Cattle producers select their breeding stock variably, using an assessment of parentage production, price, expected progeny differences (EPDs), genetic testing or a simple eyeball test. A few swear by the oft-forgotten linear measurements, which gauge numerous body parts with uniquely designed calipers.

As a beef producer, sustainability is defined as your continued ability to live comfortably, to maintain a way of life that you have chosen for yourself and to ensure that you can pass that way of life on to your children and your children’s children.

Understanding and identifying genetic mutations allows beef producers to make breeding decisions that avoid producing cattle affected by those mutations. Working toward that goal, researchers have spent years studying genomics, identifying mutations and developing tests to help producers make those decisions.

There is a new testing method in town. It is far different than any other form of agronomic testing taking place over the last century. Instead of looking at a soil's chemical properties, we catch a glimpse into the soil's DNA.

The truth is simple. Genomic prediction works. However, it is not a magic bean.

Spring Cove Ranch, owned and operated by the Art and Stacy Butler family in Bliss for over a century, continues to etch its name in Idaho’s agricultural history.

Cattle producers face a list of virtually unending challenges, tasks and responsibilities, and when tackled without the aid of a bovine veterinarian, they can become overwhelming in both size and intensity.

Some of the most crucial aspects of calf health and performance begin well before birth. One of these is the unique role of the essential nutrient choline and methyl-group donors during both pregnancy and lactation.

The foundations for beef cattle genomic testing began over a century ago, when forward-thinking breed associations started collecting pedigree and phenotypic data on registered animals. Breeders studied pedigrees, aspiring to create matings that would yield more valuable animals with desirable physical traits.