Bull test stations?

[aj]

What are the bull test stations out there? Is there some new ones with the feed effiency capability out there? Any Shorthorn bulls going on test? etc etc

 

[JTM]

Leachman's have a feed efficiency bull test at Colorado State University. Bulls are individually feed tested and all data is taken and analyzed in their own system with their own PROFIT epd. It's a really cool deal and they are doing this in numbers that pretty much nobody else is doing. We have one bull calf sired by Leachman Testify that is 25% Shorthorn that may go out there if we get lucky. He is out of an A&T Renegade 124 first calf heifer (50%SH). I believe that this technology is one of the biggest things going right now in realizing the true value of cattle. For instance, I might have a purebred Shorthorn that takes 15 months to make 1250 lbs. but still ate 200 lbs. less feed while on feed than the other calf that finished at 1300 in 15 months. The net profit on the calves are not going to be realized without feed efficiency data. Leachman Cattle of Colorado are finding that feed efficiency and intake are highly heritable traits which is an awesome discovery.

 

[bedrock]

Michigan has a bull test station , no feed efficiency testing probably only been a half dozen shorthorn bulls in over 20 years , Josh didnt the lady that did the ultrasounding say something about a place in Iowa? That will custom feed bulls on a feed efficiency test?

 

[librarian]

The University of Idaho has a bull test that measures feed efficiency.
I think this is it http://extension.uidaho.edu/nmcree/2012/06/improving-feed-efficiency-in-beef-cattle/ There are Shorthorns from Montana in this test.
This one of many RFI research stations. Here is a list of stations:
http://growsafe.com/test_stations.php
Test Duration
A conditioning warm up-period establishes that all animals are acclimated to test conditions. Test duration is 70 days. Intake measurements taken by GrowSafe are required for a minimum of 50 days of "good days" within the 70 day test period. Days where bulls are treated for sickness, removed from the pen for any reason (e.g., ultrasound, weights, etc.) are not be counted as a "test day". In sickness cases, full ad libitum intake will have resumed before data collection continues.

Test Diet
All bulls or progeny within one test are fed the same test diet, and the diet is formulated to provide appropriate levels of energy to ensure expression of animal differences for intake. The ingredient composition of the diet is recorded. Random samples of the diet are sent to a commercial laboratory for complete chemical analysis. All ingredient and chemical compositions of the diet are done on a dry matter basis.

Age on Test
Animals entering a test facility have birth and weaning date recorded. From this information and a contemporary group definition, animals within a feeding group shave a start of test age that is within a 90 day range. Pen of feeding also forms a component of the test contemporary group. Individual feed intake data is collected on animals within the range of weaning age to not more than 460 days of age.

 

[JTM]

The University of Idaho has a bull test that measures feed efficiency.
I think this is it http://extension.uidaho.edu/nmcree/2012/06/improving-feed-efficiency-in-beef-cattle/ There are Shorthorns from Montana in this test.
This one of many RFI research stations. Here is a list of stations:
http://growsafe.com/test_stations.php
Test Duration
A conditioning warm up-period establishes that all animals are acclimated to test conditions. Test duration is 70 days. Intake measurements taken by GrowSafe are required for a minimum of 50 days of "good days" within the 70 day test period. Days where bulls are treated for sickness, removed from the pen for any reason (e.g., ultrasound, weights, etc.) are not be counted as a "test day". In sickness cases, full ad libitum intake will have resumed before data collection continues.

Test Diet
All bulls or progeny within one test are fed the same test diet, and the diet is formulated to provide appropriate levels of energy to ensure expression of animal differences for intake. The ingredient composition of the diet is recorded. Random samples of the diet are sent to a commercial laboratory for complete chemical analysis. All ingredient and chemical compositions of the diet are done on a dry matter basis.

Age on Test
Animals entering a test facility have birth and weaning date recorded. From this information and a contemporary group definition, animals within a feeding group shave a start of test age that is within a 90 day range. Pen of feeding also forms a component of the test contemporary group. Individual feed intake data is collected on animals within the range of weaning age to not more than 460 days of age.

Good stuff. I have also heard that the University of Illinois is doing something with the Simmental Association.
Librarian, my question is how do they do the individual feed intake testing? I do know that Leachman's use an rfid electronic tag system that tells the computer "this calf just entered the feed bunk", then it weighs the current feed in the bunk and then weighs the feed after they are done. This gives them an exact feed efficiency on the calves. I also know that a lot of feedlots use a mathematical formula that involves amount of feed used on a group and their individual rate of gain and weights. This approach is estimated to have only around 65% accuracy. So it's really nothing to make decisions on. The individual weighing of feed intake is the only way I believe.

 

[StagecoachCattle]

It's been a few years now, but when I spent a long weekend down at the the University of Idaho's Nancy M. Cummings Research Center for a Calving Management class we briefly visited the test bunks. They had the RFDI tags that signaled the computer and took the weight of feed before and after entering the bunk for each animal. I don't recall any other details, but I do know they had the electronic tags and computer system.

 

[librarian]

http://growsafe.com/tech_gfi.php
This describes the system, it's pretty much as Stagecoach described.
I do not have direct experience. Redbulls has been sending animals for several years.

 

[JTM]

http://growsafe.com/tech_gfi.php
This describes the system, it's pretty much as Stagecoach described.
I do not have direct experience. Redbulls has been sending animals for several years.

(thumbsup)

 

[aj]

Thanks.....the grow safe deal lists Colby Community College as having the system in western Kansas.