SAES-422 Multistate Research Activity Accomplishments Report

Sections

Basic Information
Additional Info

Status: Approved

Basic Information

Project No. and Title: WERA1 : Coordinating Beef Cattle Breeding Research and Education Programs for the Western States
Period Covered: 10/01/2024 to 09/30/2025
Date of Report: 12/10/2025
Annual Meeting Dates: 09/30/2025 to 09/30/2025

Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Notes:

The meeting addressed scheduling issues, significant personnel changes, research updates on cattle genetics and health, funding concerns, and proposed future collaboration.

Meeting attendees discussed recent scheduling challenges due to time zone changes and travel complications.
Mark Mirando's retirement was noted as significant news for the group.
Participants shared updates on institutional faculty hiring and student enrollment trends.
Concerns about grant funding and potential government shutdown impacts were raised.
Discussions included the importance of avoiding specific "trigger" words in grant proposals to prevent delays.
Several members reported ongoing research projects related to genetics, cattle performance, and environmental adaptations.
Ongoing exploration of innovative technologies for monitoring animal health and behavior in pasture settings.
Interest in incorporating data on environmental factors affecting animal performance, particularly during early life stages.
Collaboration with the Beef Master Association to analyze data related to production environments.
Research focuses on fetal programming and its impact on offspring traits, with preliminary findings showing no significant phenotypic differences.
Methane emissions are being investigated as an indicator of feed efficiency in cattle, with promising preliminary data collected.
Genetic variation studies aim to develop SNP panels for beef cattle populations, enhancing understanding of genetic traits.
Discussed ongoing research on fetal and embryonic loss in calves and BRD across multiple dairies.
Emphasized the importance of collaboration for USDA multi-state projects to enhance research outcomes.
Proposed a future meeting in Boise, Idaho, to facilitate brainstorming and discussions among team members in conjunction with BIF. Mark Enns will lead the next meeting.

Action Items:

Holly Neibergs will email R. Mark Enns regarding access to data on beef-on-dairy crosses at feedlots through harvest.
Mark Enns will reach out to Hallis Benton Glaze and other beef personnel in Idaho to inquire about hotel accommodations for the upcoming meeting.
Jennifer Thomson will send out the experiment station report template to all participants for the annual report.

SAES-422

Attached file:

WERA1-Annual-Report-2024-2025.docx

The WERA-01 Group met and shared information and current research being conducted across the western region. This includes the collection of crucial phenotypic information to inform new genetic predictions and selection tools, and research into the physiology of economically important traits to identify targets for precision management technology and to inform future phenotypes.

Short-term Outcomes:

Increased availability of difficult or expensive-to-collect phenotypic information.

Shared resources across Western Region universities.

Collection of relevant research information for improvement of cattle production.

Outputs:

TX-Three graduate students completed their thesis and M.S. programs.

MT- Recent publications on Bighorn sheep nutritional biomarkers and a pending publication on Argali sheep genetics.

MT-Proceedings papers and presentations at ISEP in Rostock, Germany.

MT-Approximately 3400 DNA samples archived on Bighorn Sheep, Mountain Goat, Cattle, and Sheep

All- 12 peer reviewed journal articles, 4 extension and popular press articles, 1 textbook revision, 16 abstracts/proceedings/scientific presentations.

Activities: Project Objectives and Relevant Research under each:

Create a phenotypic resource for genetic analysis of lowly heritable, economically relevant traits for the beef industry.

MT-My research is evaluating muscle and adipose tissue gene expression and metabolites during the late feedlot fattening period in steers. This will be used to better understand how fattening is regulated so a specific carcass quality grade can be achieved and to allow precision management of feedlot cattle.

MT-We are collecting data for a long-term project evaluating the temperament of maternal cow herd replacements and then collecting longevity and performance data along with DNA to look at how temperament can impact longevity and genetic markers for herd performance.

TX - Texas A&M University/AgriLife Research continues collaboration with USDA-ARS MARC on the Germplasm Evaluation Program (GPE), where Angus, Brahman, and reciprocal Angus x Brahman and Brahman x Angus F1 females at McGregor are bred to Angus and Brahman AI bulls used at both USMARC and McGregor. About 200 exposed females and 180 calves contributed data and DNA over the past year.

SD-Feed and water disappearance phenotypes were measured on 55 bull calves for 69 days using Insentec feeders and waterers. Previous literature on Insentec feeders and waterers has shown that feed and water disappearance is highly correlated with feed and water intake, respectively. These phenotypes will be added to a dataset where feed and water disappearance has been measured on registered Angus and Sim-Angus calves. Information available on calves in this dataset include feed and water disappearance, weight, average daily gain, sex, breed, age, age of dam, pedigree information, and expected progeny differences.

SD-We have also collected enteric methane emission data on 1,494 grazing cows (Angus) along with a tissue sample for DNA extraction. The DNA has been extracted from these tissue samples. Enteric methane emissions are correlated with feed intake and measures of feed efficiency such as residual feed intake. We plan to genotype DNA samples by sequencing (0.5X) to discover genetic variants. Genetic variants will be imputed from publicly available Angus genome sequences, and these variants will be used to estimate relationships between animals for heritability estimation. The variants will also be tested for an association with enteric methane emissions.

Integrate quantitative and molecular research tools that contribute to the understanding of genetic prediction procedures and genetic associations among economically important traits and their indicators.

MT-My research is identifying metabolite and transcript expression biomarkers for USDA quality grade, temperament, feed efficiency, and response to changing environments.

Exchange information, discuss research results, plan new research, examine recent developments, plan cooperative research, and share ideas for interdisciplinary involvement in beef cattle breeding research for the Western United States.

All- Great discussion of current research and exchange of information in our meeting.

TX-Training was provided to 80 students at Prairie View A&M University regarding beef quality assurance principles and how breeding and genetic decisions pertain to adaptation and cost of production. (November 2024)

TX-Training was provided to 70 cow-calf producers regarding genetic decisions and associated management for improved beef carcass quality through the TAMU BEEF 706 program.

TX-A course on cattle genetics and genomics was delivered to 14 cattle producers through the TAMU 44 Frams International Beef Cattle Academy.

TX-Information was provided to 200 beef cattle producers at the Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course regarding beef cattle breeding and genetics research and associated applications for Texas production environments.

TX-Although not specifically focused on beef cattle breeding and genetics concepts, 7,500 producers have been provided educational resources regarding management considerations pertaining to potential New World Screwworm threat for Texas production environments.

Impacts

Cattle producers in Texas received knowledge about adaptation of their breeding herds to local production environments, and how these considerations can influence cost and efficiency of production.
International cattle producers gained knowledge about adaptation and genomic considerations to be considered for their specific local production environments, and how these considerations can influence cost, efficiency of production, and production metrics.
In Montana, research is identifying metabolite and transcript expression biomarkers for USDA quality grade, temperament, feed efficiency, and response to changing environments, providing targets for precision management tools.
Estimation of genetic and phenotypic variation of feed and water intake will in turn allow for estimation of heritability and phenotypic and genetic correlations among these traits. Understanding trait heritability facilitates more accurate estimation of breeding values for selection of cattle for feed and water intake. Phenotypic and genetic correlations will predict how other traits will respond to genetic selection for feed and water intake.
The enteric methane emission phenotypes allow us to investigate phenotypic and genetic variation and heritability of feed intake on grazing cows. This effort is significant because few research groups have studied the genetics of feed intake on grazing beef cows.

Grants, Contracts & Other Resources Obtained

Publications

Montana:

Peer-Reviewed Publications:

O’Shea-Stone, G., Tripet, B., Thomson, J., Garrott, R., & Copié, V. (2025). Polar Metabolite Profiles Distinguish Between Early and Severe Sub-Maintenance Nutritional States of Wild Bighorn Sheep. Metabolites, 15(3), 154. https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo15030154

Abstracts, Proceedings, and Presentations:

Indications of inflammation and cytokine activity in response to rapid fat deposition in beef steers. J. Thomson, N. Schaff, J. Dafoe, D. Boss, J. A. Boles. 8^th Annual International Symposium on Energy and Protein Metabolism and Nutrition. Sept 15-18,2025 in Rostock, Germany

Texas:

Student Thesis

Bari, Jannatul. 2025. Investigation of relationships among ultrasound body composition, docility, and calf performance traits in American Brahman cattle. M.S. Thesis, Texas A&M University College Station. (August)

McClendon, Carter. 2025. Investigation of gestational environmental impacts on individual calf growth and development in Beefmaster cattle. M.S. Thesis, Texas A&M University College Station. (August)

Porter, Dylan. 2025. Evaluation of calf growth and calving period on cow reproductive performance in Angus females. M.S. Thesis, Texas A&M University College Station. (December)

Refereed publications

Mendes, EDM, DG Stewart, AD Herring, M Blum, SL Webb, and LO Tedeschi. 2025. GPS precision and data acquisition efficiency of solar-powered collars and tags for beef cattle monitoring. J. Anim. Sci. 103 (Supplement_3): 257-258 (Abstr. 416).

Herring, AD, JO Sanders, CA Gill, PK Riggs, and DR Riley. 2024. Awardee Talk: The role of non-traditional inheritance patterns among Bos indicus-Bos taurus crosses for global beef value chain considerations. J. Anim. Sci. 102 (Supplement_3): 84-85 (Abstr. 50).

2024

Dodd, LT, DP Anderson, DG Riley, and AD Herring. 2024. Economic-impact variability among F1 Nellore–Angus herd sires reared together and used in multiple-sire mating groups

Appl. Anim. Sci. 40:69-79.

Norris-Parish, SL, HR Leggette, T Pesl Murphrey, JA Parrella, A Richburg, and AD Herring. 2024. Beefing up communication skills of upper-level animal science students. Transl. Anim. Sci. 8: txae007.

Munguía Vásquez, MF, CA Gill, PK Riggs, AD Herring, JO Sanders, and DG Riley. 2024.

Genetic evaluation of crossbred Bos indicus cow temperament at parturition.

Anim. Sci. 102: skae022.

Extension publications:

Kaufman, Phillip, Sonja L. Swiger, and Andy Herring. 2025. New World screwworm fact sheet. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. Available: New World screwworm fact sheet - Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.

Hairgrove, Thomas B., Jacob W. Thorne, Ron Gill, Andy D. Herring, Phillip Kaufman, and Sonja L. Swiger. 2025. What to do if you suspect New World screwworm in your herd. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. Available: What to Do if You Suspect New World Screwworm in Your Herd - Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.

Hairgrove, Thomas B., Jacob W. Thorne, Ron Gill, Andy D. Herring, Phillip Kaufman, Sonja L. Swiger. 2025. Livestock management considerations for New World screwworm. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. Available: Livestock Management Considerations for New World Screwworm - Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.