Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Accomplishments

During the 2019-2020 year, the committee and its members were very active working individually and collectively towards our common objectives:

Objective 1: Provide a venue for the discussion and exchange of information for the many disconnected and diverse research activities--biological, genomic, statistical, computational, and economical--that support National Cattle Evaluation (NCE).

• This committee’s meeting is one of the only places where leaders in the area of genetic evaluation in the beef industry meet on an annual basis. The most pioneering methods and technologies are discussed and debated. Ideas from the meeting help inform research priorities and activities for the coming year.

Objective 2: Develop through this exchange new tools for delivery and use of beef cattle genetic research, including genomic information, to beef breed associations and beef cattle producers.

• The 2020 NCERA-225 annual meeting (held early in 2021 due to COVID-19 limitations) provided in-depth discussion on new avenues for development of new traits and tools for selection.
• Collaborations between committee members as well as beef breed associations have led to the development of prototype multi-breed genetic evaluations with genomic enhancement.
• Committee members continue to collaborate on the development of EPDs for novel traits, including pulmonary arterial pressure, hair shedding, heart scores (as an indicator of heart failure in late feedlot death), lung lesions (BRDC infection), and various feet and leg scores.
• Pooling of DNA samples as a means of genotype cost mitigation is currently being investigated through multiple collaborative efforts amongst committee members. Successful implementation of these methods will lead to an economical way to build a reference population to bring traits that can only be measured in the commercial beef sector to influence breeding decisions in the seedstock sector.

Objective 3: Update the beef cattle industry on current developments in beef breeding and genetics research including changes in genomics tools and analyses.

• Committee members, Bullock, Weaber, and Spangler, led the 2020 Brown Brown Bagger Series of seminars to provide education content to ~100 county, district, regional and state extension educator and breed association technical staff on new and emerging issues/developments in beef cattle genetic evaluation. The series featured committee members: Spangler and Kuehn. The series recordings and agenda is available here: http://www.nbcec.org/professionals/brownbag.html
• Committee members Spangler, Weaber, Rolf, and Decker collaborate with other researchers to maintain and expand the availability of beef genetics extension materials available online at eBEEF.org .
• A wide range of committee members interface beef producers and various organization involved in selection and genetic improvement via presentations, symposia or trade publications. A list of those are included below.

Objective 4: Collaborate with appropriate groups (e.g. BIF and USDA/NIFA funded integrated projects) on research and outreach.

• A USDA/NIFA funded project on beef cattle genetics decision, a collaboration between several committee members, was highlighted at BIF (Spangler PI)
• A number of committee members are routinely engaged in genetic evaluation system development and deployment for various breed associations: Spangler, Bullock, Speidel, Enns, Golden, Weaber, Kuehn, Kachman, Thallman, Misztal, and Lourenco. This engagement leads to the direct incorporation of novel research and development into national cattle evaluation systems.
• Weaber and Spangler collaborate with the King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management to provide an annual lectureship for producers on utilization of advanced beef cattle selection tools.
• Several committee members serve on the BIF board of directors: Rolf, Enns, Spangler, Weaber, and Thallman.