2006-06-13
Author: Mike McLean

Bull selection in the future could be based on feed efficiency.

Dr. John Basarb of Alberta Agriculture says local technology in place now is being utilized in selecting cattle for this trait in a pen, it just has to be stepped up for cow/calf producers.

"We're at a crossroads in the industry and with this trait", he explains, "It's how do we scale up our testing from several hundred bulls a year to several thousand bulls a year.  That's where we're going to make a big difference".

Basarab says Canada's Beef Industry stands to gain well over 200 million dollars annually in feed savings by adopting net feed efficiency technology.