In the breeding of beef cattle, animals with desirable traits are selected and bred to produce offspring with improved meat-producing qualities. This process involves identifying the characteristics which are needed for meat production, such as growth rate and muscle development, and selecting the animals that exhibit these characteristics. Additionally, a good breeding program often decides which animals are to mate with each other based on their weight, feed efficiency, and genetic information. In this episode, Dr. Jennifer Bormann discusses beef cattle breeding, the value of crossbreeding, and the importance of collecting data to ensure the whole process is successful. She also discusses her experiences working in programs like 4-H and how they have helped her engage young people in agriculture.

“As we don’t want to chase a single trait, we can design an index that integrates these sustainability traits with their appropriate economic values. Thereby ensuring that we do not lose the wonderful progress that we’ve made over the years, and that we are optimizing that selection process." - Dr. Jennifer Bormann

What you’ll learn:

• Highlight (00:00)
• Introduction (1:10)
• 4-H and FFA programs (6:17)
• Engaging young students with no ag background (13:38)
• The path till the genetics classes (20:28)
• The value of cross-breeding (22:25)
• Selecting to improve the beef industry (28:37)
• Improving our methods of data collection (33:52)
• Using data for selection choices in the future (40:50)
• Apps and other tools for data collection (46:28)
• Three final questions (48:03)

Meet the guest: Dr. Jennifer Bormann

Experience:

• Current: Assistant Dean for Academic Programs at Kansas State University
• Past: Professor of Animal Science at Kansas State University

Background:

• Ph.D., Animal Breeding and Genetics (Iowa State University)
• M.Sc., Animal Sciences (Oklahoma State University)
• B.Sc., Animal Sciences (Iowa State University)

Connect with the guest on Social Media: LinkedIn

𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁𝘀, 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺.

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