardiness and milk production.

Crossbreeding isn’t a new technology. We’ve known about it and have been doing it for ages. Yet, crossbreeding remains a severely underutilized tool industrywide, with less than 50% of commercial operations using it meaningfully.

The Functional Longevity (FL) research EPD was released by the American Angus Association for breeders on Oct. 25. The trait’s purpose is to help further characterize relevant maternal traits and increase the long-term success of breeders and profitability of cow-calf herds.

Larger cows and their calves’ heavier weaning weights may not bring profits to the operation. How do these cattle impact productivity, and what changes can beef producers make to improve profitability?

To remain competitive in today’s beef industry, commercial producers must identify and implement technologies that have favorable impacts on their beef cattle enterprises, and crossbreeding is one such technology.