Braunvieh World Summer 2023

WILL Your Bulls Pass the Test? By Todd Hill, BAA Board Member

Anyone who has been in the cow-calf business for long knows one thing for sure – a bull’s genetic impact on your herd is second to none. The decision of what bull to use is arguably the decision of greatest import in deter mining the genetic success of your program. Therefore, taking as much guesswork out of bull selection can make that critical decision not only easier but, likely, more successful. I for one would argue that the most effective way to reduce uncertainty in bull selection is through performance testing. WHO should test? Performance testing is for any producer who wishes to identify and breed top performing genetics, both in their individual herd and the Braunvieh breed as a whole. If you sincerely want to improve your genetics, identi fying outlier bulls and using them in your herd is a great place to start. Whether you raise them or not, per formance outliers can be identified in performance tests. WHAT is performance testing? Bulls are placed in a controlled envi ronment to compare contemporaries for their genetic potential in key areas. We’ll assume that the performance test includes testing for average daily gain (ADG), residual feed intake (RFI) and ultrasound for carcass traits, though not all facilities measure all these metrics. It is important to note that all these traits are highly heritable; that is, you can reasonably expect them to be passed on to future generations. Generally, the overall test lasts around 105 days – the RFI portion being 55 to 70 days. Groups of contemporaries are typically formed by a 90-day birth window. Following a two- to three week “warmup” period, the group is fed a free-choice, forage-based ration. The total weight gained divided by the number of days provides the animal’s ADG. The result gives you good insight as to what to expect from his offspring. The RFI portion of the test captures the feed intake of the individual animal and, with other data collected, is ana lyzed to predict the animal’s feed ef ficiency. Ultrasound identifies carcass traits including intramuscular fat (IMF) or marbling, ribeye area (REA) and back fat (BF).

WHY should I test my bulls? There is never a shortage of things to spend your hard-earned money on! So why spend it on performance testing? Many think that a trained eye can “pick the good ones.” I would like to answer that with a resounding MAYBE! Yes, you can visually select phenotype, but growth, efficiency and carcass can be very difficult to iden tify. Testing your bulls will give you a roadmap of their genetic potential as a sire in your herd or that of your cus tomers. Astute customers are willing to pay for the information. Finding the outliers and using them in your herd is a sure way to put the genetics in your program on an upward track. Those bulls, when proven as producers, are the kind of bulls that make great AI bulls to help move our breed forward! The only way to identi fy true outliers is to test regularly! On the other side of the coin, if you test and the bull ends up in the bottom 50 percent, it is an indication that he is

NOT the bull to move your program forward, and he should be harvested or sold as a commercial bull. As a bull buyer, buying perfor mance-tested bulls takes a lot of the uncertainty out of bull selection. The data gleaned from testing is, without a doubt, worth the increased cost of the bull. You might avoid using a subpar bull for the period of time it takes to prove him inferior. The data allows you to pick a bull tailor made for your needs. For example, if you only sell at the local sale barn, ADG is probably your primary focus. If you are selling your meat to the end user, you need a bull with good carcass merit and that is perhaps more efficient. WHERE? While there many reputable testing sites, the Braun vieh Association of America has elected to use two locations geo graphically situated near the largest number of Braunvieh cattle. One is Green Springs in Nevada, Mo., and the other is PX Feeders in Evant, Texas. Both locations offer testing for spring-bred (born Jan. 1-March 31) bulls. Green Springs offers testing for fall-bred bulls born Aug. 1 to Oct. 31, and PX offers testing for fall-bred bulls born Sept. 1-Nov. 31. If the bull qualifies, the breeder may choose to put the bull in the Green Springs All Breeds Sale, or a breeders’ online sale on or around April 15 for PX bulls. For more information and de tails, please contact me at ranchdh@ gmail.com or (806) 681-9333. BW

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Braunvieh World  Summer 2023