Iowa Farmer Today

Kent Abele has a system that identifies animals that grow as quickly as possible with the least amount of feed. The Canada-based GrowSafe Systems collect individual feed data to measure feed efficiency in terms of net feed intake.

“Several breed associations are grappling with this idea, but to me it is a no-brainer,” says Monty Kerley, professor of nutrition in the University of Missouri animal sciences department.

Measuring for net feed efficiency (NFE) and residual feed intake (RFI) is coming in the near future.

Abele says the pork and poultry industries are ahead of the cattle industry in calculating and breeding for efficiency.

“We have got to start looking at it,” he says. “If we could increase feed efficiencies in the cattle industry by 10 percent over the next 15 years, it would be a huge plus.”

Kerley says test results will affect how producers’ will value sires in the future.

“It will determine how we select for bulls,” he adds. “We will be able to rank animals based on RFI scores.”

Abele operates one of three bull testing stations in the U.S. offering the GrowSafe system; the others are in Texas and West Virginia.

Abele, who grew up on a row crop and cattle farm, started his bull testing station in 1999 after the University of Missouri-Columbia station closed.

His Green Springs Bull Test Station in Vernon County tested 56 bulls the first year.

Since then, the operation has grown dramatically. In 2006, Green Springs tested more than 800 bulls from across the Midwest.

Performance data on the 112-day test look at average daily gain, weight per day of age, frame score, pelvic score and scrotals. Abele also uses an ultrasound to estimate rib eye area and backfat measurement.

“Basically, anything we can think to measure we measure.”

Last year, Abele installed the GrowSafe system and offered customers an additional test known as the E-test or efficiency test.

“This is one of the more advanced tools used to make bull selections,” he says. “This is an individual feed-intake efficiency test.”

Bulls come to the farm just after weaning and are fed the same ration. In the feedlot, they must pass through a head gate to eat out of a gray box.

Canadian cattlemen refer to the system as a pod, but Abele just considers it a feed bunk.

As the bull approaches the bunk, he passes through a head chute. Only one animal is allowed to eat per bunk.

“Bulls can eat at any bunk, so data is not affected by bunk dominance or feed delivery systems.”

An antenna positioned around the feed bunk records the radio frequency identification (RFID) tag number.

The system records how much an animal eats at each feeding. Abele uses this information to determine the bull’s NFE.

Green Springs’ main clientele are small purebred cattle producers, typically bringing one or two bulls to the station each year.

“They are getting just as much data (as larger producers). And really, we have found that a lot of these small purebred herds around the country have some tremendous genetics in them,” he adds.

“They can butt heads with just about anybody on any given day. It is just hard for them to do because they don’t have the resources to do it.”

Abele qualifies the top 60 percent of bulls to enter two special sales per year based on performance scores. He holds one sale in November, the other in March.

Bull test stations offer producers a way to feed and market their bulls. But, Green Springs is unique in that producers pulled together and invested in new technology.

Abele’s clients helped purchase the GrowSafe equipment for the station.

“These are guys with enough vision to realize that this is important,” Abele says.

At first he was skeptical of the system.

“But, after seeing it work and seeing it function almost trouble free for 18 months, it has made a believer out of me.”

Information from the system is proving invaluable to Abele and his customers. This past fall, one set of bulls saw variations in RFI from the best at minus four to the worst at plus 11.

“The feed cost per pound of gain for the best one was 31 cents and worst one was 64,” Abele says. “And, that is just huge when you go to putting dollars to it.”

He says once producers can isolate the genetic lines that are good in efficiency traits, as well as good in other areas, the industry can start to make some dramatic progress in feed efficiency.

“Until then, we are kind of beating our head against the wall.”

Comments »

Bashir Ibrahim wrote on Oct 23, 2007 11:29 AM:

" In a recent study conducted by me on'The resource use efficiency on cattle fattening in Birnin Kebbi Local Government area of Kebbi state Nigeria'It was discovered that water was grossly underutilised with mvp/mfc ratio of>1.My question is have you ever measured the role that water plays in the progress of feed efficiency? "

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