A sire evaluation project is yielding promising results for beef producers who want to improve their herds.
Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development has partnered with IdentiGen Canada Ltd. to study which bulls produce the best calves. In 2010, they began collecting DNA from bulls and calves on two Alberta ranches. The project expanded to include a third ranch in 2011. The DNA linked calves to the bulls, and the early results immediately caught participating ranchers’ interests.
“What we did see right away, and we were told that we would, is bulls that did not sire any calves,” says Jim Hansen, livestock business development specialist with Alberta Agriculture. “They would have passed the semen test, everything would have been good, but they sired no calves.”
Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development has partnered with IdentiGen Canada Ltd. to study which bulls produce the best calves. In 2010, they began collecting DNA from bulls and calves on two Alberta ranches. The project expanded to include a third ranch in 2011. The DNA linked calves to the bulls, and the early results immediately caught participating ranchers’ interests.
“What we did see right away, and we were told that we would, is bulls that did not sire any calves,” says Jim Hansen, livestock business development specialist with Alberta Agriculture. “They would have passed the semen test, everything would have been good, but they sired no calves.”