Project creates one-stop cattle genetics database

Glacier FarmMedia – A partnership led by the Canadian Beef Improvement Network plans to create a unified digital platform for the genetic data of cattle, allowing producers to more easily get information they need to improve their herds.

“We know that other industries have done this and are doing it very well, and the beef industry has some ground to make up,” said Sandy Russell, chief executive officer of the Canadian Beef Breeds Council. “We haven’t collaborated like this before, and I think that’s why this is so exciting and transformational for the industry.”

Genetic information is currently divided among separate breed-specific databases that are not only configured differently, but may also require a steep learning curve for new users, she said. 

Why it matters: Although there is a large amount of genetic data available on beef cattle, but much of it goes unused. It’s hoped the creation of a digital platform to unify the data will help producers better optimize their herd genetics. 

The unified digital platform will combine this information in one place and organize it under one system, allowing it to be easily accessed via devices such as smartphones, she added.

Funding for the project includes $640,000 from the provincial Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR) fund in Alberta.

“Genetic data has value as a change agent,” said a statement by RDAR.

“Today, genetic information is available to help producers make essential breeding decisions on fertility, growth, feed efficiency, disposition, calving ease and carcass measures, to name a few. However, the beef industry underutilizes genetic data, and significant opportunities for producers to optimize their herd genetics are missed.”

Canadian beef producers invest more than $220 million per year in breeding genetics. The cattle industry is the largest single source of farm cash receipts in Canada, totalling $9.4 billion in 2019 alone and contributing $17 billion to the country’s annual gross domestic product.

Eight breed associations are taking part in the first phase of the unified digital platform project: the Canadian Angus Association, Canadian Blonde d’Aquitaine Association, Canadian Charolais Association, Canadian Gelbvieh Association, Canadian Hereford Association, Canadian Limousin Association, Canadian Simmental Association, and Canadian Speckle Park Association.

However, conversations are being held with additional breed associations that are also interested in participating, said Russell.

The project is a big step forward for the beef industry, said David Sibbald, president of the Canadian Beef Breeds Council and chair of the Canadian Beef Improvement Network.

Data for the various associations is now independently collected in separate places under first- or third-party business arrangements, he said.

“Every day, there’s data collected within the beef industry, but to this point there is no unified sharing process across the industry. There’s data sharing right now that goes on, but it’s specific and it doesn’t transcend our entire industry, and our goal is to make it available for everyone.”

The project will allow specific genetics to be followed through the production chain, “bridging that linkage between production data at say the commercial cow-calf level up to the feedlot right through to retail,” said Russell. “And what this system is doing is enhancing what we have and making that data readily available to those who need it so we can better inform our decisions as we go down the line.”

It will allow everyone from seedstock producers to cow-calf operations to gain the knowledge they need to improve their management practices, boosting not only their economic, but also their environmental sustainability, said Sibbald. It could also boost foreign sales of Canadian genetics, he added.

The project is “ultimately about trying to create value, and with value, we create profitability, and with profitability, we actually hopefully encourage more and more people to be in agriculture,” he said. “It works in the crop sector, it works in the other protein sectors, and I think this is an opportunity to take some of these innovative technologies and get them into the cow-calf beef world.”

This article was originally published at The Western Producer.