Carcass data can help cattlemen make herds more productive

By MONETTE TAYLOR | South Central Texas

July 19, 2001 -- "I think we have to get the notion of an ideal beef animal or ideal carcass out of our mind," said Daryl Strobehn of Iowa State University, speaking to a large gathering at the 33rd annual meeting of the Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) held in San Antonio July 11-14.

"What we're about is coming up with a market place that wants meat at an acceptable range," said Strobehn.

BIF is an organization of breed asociations, universities and ranchers interested in improving the performance of beef cattle through genetic selection practices.

The conference, hosted by the Animal Science Extension Program unit at Texas A&M, addressed meeting challanges for the beef industry and brought speakers from all over the United States.

Strobehn and Jim Gosey of the University of Nebraska spoke concerning the collection and utilization of data, and challanges faced by the beef industry.

"We do need to be looking at how we can improve and provide a very safe, a very healthy product for the consumer and one that has high palatability...one they'll enjoy coming back to buy week after week and month after month for the rest of our productive careers," said Strobehn.

"Given the most uniform group (of cattle), I think as producers out here, this is always the question that we have,

'Did they bring the higher bucks? Are we getting paid for uniformity?'" he added.

The various types of carcass data that are used by producers was discussed by the speakers in great detail, and producers were urged to learn how to use it to help their individual herds be more profitable.

"It's a very confusing area...one that we all have to improve and improve our understanding of this basic data. As producers...we have to look at creating our own data bases, summarizing those data bases...If you don't feel confident doing it, you need to find somebody to help you do it," said Strobehn.

One area of concern is the standardization of data and the need to have one working model for all to work with, according to Strobehn.

"Just for marbling...we had 10 different ways that that data had been put into the computer. Belive me, that just makes your hair stand on end when you're trying to put together a data base so you can start doing your analysis.

"One of the things that is challanged out here is we've got to become more adept at standardizing this data. I can't over emphasis that. This 'free range' on names and abbreviations has to end.

"We've got to have standardization of data, if we ever expect to go forward with doing any kind of analysis and come up with meaningful information for you folks to use," he said.

He said that once the electronic methodology arrives, producers will have a machine that will produce fairly consistent analysis of the standards needed to provide the best profits and benefits.

Also, Strobehn said that producers should make sure they get a copy of the BIF guidelines, read them and implement them as they should produce excellent results.

"What I hear from producers, in my state at least, is 'How can I use my data to gain marketing power?' Information is power, and that's certainly very important," said Strobehn.

"Producers are looking for recipes. They want to know what the recipe is for doing 'the great job with my herd.'

"I want to tell you, at least from what I've seen in the last 30 years in my job, I don't believe there's any magical recipe out there that will fit all producers. We have to formulate them to work in our own environments and...certainly...in the marketplace."

According to Strobehn, the only way to properly identify individual strengths and weaknesses is by comparing data as it relates to individual herds. At the same time, there are still problems that need to be addressed with data sets.

"Data really has little value, unless it produces information that results in some kind of knowledge of what leads to an action," said Gosey.

"Extreme uniformity, I think, is an unachievable goal, and I don't think it's wise for the industry to try to standardize all carcasses. What I think is important is that we have some degree of uniformity within a market segment."

Gosey said that producers need to be aware of consumption traits as well as producer's carcass traits to be successful. Also, reproductive traits in comparison to production and product traits need to be part of individual management plans.

"You sure don't want to be in a situation where you take three steps forward on carcass traits, and you take two steps backwards in terms of reproduction...unless that's going to pay and pay pretty well," said Gosey.

" I think our challange is to provide breeders and seedstock breeders with tools that do these things...predict outcomes in cattle, position cattle for the proper market place...tailor selection indices and continue to evaluate sires, as we started to do with carcass traits and breed eveluation.

"These are all important things," said Gosey in his closing remarks.