|
|
I Am Angus—Association’s
Bill Bowman Talks About Genomic Enhanced EPDs
By Chuck Jolley
August 27, 2009
Expected
Progeny Differences (EPDs) are selection tools that have been around long
enough to be old school. Over the years, they’ve been tested and proven
reliable by cattle producers across the country as a primary way of making
genetic improvement in beef cattle.
Bill Bowman, president of Angus Genetics Inc.®,
is on the leading edge of genetic improvement for the beef industry. For over a
decade, he’s been involved with the genetic evaluation programs for the
American Angus Association®.
Given recent advancements in our understanding of
the bovine genome, Bowman now sees enormous opportunity in coupling traditional
genetic evaluation practices with DNA technology – and making these
things available to the industry.
“We felt it was time to step it up and take
genetic selection to the next level,” Bowman says. “We want to use
the current DNA technology to enhance these selection tools by creating
genomic-enhanced EPDs, combining the established performance database with DNA
profiles that evaluate multiple traits instead of a single trait or
test.”
He was talking about a new relationship between
AGI and IGENITY® that will provide American Angus Association
breeders with genomic-enhanced EPDs through the effective use of DNA technology.
Bowman said, “IGENITY and AGI have
collaborated to develop the Igenity Profile for Angus. This includes DNA
results for reproduction and maternal traits in combination with other
economically important traits such as carcass, growth and efficiency. The
addition of IGENITY’s genomic tools to our National Cattle Evaluation
system will let us better characterize Angus genetics, improve the accuracy of
EPDs on young animals, and explore traits that have been traditionally
difficult to measure.”
The technology will benefit all sizes of seedstock
operations – whether they are large or small – enabling all Angus
seedstock producers to make genetic improvements more precisely in less time.
That’s an enormous economic advantage for producers who will tap the
benefits of this technology.
Genomic-enhanced EPDs will also allow commercial
cow/calf operators to use the advanced science and technology to make rapid
genetic improvements.
“Our breeders have used technology
advancements like artificial insemination, embryo transplant and ultrasound for
years to rapidly improve Angus genetics. Now, by adding DNA to their tool
box,” explains Bowman. “It will allow cattlemen to make decisions
that will improve their genetic selection decisions earlier in the production
cycle.”
“The industry agreed that genomic-enhanced
EPDs were the next advancement in DNA technology,” he says. “It was
our responsibility at AGI as a genetic evaluation provider to the seedstock
industry to take action and move the topic of genomic-enhanced EPDs from an
industry discussion to a user-friendly solution.”
“We’re not inventing a new
language,” he says, “we’re melding existing data with DNA
technology.”
Asked about how long the melding process will
take, Bowman said the list of available genomic-enhanced EPDs is being
finalized now by the American Angus Association. “Producers will be able
to access the data online late this year,” he says. “The spring
2010 Sire Evaluation Report will be available online in December 2009 and in
print January 2010.”
###