Prime-Time-Winter-2018

AMERICAN AKAUSHI ASSOCIAT ION UPDATE

Akaushi Matters Janie Bain | Executive Assistant/Office Manager | jbain@akaushi.com C hristmas is eas- ily my favorite season, but a

we do as an association and we get a lot of questions regarding DNA testing. The following are some questions we are fre- quently asked. What is the best type of sample? The best sample is the one that works best for you, in your environment, with your facilities. We accept blood, hair, tissue or semen samples. If you can get the ani- mal secured in a squeeze chute, you should be able to collect any type of sample. If you are ropin’ and draggin’, you might want to consider more of a streamlined collection method that tissue collection kits provide. The tissue samples must be collected with either the Typifix kits from Temple Tag/ Datamars or the Tissue Sampling Units (TSUs) from Allflex. Why do samples fail? Hair Cards  Too few or no follicles (should have around 30). DNA is only present in the root of the hair.  Small follicles from young calves. Sam- ples should be collected from calves at least six months of age.  Fecal matter and dirt in sample. Any for- eign material may interfere with geno- typing.  Do not store or ship hair samples in plastic bags. They could become contami- nated with mold.  Make sure you place hair samples in the appropriate hair sample card. Blood Cards  Not enough blood on the card. The sam- ple circle should be filled and blood vis- ible on both sides of the paper.  When spotting cards from stored blood, make sure to invert the tubes four to five times first.  Spread the samples out and allow the blood to dry in a well-ventilated room.

close second is the New Year and a fresh start. What will 2018 bring? Well, for one thing, our new publication, Prime Time . In my column, I will cover what is going on in the office and keep

you informed about any changes or upcom- ing deadlines. I would also like some input from you, our readers, regarding what you would like to see in the magazine. Ask questions or make suggestions and send them to me at jbain@akaushi.com. Whole-Herd Reporting – Spring 2018 American Akaushi Association members’ Spring 2018 Preliminary Inventory Re- port was mailed Jan. 15. It contains your fullblood and purebred males and females born between Jan. 1 and June 30 that are at least 24 months of age by June 30, 2018. Please review this inventory and make any necessary changes. If the list contains animal(s) that are no longer in your herd, please place the appropriate disposal code next to the animal(s) and return the inven- tory report to us. Animals in your fall sea- son will not be included in this inventory. Corrections can also be made online by going to www.akaushi.digitalbeef.com. Ad- justments made online should be completed by Feb. 28. If you are mailing your chang- es, they should be in the association office by Feb. 15 so our staff will have adequate time to update the records. The Prelimi- nary Inventory Report is not an invoice.

Please do not pay at this time. DNA Submissions

We processed close to 20,000 DNA sam- ples in 2017. This is a big part of what

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Akaushi Prime Time • Winter 2018

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