The_Ledger_Winter_2017

LOGIST ICS  NE I L EFFERTZ Man Must Measure

MAN MUST MEASURE is the title of a book by Jan Bonsma, a South African professor whose livestock selection demonstrations were legendary. Many consider Bonsma the greatest animal scientist of his time. He is remembered and admired for his almost uncanny powers of observation and his demonstration of the value of scientifically based measurement in livestock production. If you don’t know where you are standing, how will you know which direction to take your first step to get where it is you want to go? There have been countless discussions about the pros and cons of statistical selection tools and their common use in modern-day beef cattle selection. Some think we can’t possibly select good cattle without them, while oth ers contend that true stockmen can select based on close visual observation and critical culling procedures. Re gardless of your opinion of expected progeny differences (EPDs), Bonsma said it best when he titled his book Man Must Measure.

Sherry Doubet, AAA executive vice president, is work ing on a tool that can help our breeders evaluate calving interval. “I have asked ABRI if we can begin printing age of first calf and calving interval on female registration pa pers,” she says. “This would be a good start in helping our producers measure fertility.” This would be a great tool for all breeders, both large and small. We already have the ability to record all birth weights, weaning and yearling performance data on every calf each year, which is very useful information to record, even if you don’t plan on registering the calf. If you don’t know where you are standing, how will you know which direction to take your first step to get where it is you want to go? If you don’t have a scale big enough to take weaning or yearling weights on your calves, what can you do? There are several companies that make tape measures that correlate girth measurement to body weight. This method is especially reliable for making in-herd compari sons if all the cattle are measured for body weight with the same method. This website discusses the methods used and recommendations for improved accuracy: http:// askthemeatman.com/how_to_estimate_weight_of_live_ beef.htm. It shows a heart girth measurement of 42 inches at 236 pounds; 45 inches at 288 pounds; 50 inches at 390 pounds; 55 inches at 509 pounds; 60 inches at 647 pounds; 65 inches at 802 pounds; 70 inches at 975 pounds; 75 inches at 1,167 pounds; 80 inches at 1,374 pounds; 85 inches at 1,601 pounds; and 89.5 inches at 1,821 pounds. There has been some discussion about adopting a whole-herd reporting system to register and record per formance data on all Aberdeen cattle. Some breeds have adopted this system with mixed results and mixed reviews from affected breeders. The system requires that you pay a yearly fee to enroll each of your active registered cows for which you are entitled to register and transfer one calf per year. There are various rules regarding fees to “re-enroll” a cow once she has been removed from your active inven tory. This system has been promoted by some breeders to do what our association is already set up to do without the whole-herd enrollment requirement. If you are able to attend our annual meeting during the National Western Stock Show in Denver, Colo., there should be some good information available to you about what the association can do within our current system to help you measure the reproductive and physical perfor mance of your Aberdeen cattle. It’s affordable and very doable if we just do it! Another important topic – marketing. A friend once said selling is the only thing that contrib utes to profit; all else contributes to cost! We are approached several times a year by breeders interested in consigning older, mature bulls to a sale.

Photo courtesy Ryan Collins

The American Aberdeen Association (AAA) has the ca pability of recording calving and performance information on each of your cows’ offspring every year (whether you register them or not) for a mere $2 per head. This informa tion is incredibly valuable to you for in-herd comparisons to help you make selection, breeding and culling decisions. The key words in that sentence are in-herd comparisons, because the most common error most breeds and breed ers make is using this data to compare their cattle to cattle raised in other herds with entirely different environ mental and management conditions. This is a dangerous use of data that can lead to false assumptions regarding the comparisons of your breeding stock to others. Using this information to compare cows within your herd is very useful and will most likely lead to breeding better cattle. Where do you start? First, reproduction is the most important economic trait. How do you measure it? One of the best tools is calving interval, which is easy; you don’t even need a scale to measure it.

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