Learning Never Stops in the Cattle Business

By Matt Woolfolk, BBU Field Representative & Commercial Marketing Director

The cattle business is an ever changing industry. Advances in production are happening every day and sometimes it can be overwhelming to keep up! Even though we’re all out of high school, as Beefmaster breeders we should still be doing our homework in order to help our operation make the grade. There are plenty of resources to help you improve all facets of your operation, from forage and nutrition to herd health and marketing. In order to keep up with our fast paced industry, it’s important to hit the books and keep up to date with advancements.

Last week Bill Pendergrass, Collin Osbourn and I went back to school and attended the Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) Annual Conference in Biloxi, Miss. The BIF Conference is a gathering of the brightest and most innovative minds in the field of beef cattle breeding and improvement. Breed association representatives, university extension, research specialists and progressive cattle producers from across the nation gather to exchange ideas and learn of new developments within the industry. A recurring theme of importance throughout this year’s BIF Conference was the use of Genomic Enhanced EPDs (GEPDs) and selection indices, which play a large role in the future of genetic selection for commercial cattlemen. Numerous presentations outlined how GEPDs will improve the accuracy of future genetic selection tools, while selection indices will combine multiple traits of interest into a weighted formula to produce a single value that can simplify the selection process for a bull buyer. With this technology being promoted as the next step in genetic improvement, it is exciting to know that BBU is well into the process of developing GEPDS, as well as a Maternal Selection Index for future genetic evaluations. The industry is moving forward at a blistering pace and Beefmasters are advancing with the industry!

I hope that you all take an opportunity to further your “cowboy education” in the near future. For those of you in Texas, I strongly encourage you to attend the Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course from August 3 – 5 in College Station. In addition, there will be numerous Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) Ranch Gatherings throughout the state this fall. For those of you outside of the Lone Star State, check with your local extension agent for meetings and programs in your area. You can even take advantage of free webinars hosted by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA). As Beefmaster enthusiasts, I strongly encourage you all to attend a Beefmaster sale near your hometown and sit in for the BBU educational session the day before. This spring BBU successfully unveiled the educational series with “Performance 101” and the series will continue this fall with “Performance 201: EPDs”. I also invite you to attend the 2015 BBU Convention in Galveston, Texas from October 29 – 31. As always, the convention will host educational sessions for attendees covering many topics relevant to Beefmaster breeders and the cattle industry. There are endless opportunities available to learn something new, so take advantage. Much like that “lazy guy” sleeping in the back of a high school Chemistry class, cattlemen that don’t keep up to date with the changes in the industry will be left behind with a poor grade (a lower quality product to market). So sharpen your pencils, get out your note pad and charge those devices; make use of educational programs near you. There will be a quiz later, so study up!