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What a
wonderfully informative week-end we had June 5th and 6th
!
Some 60 people from 3 different countries and 15 different
States enjoyed the gracious hospitality of our hosts Charlene
and Hiram Lambert, and beautiful Nebraska weather granted
by Mother Nature.
Field Days began with our visit to the USDA Meat Animal
Research Center (MARC), at Clay Center, NE. This facility
is the crown jewel of the USDA cattle research system, with
54 scientists, 35,000 acres and some 6300 head of breeding
cattle. Dr Larry Cundiff, now retired, had led the research
team there for many years and played a key role in the GermPlasm
Evaluations involving the Piedmontese. Dr. Cundiff made
a special presentation for our group on June 5th, reviewing
that study which involved some 42 different Piedmontese
sires through 1285 direct offspring and 3600 back crossed
Piedmontese cattle produced at MARC. Dr. Cundiff confirmed
again for us that the calving of Piedmontese sires on non-Piedmontese
cows was very similar to Angus bulls on those same cows,
and that exceptional retail product yield from the Piedmontese
crosses made them the most efficient breed studied, using
retail product yield as the end point. Dr. Harvey Freetly
gave a presentation on Feed Efficiency, and confirmed that
70 to 80% of industry beef cost is in the feed, with efficiency
typically less than 12%. MARC results indicate that there
is an 11% increase in retail product by moving from a 0-copy
to a 1-copy myostatin Piedmontese. Dr. Steven Shackelford
spoke to us about Meat Quality and the affects of the myostatin
gene to suppress fat, together with the reduction in connective
tissue that improves tenderness in the beef. He reviewed
the in depth study of tenderness on different muscle groups
and confirmed that a 1-copy Piedmontese animal produces
beef in all muscle groups that is superior in tenderness
to 0-copy beef, and that even the “tough cuts”
from 1 or 2-copy beef was equal or superior to the “tender
cuts” from 0-copy beef. Dr. Shackelford indicated
that he did not believe a Piedmontese cross would be capable
of grading into the Prime quality grade, due to the myostatin
gene’s suppression of fat. However, Jerry Hofer of
Lakeview pointed out that kill statistics from Piedmontese
crossed on black baldie cows gave 80+% in the Choice and
Prime quality grades with Yield Grade 2 carcass performance
at 14 months old. The consensus was that selection towards
marbling can see very positive results for our breed. Dr.
Mark Thallman spoke to us about the value of developing
EPDs for the Piedmontese, and was pleased that the MARC
data was being incorporated into the database under development
now at BIO. Dr. Thallman explained that the greatest change
they had seen in a breed, through the GermPlasm Evaluations,
was in the Angus cattle. By using EPDs to select towards
growth, the Angus had improved performance to rival that
of Continental breeds in a matter of some 12-15 years. When
breeds do not select towards change in any production area,
they remain static – and Dr. Thallman encouraged breeders
to become active in our EPD project because it provides
a real vehicle for improvement. Currently, the USDA GermPlasm
Evaluations includes the top 16 breeds in the USA, based
on numbers of animals registered per year in the respective
breed associations, reported Dr. Thallman. He indicated
that 87% of herds in the USA are 100 cattle or less, and
that MARC research is designed to bring useful information
to producers in the main stream industry. Scott Opbroek
of MARC gave a splendid over-view of the facility and included
an explanation of the old ammunition bunkers scattered over
the property. MARC is truly both a historically interesting
location and an ultra-modern research facility.
The group then made their way to Brennan Farms Feedlot at
Overton, NE to see Piedmontese cross cattle on feed for
Montana Ranch Brand. We were given a comfortable ride on
a huge flatbed trailer through acres of well maintained
pens where thousands of impressive Piedmontese cross cattle
from various producers were moving through the all natural
system. The cattle were relaxed and obviously very well
cared for in spacious pens. Tom Brennan, owner/operator
of Brennan Farms, informed us that the cattle receive all
organic vegetable based silage rations and perform extremely
well. Ralph Peterson called everyone’s attention to
the way the coat color affected our visual impression of
uniformity in the pens; in the pens with a majority of red
or black cattle our eyes would fail to pick out individual
animals and we would have a sense that the group was very
uniform in body size/structure, whereas in the pens with
mixed coat colors we would tend to see the individual animals
and recognize the differences between them. Ralph pointed
out that uniform solid coat color was a “convenience
trait” and that Montana Ranch Brand does not concern
itself with the hide on their Piedmontese crosses, only
with the performance. However, it made a dramatic point
about why uniformity of coat color is valued in the industry.
It was really exciting to see these numbers of Piedmontese
crosses in one place, and everyone came away with a deep
appreciation for the MRB Program and their market development.
Jake Eshelman of MRB was able to tell us the origin of each
pen, by breeder; all remarkable cattle from the Descheemaeker
program in Montana, Hostetler’s from Colorado, Owens/Hubbard
from Washington, and Lakeview of South Dakota, to name a
few. Cattle are penned by breeder to start with, and then
sorted through to uniform pens by finish level as feeding
progresses – but are always traceable back to the
herd of origin at any point.
That evening in Kearney, NE, we enjoyed a wonderful banquet
of certified Piedmontese Beef from Montana Ranch Brand.
As always, it was simply the best ! This delicious meal
was followed by a round of presentations, beginning with
our special guest from New Zealand, Colin Brown. Colin and
his partner, Keryn, had just visited the Piedmontese homeland
in Italy and took the long way home via Nebraska in order
to report on the remarkable success of Piedmontese Beef
at the 2009 Steak Of Origin competition in NZ. The New Zealand
Piedmontese Society has been a member of NAPA for a number
of years, specifically in order to receive our magazine.
Jerry Hofer of Lakeview then presented an outstanding set
of kill statistics from a group of (fullblood) Piedmontese
sired cattle out of black baldie cows. The load was processed
for Montana Ranch Brand and, as usual, posted impressive
ribeye sizes and dressing percentages. But the amazing news
was that over 86% of the load graded Prime and Choice with
average Yield Grades of 2.5
Peter DenOusdten addressed the group on the importance of
becoming involved with the EPD Project, in order that the
breed can benefit from expanded selection tools. Peter had
been uploading years of his own data into the online reporting
system to BIO and was able to explain the steps to set up
an account there. (Contact BIO to set up your own account:
Brittany at 519-767-2665 ext 316 or email blivingston@biobeef.com
or Cynthia at 519-767-2665 ext 306 and email catienza@biobeef.com
) Only Registered cattle will have actual EPDs generated,
but un-registered / slaughter animals data can be submitted
to improve the EPD accuracies of their registered sires
and / or dams.
The final presentation of the evening was given by Diane
Broek of TransOva Genetics, Iowa on the emerging reproductive
technology available, including cloning. TransOva has been
working with cloning for 8 years, and have produced hundreds
of live, healthy cattle through this process. They compare
the clone to a natural set of identical twins. Somatic Cell
Nuclear Transfer (SCNT) is the scientific procedure used
to create cloned embryos, which are then implanted into
a recipient cow for gestation. It starts with a small tissue
sample (usually from the ear) of the donor animal, which
are cultured to produce millions of viable cells that are
genetically identical to the donor. TransOva can then freeze
these cells and store them indefinitely, so that cloning
can be done at any point in the future. (Breeders are finding
that to be a practical “insurance policy” for
superior seedstock animals, Diane told us.)
In Jan/2008, the FDA released their final Risk Assessment
confirming that milk and meat from animals produced through
cloning is safe for human consumption, and both the FDA
and USDA have agreed that progeny of clone cattle may freely
enter the marketplace. Many breed associations now allow
the registry of clone animals, and they are clearly identified
as such.
Saturday June 6th saw our group headed south from Kearney
to the Triple Creek Ranch at Riverton, NE. Hiram and Charlene
Lambert operate an extensive cattle ranch there, and we
were toured through hundreds of composite Piedmontese
breeding females grazing in lush pastures. Cowboys (and
cowgirls !) wrangled the cattle up close to the fences
so that our group could inspect them and they were all
uniform top quality ! Hiram had sorted cows into breeding
groups based on coat color, with a field of red Piedmontese
next to a field of black Piedmontese. At the ranch headquarters,
some of the herd bulls had been brought in for display
along with several elite embryo females, and display cattle
from other breeders. Craig Olmsted of Michigan had his
massive fullblood bull The Big Unit there; Jerry Hofer
of SD had an outstanding set of fullblood females on display,
and John & Connie Snover of NE brought a very special
bull calf for everyone to see (he had just been test confirmed
as homozygous polled, homozygous black and homozygous
for myostatin).
Hiram Lambert explained the focus of his breeding program,
with his emphasis in performance and growth. He had purchased
a fullblood yearling bull from Ken Silva of CA in Jan/09
because the bull posted such phenomenal growth (4+ pounds
per day gain from birth to 11 months, giving him a weight
of 1240 pounds at 11 months old.) This young bull was
on display and had already been working hard covering
cows. Hiram also had a tremendous bull battery of black
Naturalean bulls, including REO Feedwagon who was out
with the cows. It was a pleasure to see the uniform quality
of the stock at Triple Creek Ranches !
The Lamberts then treated us all to Piedmontese beef burgers
for lunch – grilled with sea salt and pepper (no
sauce) so the full Piedmontese flavor was appreciated.
Delicious !
And even better, we were treated to a heartwarming song
from Hilary Peterson (Hiram and Charlene’s daughter)
in appreciation of the Lord’s abundance and beauty.
Our afternoon was spent in air-conditioned comfort at
the Red Cloud Hall, enjoying a series of educational speakers
on various topics. Dr. Jeremy VanBoening of Alma, NE is
a practicing Vet and vice chair of Animal Health and Nutrition
for the Nebraska Cattlemen’s Association who presented
to us on herd health and vaccination. This portion was
sponsored by Pfizer, and their support is greatly appreciated.
Doyle E. Kauk, Beef Nutritionist / Livestock Project Manager
/ Feedlot and Ranch ADM Alliance Nutrition, Inc. and a
past Professor at California Polytechnic College - Pomona,
California, spoke to us about cow-calf nutrition, gainability
and feed efficiency; the importance of properly balanced
mineral and vitamin supplementation for animal health
and reproduction. He has worked with Hiram for a number
of years to address issues in the herd, and judging from
the look of the cattle at Triple Creek Ranches and their
performance, this work is bearing fruit !
Dr. Lee Jones, the Lambert’s embryologist, gave
an informative report on embryo transfer and sexed semen
technology.
Jake Eshelman of Montana Ranch Brand then addressed the
crowd with some exciting numbers from the Certified Piedmontese
Program. He reviewed kill numbers from the first quarter
of each of the past 3 years, with 6700+ head of Piedmontese
cross cattle processed during the first quarter. In 2007,
62.8% graded Prime or Choice; in 2008, 70.9% were Prime
or Choice and in 2009 there were 2666 head processed with
74% grading Prime and Choice. They also averaged 2.45
Yield Grade with average ribeye size of 13.92 sq inches.
Over the 3 years, the average Yield Grade was basically
steady at 2.46 and ribeye sizes at 13.96, but marbling
levels and Quality Grade are improving each year. Jake
pointed out that breeders selection for improved performance
in these areas is definitely working ! The industry is
chasing exactly these kinds of results and the Piedmontese
can consistently produce these superior carcasses when
breeding programs are designed to build beef. Montana
Ranch Brand sees an ever brighter future and looks forward
to working with all Piedmontese breeders !
Finally, a panel discussion with all of the keynote speakers
and another delicious meal of Piedmontese beef rounded
out the day.
The Field Days were full of fun,
information and camaraderie. “Everyone seemed to
come away with a valuable piece of information or a new
contact, and renewed enthusiasm,” said our President,
Delon Shetler. Certainly, everyone was very appreciative
of the care and attention we received, and the excellent
organization ahead of time, from our hosts Hiram and Charlene
Lambert. It was a pleasure from beginning to end.
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