Linking from the farm to the table

Abstract Text:

Genomics promises tremendous opportunity to the beef industry, however that opportunity is currently stymied by the structure of the industry and the limited use of long standing traditional genetic evaluations. Industry segmentation and poor, or in some cases lack of, market signals can be seen in the industry response of the past decade to a demand for more highly marbled beef.  From 2005 to 2015, the feeding sector simply overfed animals to achieve higher marbling at the very great expense of excess fat, poor carcass yield and poor feed efficiency. While a logical decision in itself at the finishing level, this approach ignored the potential of “supply-chain” genetics to meet an end goal. A further persistent need that the beef supply must address is inconsistency of tenderness of beef at the consumer level. Beef is a premium protein product and as such must meet a higher standard for consumer satisfaction. Considering the heritability of tenderness, it would seem obvious as a supply chain breeding goal. And yet no selection has been attempted, due in part to the nature of the trait: difficult to measure on breeding animals. This is an area of particular interest to make use of genomics. A simple DNA test can give an estimate for tenderness, which applied to three generations of sire selection, could have a dramatic impact on consumer satisfaction. A third trait that should be of interest to every beef producer is feed efficiency. While a great deal of focus has been placed on Residual Feed Intake (RFI), and affordable panels developed, little selection pressure has been brought to bear. Again this is due in large part to the segmentation of the beef industry. Genetic improvement in the beef industry will only reach its potential following a fundamental shift in outlook. Current segmentation by sector and “ranch-level” genetics must be replaced with a more holistic approach in which information and market signals flow up and down the supply chain. Only then will producers and, more importantly, consumers benefit from the promise of genomics.

Keywords: Beef genomics, breeding goals, industry structure