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Cash is the most important resource, since an organization, if there are sufficient funds, can acquire everything that is necessary for carrying out production activities. The research was based on an agricultural organization that is engaged in the production of sugar beets and grain, as well as dairy and beef cattle breeding. Analysis of cash flows by direct, indirect and coefficient method showed that the company under study in the current year belongs to a "normal enterprise", since it received a positive net cash flow from operating and financial activities and a negative one from investment. The calculated ratios of the efficiency of using the organization's funds over the past years have either increased or remained stable. To synchronize flows over time intervals and reduce the risks of a shortage of funds, the authors have developed cash flow forecasts for a year and a half by direct and indirect methods. Both plans showed that cash flow from current activities is positive, that is, the company's activities are profitable and generate income. The organization will be able to pay off the accumulated liabilities. The developed budgets will make it possible to predict the flow of cash flows of the enterprise, to control the synchronization of receipts and expenditures of funds, thereby maintaining their required volume to fulfill payment obligations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: Reproductive disorders keep the beef cattle population in Jepara Regency, Central Java, Indonesia, from increasing. Ovarian hypofunction and repeat breeding are the most common reproductive disorders, leading to large economic losses for traditional breeders. However, the impact of poor reproductive performance among traditional breeders is not well-known. This study aimed to investigate the reproductive performance of beef cattle with ovarian hypofunction and repeat breeding in Jepara Regency. Materials and Methods: We determined cattle's reproductive status by rectal examination and anamnesis, assessing reproductive performance in 28 cows with repeat breeding and 27 cows with ovarian hypofunction. The following parameters were measured: Postpartum estrous (PPE), days open (DO), service per conception (S/C), and calving interval (CI). The data came from livestock records from animal recording cards, iSIKHNAS, and estimated births from the insemination date that produced a pregnancy. Results: In beef cattle diagnosed with ovarian hypofunction, S/C, PPE, DO, and CI were 1.28, 257 days, 265 days, and 18 months, respectively. The length of CI caused by long PPE may be due to improper nutrition and calf weaning delays. In beef cattle with repeat breeding, S/C, PPE, DO, and CI were 4.15, 106 days, 210 days, and 16 months, respectively. The length of CI was caused by long DO due to pregnancy failure at the first estrus. Conclusion: Hypofunction and repeat breeding reduce the reproductive performance of beef cattle in the Jepara Regency. The cows' health conditions pre- and postpartum can be optimized by providing high-quality feed to enhance reproductive performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estimating genetic parameters of male and female fertility and reproduction traits is essential for optimizing beef cattle breeding programs. In general, only markers located on autosomal chromosomes are used for genetic evaluations. Sex chromosomes tend to be excluded due to the compensation mechanism of dosage of genes linked to the X chromosome, which is the second largest chromosome in the cattle genome and harbors many genes potentially influencing these traits. Therefore, we estimated genomic-based variance components, including the X chromosome in the variance components analysis for female precocity, fertility, and andrological traits based on the single-step GBLUP procedure and Bayesian inference. The dataset consisted of ~120,000 records for the probability of pregnancy at 14 months (PP14), early rebreeding (REBA), and stability (STAY). From the breeding soundness exam (BSE) of bulls, 20,000 records were obtained for semen quality, andrological biometry, semen defects, and bull fitness (BULL_FIT). The pedigree contained 660,608 animals, where 11,012 animals were genotyped for 770,111 SNPs. All traits have reasonable additive genetic variation and are heritable, with a substantial contribution from the X chromosome, indicating that genetic progress for these traits is feasible. The heritability estimates (h2) explained by autosomal and X chromosome SNPs was low and low-to-moderate, respectively, for female reproductive performance traits, such as REBA [0.17 (auto); 0.07 (sex chr)], PP14 (0.42;0.05), and STAY (0.32;0.01). For male traits, the heritability estimates based on the autosomes and X chromosome, respectively, ranged from 0.02 to 0.04 and from 0.01 to 0.03 for semen quality traits; from 0.10 to 0.68 and from 0.02 to 0.07 for morphological traits; from 0.10 to 0.12 and from 0.01 to 0.02 for semen defects traits; for bull evaluation (BULL_FIT) were observed h2 for autosomes 0.18 and 0.10 for sexual chromosome X. The results observed in this study indicate a substantial contribution of the X chromosome on fertility and reproductive performance traits. These findings will serve as background information for designing breeding programs for genetically improving semen production and quality and reproductive performance in Nellore cattle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dairy cattle management lacks consideration of fetal breed, the effect of which on fetal growth and nutrition are unclear. We investigated blood parameters in 12 late-pregnant Holstein heifers with similar (Holstein, n = 5) or different (Japanese Black [n = 4] or F1 cross [n = 3]; Holstein × Japanese Black) fetus breeds and in their umbilical cords and calves. Samples were obtained from dams 1 week before calving (-1 week) and immediately after calving, from the umbilical vein at calving, and from calves immediately after birth. Dams with beef fetuses had higher serum glucose levels (-1 week; p < .05) than those with Holstein fetuses. Plasma total amino acid, total essential amino acid, total nonessential amino acid, and other amino acid concentrations were lower in the umbilical veins of dams with calves of the beef breeds than in those of the Holstein breeds (p < .05). Furthermore, serum glucose and plasma amino acid levels were lower in the beef calves than in the Holstein calves (p < .05). Overall, nutrient supply from dams to beef fetuses was lower than that to Holstein fetuses. Our findings may facilitate feeding management of dairy cattle pregnant with beef breeds for appropriate fetal growth and nutrition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sterol regulatory element-binding factor 1 (SREBP1) plays an important role in the lipogenesis which affects fatty acid (FA) composition in backfat and consequently influences beef nutritional quality. This study analyzed the association of 84 bp-indel, both short (S) and long (L) alleles in intron 5 of SREBP1, with FA composition and gene expression of SREBP1 in backfat of northern Spanish beef breeds (Pirenaica, Salers and Holstein-Friesian). Phylogenetic analysis suggests that 84 bp-indel of ruminants is a highly conserved region compared with those in the full-length sequence of intron 5 or mRNA of SREBP1 among species. Overall, higher content of polyunsaturated FAs was observed in SL genotype compared to LL genotype of 84 bp-Indel (p < .05). In particular, in Pirenaica, SL genotype was associated with a higher content of stearic (18:0), α-linolenic (18:3n-3) acid, and total n-3 content (p < .05). However, the gene expression of SREBP1 did not differ among genotypes of 84 bp-Indel (p > .05). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The changes made in the composition and structure of beef cattle breeding in Bulgaria, impose along with research in the field of nutrition, technology and meat productivity to study the skin as a raw material for various branches of light industry. The relative weight, the percentage of the living mass of skin, the sizes, the thickness of skin in different areas were studied and skin area in fattened male Simmental, Limousine, Hereford and Aberdeen Angus calves slaughtered at 15 months of age. There are significant differences in the studied quality indicators of raw skin. The highest is the relative weight of the raw skin of calves of the Simmental breed, which showed the heaviest 38.9 kg and thick skin-6.94 mm at point “O” and 6.71mm at point “H”. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigation of the compositional and functional characteristics of the gastrointestinal bacterial community in beef cattle breeds can improve our understanding of the influence of gastrointestinal tract (GIT) regions and host breeds on the bacterial community. In this study, 16S ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA) gene amplicon sequencing was used to characterize the bacterial communities in the rumen, duodenum, jejunum, ileum, caecum, and colon of Xuanhan yellow cattle (XHC) and Simmental crossbred cattle (SXC). The results showed that the diversity of the bacterial population was different in GIT regions of XHC and SXC (P < 0.05). In total, ten bacterial phyla, sixteen bacterial genera, and nine metabolic pathways were identified in the core bacteria. The phyla Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Proteobacteria were predominant, but their proportions were different in GIT regions (P < 0.05). The diversity, structure, and composition of the bacteria in the rumen were similar between the breeds (P > 0.05), and the indices in the intestine showed significant differences (P < 0.05). Moreover, the composition and structure of the bacterial communities in the rumen, small intestine, and large intestine were different regardless of the breed. Thus, the bacterial communities were different among the gastrointestinal regions in each breed, and the bacterial community in the rumen had more stable characteristics than that in the intestine between two breeds. Further studies may focus on the minor microbial communities and the functions of GIT bacteria to better understand gut–microbe interactions. Key points: •Differences in bacteria among gastrointestinal regions differ in cattle breeds. • Differences between the breeds in the ruminal bacteria are less pronounced than differences in the intestinal bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of the level of dietary fibre on rumen pH, total microbial count and methanogenic archaeacount of Bonsmara (225 ± 10.0 kg live weight) and Nguni (215 ± 10.0 kg live weight) steers. Nine steers per breed were used, aged 8 to 9 months. A 3 x 2 factorial experiment was executed with treatments allocated in a completely randomized design. The treatments were diets which included 64.3% neutral detergent fibre (NDF) for diet 1, 40.4% NDF for diet 2, and 29.9% NDF for diet 3. Steers were fed for 90 days and housed in individual pens. Rumen fluid was collected from steers using a stomach tube. Rumen fluid samples were taken immediately to the laboratory for microbial assay. Data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA). The various levels of dietary fibre did not affect rumen pH and methanogenic archaea count. However, a low-fibre diet yielded high rumen total microbial count for Bonsmara steers and low rumen total microbial count for Nguni steers. Therefore, a low-fibre diet can be applied as a viable strategy to enhance rumen total microbial count in exotic beef breeds and crossbred cattle such as Bonsmara. Nguni steers fed a high NDF diet had higher rumen total microbial count than Nguni steers fed a low-fibre diet. Therefore, a high NDF diet can be used efficiently by feeding it to indigenous breeds and purebred cattle such as Nguni. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been a significant decrease in genetic diversity on a global scale for several livestock species, including beef cattle. Therefore, the aim of this study was to deliver fine-scale analysis of the genomic structure and to describe the diversity status of six beef cattle breeds, with a specific focus on genomic inbreeding and the trend of effective population size. The genome-wide data of 639 animals belonging to cosmopolitan (Aberdeen Angus, Charolais, Hereford and Limousin) and local (Piedmontese and Romagnola) cattle breeds were included due to their importance for the local and global beef industry in Europe. In addition, the local dual-purpose Slovak Pinzgau was used to extend the study due to increasing interest from beef cattle breeders in Slovakia. The results showed that more than 3% of the Aberdeen Angus, Hereford and Romagnola genomes, less than 1% of the Limousin, Charolais and Slovak Pinzgau genomes and 0.38% of the Piedmontese genome could have been significantly affected by the mating of relatives over the last three generations. The estimates of effective population size indicated a linear decline within each of the analysed populations. The decrease was mainly evident in populations of the Slovak Pinzgau (7.39 animals per generation), Limousin, Piedmontese and Charolais cattle (average 5 animals per generation). Due to the fact that the decrease in effective population size may be accompanied by a decrease in breed competitiveness with regard to a changing production environment, genetic diversity should be continuously monitored to preserve the long-term potential of the analysed breeds. Decreased diversity across beef breeds is evident Monitoring genetic diversity is needed to prevent inbreeding depression Use of genomic data can increase the accuracy of breeding schemes [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been essentially involved in all kinds of important biological processes, such as cell differentiation and development. In this study, we comprehensively profiled genome-wide lncRNAs of bovine skeletal muscle in two Chinese cattle breeds using RNA-seq approach. The longissimus dorsi samples were collected from three Charolais (CH) and three Tongjiang (TJ) adult cattle, respectively. Approximately 80 million reads were obtained per library, and by which we assembled 31,009 unique transcripts. We successfully identified a total of 4155 different lncRNAs in six muscle samples, consisting of 3204 intronic lncRNAs, 737 intergenic lncRNAs, 113 sense lncRNAs and 101 antisense lncRNAs. Among them, 32 lncRNAs were differentially expressed (Fold Change >1.0, FDR < 0.05) between CH and TJ. Among these lncRNAs, 1744 identified bovine lncRNAs were located adjacent to 1146 protein-coding genes (<100 kb upstream and downstream) and functionally enriched in organ development, gene regulation and signal transduction. Our results provide a catalogue of bovine skeletal muscle-related lncRNAs, which will complement the list of bovine lncRNAs and contribute to understanding of the molecular mechanism of underpinning muscle development in cattle. The first study to compare specialised beef cattle breed with Chinese local beef cattle breed on long non-coding RNA (lncRNA). The 4155 different lncRNAs in beef cattle genome were identified to complement the list of bovine lncRNAs. The 1146 protein-coding genes were found maybe in cis-regulatory relationships with lncRNAs to understand the molecular mechanism underpinning muscle development in cattle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• mRNA expression of HSL gene was quantified different tissue in two age groups of Qinchuan cattle. • Five SNPs of bovine HSL gene were identified within exon. • Effects of single markers/haplotype combinations on intramuscular fat content were analyzed. Hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) was considered as an essential enzyme in glucolipid metabolism. It has been proposed to be a lead candidate gene for genetic markers of lipid deposition in livestock. The aim of this study was to identify sequence variants (SVs) of the bovine HSL gene and evaluate the relations to intramuscular fat in two indigenous Chinese beef cattle breeds. Expression analysis by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reactions (qPCR) indicated that expression levels of bovine HSL gene were highest in the perirenal fat and heart within two different age stage (adult and calf), respectively. Five SVs were identified by direct DNA sequencing, which included four missense mutations (g.16563C>T, g.16734G>A, g.16896A>G, g.17388G>T) in exon 8 and a synonymous mutation (g.17402C>T) in exon 9. Population genetic analysis showed that except for g.16563C>T and g.17402C>T, all the other detected SVs strongly affected the bovine intramuscular fat content (P < 0.01 or P < 0.05). The individuals with Hap5/5 diplotypes (CC-GG-GG-GG-CC) was highly significantly associated with intramuscular fat content than the other diplotypes (P < 0.01). The above results suggested that the HSL gene can used as potential candidate markers gene for the beef breed improvement through marker assisted selection in Chinese cattle breeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objectives of this study were to investigate milk casein polymorphisms in dams and to determine the impacts of maternal casein genotypes on growth traits of their sucking calves. Milk samples from 433 dams of the breeds German Angus (GA) and German Simmental (GS) were typed at the milk protein loci α s1-casein (α s1 -CN), β-casein (β-CN), α s2-casein (α s2 -CN), and κ-casein (κ-CN) via isoelectric focusing. Associations between casein genotypes in maternal milk with growth traits of their 1,872 calves were analyzed until the age of weaning using linear mixed models, considering either genotypes of individual casein loci (model 1) or composite α s1-β-α s2-κ-CN genotypes within the casein cluster (model 2). Besides environmental effects such as sex, age of the dam, and calving year-season, genetic effects (breed group and maternal and paternal effects) were considered in statistical models. The composite casein genotype BBǀA2A2ǀAAǀAB (order of genes on bovine chromosome 6: α s1-ǀβ-ǀα s2-ǀκ-CN) was associated with greater average daily weight gains (ADG) and heavier age-adjusted weaning weights (WW) of calves (P < 0.05). The effects of composite genotypes on birth weight of calves were similar (P > 0.05; model 2). With regard to individual casein loci, greater ADG and WW were observed for calves from dams with the genotypes κ-CN BB and α s1-CN BB, respectively (P < 0.05; model 1). Age-adjusted WW was largest for calves from dams carrying the κ-CN genotype BB (215 kg) compared with calves representing the maternal AB and AA genotypes (both 204 kg). Results from the present study suggested selectable casein genotypes due to their nutritional value of milk (value in terms of offspring performances), offering new perspectives for breeding strategies in beef cattle to improve preweaning calf performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to analyse the polymorphism in the JAK2 gene in three beef cattle breeds (Angus, Hereford, and Limousin) in relation to performance traits. A total of 465 individuals were genotyped. The PCR-RFLP method was used to identify a silent mutation in exon 20 (dbSNP ID: rs110298451). Three genotypes (AA, AG, GG) were identified in all the tested breeds, with the A allele being the most frequent. In the Limousin breed, the most favourable traits were recorded for individuals with the AA genotype, i.e. higher birth weight (+ 2.1 kg), average daily gains (+68g) and weight at 210 days (+12.3 kg) compared to individuals with the GG genotype. Different results were obtained for the Hereford breed, where the GG genotype determined the highest birth weight (+1.3 kg), daily gains (+50 g) and body weight at weaning (+ 10.6 kg) in comparison with individuals of the AA genotype. In Angus cows, heterozygotes were characterized by the highest beefing abilities. There was no significant association between the JAK2/e20/RsaI polymorphism and age at first calving. The results obtained in the present study did not indicate whether the analysed JAK2/e20/ RsaI polymorphism could be used in cattle selection. Therefore, it would be reasonable to perform additional association studies on larger numbers of recorded and genotyped animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In recent years, there has been a persistent anomalous development of the climate. As a result of which pastures have been scorched, the yield of hayfields has sharply decreased, and temperature drops have been observed. In these conditions, the scientifically grounded choice of the breed and the creation of new genotypes adapted to local conditions and market requirements is an urgent problem. The object of the study were young stock (bulls-calves, heifer calves) and adult cattle (cows) of the Hereford, Aberdeen-Angus, and Kazakh whiteheaded breeds and young cattle cross-breeds of Hereford and Aberdeen-Angus bulls with scrub cattle. The article presents the analysis and determination of the breed resources of beef cattle for obtaining environmentally-safe beef. The study was conducted to establish the degree of adaptation of non-Kazakhstani beef breeds to the natural and climatic conditions of the West Kazakhstan region. Cross-bred animals had more pronounced adaptive properties in terms of hair cover and hair structure of the 1st and 2nd control groups. Simultaneously, in terms of main parameters of changes in hair cover and hair structure, purebred animals of the Hereford and Aberdeen-Angus breeds of the 1st and 2nd experimental groups, in general, were characterized by rather good adaptive properties depending on changes in the external environment. The data on the biochemical composition of blood indicated the normal physiological state of animals of all groups. They showed good adaptive capabilities to the sharply continental climate of the steppes and semidesert of West Kazakhstan in animals of all groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Max dimerization protein 3 (MXD3) belongs to the MYC superfamily of basic helix‐loop‐helix leucine zipper transcription factors, and MXD3‐MAX heterodimers can bind to promoters of target genes to modulate their expression. The aim of this study was to determine the MXD3 mRNA expression levels in various cattle tissues comprising heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney, Longissimus dorsi muscle and subcutaneous fat in Chinese Qinchuan and Xianan cattle breeds. The RT‐qPCR data showed that the MXD3 gene was variably expressed between all tissues and at levels that were significantly different between two breeds (p <.05). We used the polymerase chain reaction‐restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR‐RFLP) method to investigate the possible association between single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) within the MXD3 gene and five different growth traits in cattle. We found two intronic SNPs (g.2694 C>T and g.3801 T>C) and one SNP in 3′untranslated region (3′UTR) (g.6263 G>A) of MXD3 gene. Association analysis revealed strong associations between pairwise and triple SNP combinations and the growth traits. Based on these results, we suggest that MXD3 polymorphisms could be useful as molecular markers in the Chinese beef cattle breeding program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simulation model was designed in order to serve as a management tool to estimate the rate of change in live weight in confined steers. The main components of the production system integrated in the model were the animal, the environment and the diet. The quantified biological interrelationships are summarized in the voluntary consumption of dry matter and nutritional balances of metabolizable energy and digestible protein. The potential consumption estimated by the physiological maturity dependent on the zebu, bullfighting or hybrid animal biotype, sex and age was corrected by indexes related to the size of the food particle and actual digestibility of the diet. This was estimated through the development and validation of indexes and correction functions considering the level of tannins, silica, crude protein and non-structural carbohydrates together with the particle size taken from data tables of the Cornell model. The confidence of the model to predict the increase rate in live weight was evaluated by means of the t student test with experimental data from 12 batches of steers of breeds of early physiological maturity, during 119 days. The daily gains of average weights of the model presented a similar trend to the observed data (P: 0.65). In addition, the regression analysis between simulated and observed variables presented a similar trend both for estimating consumption (R2 = 0.62) and for estimating daily weight gain (R2 = 0.58). The model allows evaluating process innovations to determine production functions related to live weight in different scenarios incorporating variables such as bovine biotype, modified diet quality based on its digestibility, particle size, and environmental temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Questions: Sustainable rangeland utilization considering traditions and economic reasons is compulsory for harmonising the needs of the agricultural and nature conservation sectors. For proper rangeland management it is crucial to compare the grazing effects of traditional breeds and crossbred animals of the same species that might have different effects on the rangelands. To fill this knowledge gap, in a grazing experiment, we investigated the effect of cattle breeds on the vegetation to test the effects on nature conservation value and agricultural production value. We hypothesized that the effects of cattle grazing on habitat conservation values and forage quality depend on the grazing breed, because breeds differ in selectivity, body size and trampling effect. Location: Marshes and alkaline wet grasslands in Hortobágy National Park, Hungary. Methods: We recorded the percentage cover of vascular plants in three consecutive years in a total of 60 plots in 12 areas grazed by traditional (0.61 AU/ha) and large‐sized crossbred beef cattle (0.68 AU/ha). Results: We found that the effect of cattle breed on the habitat conservation values and forage quality is dependent on the habitat type. The traditional breed maintained a significantly higher species number and Shannon diversity in marshes than the crossbred beef cattle. Grazing of crossbred cattle led to decreasing moisture indicator values in marsh habitats. Conclusions: Our findings revealed that traditional breeds should be prioritized in the management of wet alkaline grasslands and marshes. Crossbred beef cattle might be a substitute but only in case traditional breeds are not available for the management of alkaline wet grasslands. In marshes, however, we recommend prioritizing the traditional breeds as they maintain higher diversity compared to crossbred beef cattle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Red meat is an important dietary source that provides part of the nutritional requirements. Intramuscular fat, known as marbling, is located throughout skeletal muscle. Marbling is a trait of major economic relevance that positively influences sensory quality aspects. The aim of the present study was to identify and better understand biological pathways defining marbling in beef cattle. Pathway analysis was performed in PathVisio with publicly available transcriptomic data from semitendinosus muscle of well-marbled and lean-marbled beef. Moreover, for Bos taurus we created a gene identifier mapping database with bridgeDb and a pathway collection in WikiPathways. The regulation of marbling is possibly the result of the interplay between signaling pathways in muscle, fat, and intramuscular connective tissue. Pathway analysis revealed 17 pathways that were significantly different between well-marbled and lean-marbled beef. The MAPK signaling pathway was enriched, and the signaling pathways that play a role in tissue development were also affected. Interestingly, pathways related to immune response and insulin signaling were enriched. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Stature is an important quantitative trait for cattle performance, which influences herd productivity. Previous studies have reported that an SNP (AC_000171.1:g.25015640G>T, rs109815800) in Pleomorphic adenoma gene 1 (PLAG1) on chromosome 14 (CHR14) is associated with bovine stature. To validate whether rs109815800 is associated with the body height of Chinese cattle, we carried out an association analysis using 558 adult cattle samples from seven populations. Then, 1038 samples from 38 Chinese cattle breeds were used to show the geographical distribution of this variant in China. The results showed that the Q allele (G allele) increased the height of cattle. Furthermore, the frequencies of Q allele in Chinese native breeds tend to decrease from northern China to southern China, and the frequency of Q allele in two Chinese beef cattle breeds is much higher than that in another 36 Chinese local cattle breeds. Our data suggest that the prevalence of the Q allele is correlated with latitude in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Genome wide association studies (GWAS) on residual feed intake (RFI) and its component traits including daily dry matter intake (DMI), average daily gain (ADG), and metabolic body weight (MWT) were conducted in a population of 7573 animals from multiple beef cattle breeds based on 7,853,211 imputed whole genome sequence variants. The GWAS results were used to elucidate genetic architectures of the feed efficiency related traits in beef cattle. Results: The DNA variant allele substitution effects approximated a bell-shaped distribution for all the traits while the distribution of additive genetic variances explained by single DNA variants followed a scaled inverse chi-squared distribution to a greater extent. With a threshold of P-value < 1.00E-05, 16, 72, 88, and 116 lead DNA variants on multiple chromosomes were significantly associated with RFI, DMI, ADG, and MWT, respectively. In addition, lead DNA variants with potentially large pleiotropic effects on DMI, ADG, and MWT were found on chromosomes 6, 14 and 20. On average, missense, 3'UTR, 5'UTR, and other regulatory region variants exhibited larger allele substitution effects in comparison to other functional classes. Intergenic and intron variants captured smaller proportions of additive genetic variance per DNA variant. Instead 3'UTR and synonymous variants explained a greater amount of genetic variance per DNA variant for all the traits examined while missense, 5'UTR and other regulatory region variants accounted for relatively more additive genetic variance per sequence variant for RFI and ADG, respectively. In total, 25 to 27 enriched cellular and molecular functions were identified with lipid metabolism and carbohydrate metabolism being the most significant for the feed efficiency traits. Conclusions: RFI is controlled by many DNA variants with relatively small effects whereas DMI, ADG, and MWT are influenced by a few DNA variants with large effects and many DNA variants with small effects. Nucleotide polymorphisms in regulatory region and synonymous functional classes play a more important role per sequence variant in determining variation of the feed efficiency traits. The genetic architecture as revealed by the GWAS of the imputed 7,853,211 DNA variants will improve our understanding on the genetic control of feed efficiency traits in beef cattle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beef cattle breeding has developed in extensive grazing systems in Mexico, concerning the livelihood of over one million families and affecting the use of natural resources. Reproductive efficiency is a major determinant of both the environmental impact of the herd, and the economic viability of the cow-calf production system. As reproductive traits have low heritability, reproductive efficiency can be largely influenced by herd management practices. Thus, a questionnaire was administered as personal interviews to 3280 producers, to investigate the prevalence of practices that could directly influence the reproductive outcome of their cattle. Results show that yearround breeding (93%) and natural service by the bull (97.4%) are the most common mating methods. However, only 41% of producers evaluate the breeding soundness of their bulls, and diagnostic testing for specific reproductive diseases of the sires is barely performed in 20% of the farms. The main declared reason for replacing the bull is old age (26.8%), which is followed by to avoid inbreeding (68.4%). Less than 10% of the operations use methods for the synchronization of the estrous cycle, and most farmers breed their heifers for the first time after 2 years of age (73%). Diagnosis of pregnancy is performed in merely 31% of operations, with 23% of the producers declaring to discard non-pregnant cows. Energy or protein feed supplements are provided to the cattle in 63% of the production units, whilst mineral supplements are given in 79% of the farms. Calves are typically weaned between 6 months and a year of age (85%). Only 16% of operations vaccinate against brucellosis and 17.5% against other reproductive diseases (IBR-DVB-VSR and Leptospirosis). The present study showcases a low frequency of adoption of basic reproductive management practices by cow-calf operations in Mexico. Advancement of these practices, as well as implementation and promotion of associated technologies, denotes an area of opportunity to improve the reproductive efficiency of the national herd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The beef cattle breeding business partnership system has been applied a long time ago by breeders in Bone Regency, better known as the teseng system. The objectives of this study are: (1) to describe the factors of breeders conducting a beef cattle business partnership system; (2) to describe the growth of beef cattle business through a partnership system; and (3) analyzing the influence of breeder factors in implementing a partnership system on the growth of beef cattle breeding business. This type of research is descriptive and explanatory research. The number of samples were 150 breeders spread in Libureng, Patimpeng, and Kahu Districts of Bone Regency of South Sulawesi Province which were carried out by simple random sampling. Data collection was carried out through interviews with the help of questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive statistics and path analysis. This study shows the results that: (1) breeders agree to the implementation of the beef cattle business partnership system; (2) there is a difference in the growth of beef cattle business through a partnership system for each farmer; (3) internal factors of breeders, external factors of breeders, and factors of the partnership system have a significant effect on the growth of beef cattle farming business both directly and indirectly; and (4) internal factors of breeders are more dominant in determining the growth of beef cattle breeding business in Bone Regency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the beef cattle sector has been considerably supported during the last two decades, Turkey could not get its self-sufficiency yet. The objective of this case study was to examine the impacts of livestock supports on production and income of beef cattle farms. The survey data was collected from randomly selected 171 cattle farms in Samsun province of Turkey. The Treatment Effect Model was used to measure the impacts of livestock supports on beef meat production and gross profit of the farms. The results indicate that the farmers, who have larger land and herd, higher education level, keeping farm records, are mechanized and specialized in beef cattle breeding were more likely to benefit from livestock supports than their counterparts. The Treatment Effect Model highlights that livestock support has a statistically significant effect on the amount of beef meat produced whereas it has no statistically significant effect on the gross profits of the farms. The research recommended that the livestock supports are necessary for the sustainability of beef cattle farms. The farms should be encouraged to get records via Farm Accountancy Data Network and the record keeping farms should be supported by higher amounts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Inbreeding is caused by mating between related individuals and its most common consequence is inbreeding depression. Several studies have detected heterogeneity in inbreeding depression among founder individuals, and recently a procedure for predicting hidden inbreeding depression loads associated with founders and the Mendelian sampling of non-founders has been developed. The objectives of our study were to expand this model to predict the inbreeding loads for all individuals in the pedigree and to estimate the covariance between the inbreeding loads and the additive genetic effects for the trait of interest. We tested the proposed approach with simulated data and with two datasets of records on weaning weight from the Spanish Pirenaica and Rubia Gallega beef cattle breeds. Results: The posterior estimates of the variance components with the simulated datasets did not differ significantly from the simulation parameters. In addition, the correlation between the predicted and simulated inbreeding loads were always positive and ranged from 0.27 to 0.82. The beef cattle datasets comprised 35,126 and 75,194 records on weights between 170 and 250 days of age, and pedigrees of 308,836 and 384,434 individual-sire-dam entries for the Pirenaica and Rubia Gallega breeds, respectively. The posterior mean estimates of the variance of inbreeding depression loads were 29,967.8 and 28,222.4 for the Pirenaica and Rubia Gallega breeds, respectively. They were larger than those of the additive variance (695.0 and 439.8 for Pirenaica and Rubia Gallega, respectively), because they should be understood as the variance of the inbreeding depression achieved by a fully inbred (100%) descendant. Therefore, the inbreeding loads have to be rescaled for smaller inbreeding coefficients. In addition, a strong negative correlation (− 0.43 ± 0.10) between additive effects and inbreeding loads was detected in the Pirenaica, but not in the Rubia Gallega breed. Conclusions: The results of the simulation study confirmed the ability of the proposed procedure to predict inbreeding depression loads for all individuals in the populations. Furthermore, the results obtained from the two real datasets confirmed the variability in the inbreeding depression loads in both breeds and suggested a negative correlation of the inbreeding loads with the additive genetic effects in the Pirenaica breed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scrotal circumference (SC) is considered a useful tool for predicting age at puberty and is performed to improve the reproductive performance in beef cattle industry. We aimed to fit several nonlinear mixed models for SC measurements of five different breeds to better predict testicular growth. Data of SC (cm), body weight (BW; kg), and age (A; days), farm location, sire and dam, and birth dates of 169,094 beef bulls were collected from five breeds: Nelore (N) (n = 110,814); Angus (AA) (n = 6541); Brangus (BA) (n = 42,910); Polled Hereford and Hereford (HH) (n = 4640); and Braford (BH) (n = 7480). Data comprise a total of 8640 sires and 115,172 dams and grouped in 2908 contemporary groups (CG). The full model development for SC was defined as: SC = CG + A + A*A + BW + BW*BW + Ɛ. Bulls from HH (34.1 ± 3.2) and AA (33.5 ± 3.0) had the highest value of SC, followed by BH (32.2 ± 3.7), BA (30.6 ± 4.1), and N (26.9 ± 3.6). There was a curvilinear effect of BW on the SC measurements of HH and AA bulls, reaching the maximum point around 600 kg, whether both breeds presented a similar testicular growth pattern. In British breeds, inflection points of average daily SC growth of 0.039 and 0.042 cm/kg were obtained from 700 kg HH and 600 kg AA bulls, respectively. Scrotal circumference values of 0.042 and 0.046 cm/kg reaching the maximum growth point at 450 kg BW were obtained for BH and BA bulls, respectively. We also observed SC values of 0.044 and 0.048 cm/d reaching the maximum growth point at 550 d of age for BH and BA bulls, respectively. Thus, estimate testicular size at maturity should be measured between 500 and 600 kg BW in British genotypes and between 550 and 600 d in Bos indicus and crossbreeds animals. Therefore, SC adjustment can be used by breed-specific criteria associated with BW and/or age to determine testis growth as a selection criterion in beef cattle breeding programs. • Estimation of SC measurements of five different breeds to better predict testicular growth. • In British genotypes, SC should be measured between 500 and 600 kg of BW. • In Bos indicus and their crosses, SC should be measured between the age of 550 and 600 days. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Explicitly fitting effects for major genes or QTL that account for a large percentage of variation in a whole genomic prediction model may increase prediction accuracy. This study compared approaches to account for a major effect of an F94L variant in the MSTN gene within the genomic prediction using bovine whole‐genomic SNP markers. Among the beef cattle breeds, Limousin have been known to have an F94L variant that is not present in Angus. The reference population in this study consisted of 3060 beef cattle including pure‐bred Limousin (PL), cross‐bred Limousin with Angus (LF) and pure‐bred Angus, genotyped using a BovineSNP50 BeadChip and directly for the MSTN‐F94L variant. We compared prediction accuracies in PL animals using the three datasets from only the PL population, admixed PL and LF (AL) or multibreed analysis using all of the PL, LF and Angus (MB) population according to four‐fold cross‐validation after K‐means clustering. The MSTN‐F94L variant was the most strongly associated with five traits (birth weight, calving ease direct, milk, weaning weight and yield grade) among the 13 measured traits in PL and AL populations. Fitting the MSTN‐F94L variant as a random effect, the genomic prediction accuracies for birth weight increased by 2.7% in PL, by 2.2% in AL and by 3.2% in MB. Prediction accuracies for five traits increased in the MB analysis. Fitting MSTN‐F94L as a fixed effect in PL, AL and MB analyses resulted in increased prediction accuracy in PL for eight traits. Prediction accuracies can be improved by including a causal variant in genomic evaluation compared with simply using whole‐genome SNP markers. Fitting the causal variant as a fixed effect along with markers fitted as random effects resulted in greater prediction accuracies for most traits. Causal variants should be genotyped along with SNP markers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The CNV region was identified in Qinchuan cattle, Xiannan cattle, Yunling cattle, Ji'an cattle, Jiaxian Red cattle, Qaidam cattle, and Guyuan yellow cattle of STAT5A gene. • The STAT5A gene has important influence on the growth traits of JX, GY, QD and QC cattle. • Distribution of the Copy Number Variation in seven different Cattle Breeds. CNVs, which are a type of structural variation, make a substantial impact on diverse characteristics in multiple species. Q-PCR and data association analysis were used for STAT5A gene copy in this study. This study aimed to investigate the copy number variation (CNV) of the STAT5A gene in seven Chinese cattle breeds, namely Qinchuan cattle, Xianan cattle, Yunling cattle, Ji'an cattle, Jiaxian Red cattle, Qaidam cattle, and Guyuan yellow cattle. Blood samples were collected for CNV typing, and the correlation between CNV type and growth traits was analyzed using SPSS 23.0 software and ANOVA. The findings revealed variations in the distribution of different copy number types among the different cattle breeds. Furthermore, association analysis demonstrated a positive impact of CNV in the STAT5A gene on cattle growth: in the JX, individuals with duplication types exhibited superior performance in terms of rump length (P < 0.05). Conversely, normal GY cattle demonstrated better body height and abdomen circumference (P < 0.05), while QD cattle exhibited a significant correlation between weight and body length with normal individuals (P < 0.05). Moreover, QC bovine duplication individuals outperformed other types, with copy number variation significantly associated with chest depth, chest width, and body length (P < 0.05). The results validate the correlation between copy number variation (CNV) of the STAT5A gene and growth characteristics in five different cattle breeds, providing a reliable benchmark for the purpose of cattle breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Two variations (g.33008_33024del and g.41793C>T) of ACVR1 had significant association with cattle traits. • The two variations g.33008_33024del and g.41793C>T can be used as molecular marker for marker-assisted selection in beef cattle breeding. • Aberrant splicing of cattle ACVR1 may associate with phenotypic changes. Activin A receptor type 1 (ACVR1) annotated for its involvement in some key signaling pathways is one promising candidate for economic traits. The aim of this study was to analyze its phenotypic effects on cattle growth traits. Four variations including two intronic Indels and two exonic SNPs were detected in 840 cattle from five Chinese cattle breeds by DNA-pool sequencing. Variations g.33008_33024del (rs385690012) and g.41793C>T (rs458497709) were significantly associated with cattle growth traits which were cannon bone circumference (CBC), chest girth (CG), chest depth (CD) (P < 0.05) using reduced animal general linear model. Additionally, the two significant loci of the studied populations were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and had relatively high heterozygosity which was close to 2p*(1 − p). Conclusively, the two variations g.33008_33024del and g.41793C>T can be used as molecular marker for marker-assisted selection in beef cattle breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Genotype-environment interaction study for growth traits in a composite beef cattle. • Evidence of genotype-environment interaction was found in birth and weaning weight. • This study showed a change in SNP effects across different pre-natal environments. Genes interact with both pre- and postnatal environments potentially affecting several important traits in beef cattle. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the existence of genotype by prenatal nutritional environment interaction using genomic information in growth traits, birth weight (BW), weaning weight (WW) and yearling weight (YW) in a composite beef cattle breed (50% Red Angus, 25% Charolais, and 25% Tarentaise). Dams were randomly assigned to be fed in two levels of harvested supplemental feed from Dec to March of each year that were expected to result in adequate (ADEQ) or marginal (MARG; ∼ 61% of the supplemental feed provided by ADEQ) levels of protein based on average quality and availability of winter forage. This design resulted in two prenatal nutritional environments: MARG and ADEQ. A total of 3,020 records were used in a two-trait model treating each environment as a different trait. Genetic parameters for all three traits were estimated using genomic information. The direct genetic correlations between environment ADEQ and MARG were 0.97, 0.97 and 0.99 for BW, WW and YW respectively. On the other hand, the maternal genetic correlations between the two environments were 0.62, 0.41 and 0.73 for BW, WW and YW respectively. Furthermore, direct and maternal genomic estimated breeding values (GEBVs) using single step genomic BLUP were computed and the solutions of SNP markers were back solved from the resulting GEBVs to compare genomic regions associated with the two environments. The present study demonstrated the existence of maternal genetic by prenatal nutritional environment interaction especially for BW and WW in beef cattle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In most extensive beef production systems in South Africa, calves are weaned at specific dates. This implies that cows that calve late in the season wean younger and lighter calves. In the current study, Bonsmara cows were mated naturally after synchronization over six years (2009 - 2014) in an extensive production system on natural veld in the Central Bushveld bioregion. Within the herd, 50% of cows were synchronized prior to the commencement of the summer breeding season and they were mated naturally for 90 days. The results indicated that calving rate did not differ significantly between cows that were synchronized and non- synchronized. However, there was a significant difference between years in calving rate. Oestrous synchronization prior to natural breeding influenced the average days to conception. The difference in percentage of cows that calved within 293 days of the onset of the breeding season between those that were oestrous synchronized and non-synchronized was 15% in favour of the synchronized cows. Although calves from synchronized cows achieved higher average weaning weights, the cost implications of synchronization offset the benefit of higher calf weights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beef has been considered a semi-luxury by Chinese residents, as its price is significantly higher than other meats, like pork and chicken. Rising disposable income of residents has contributed to the growth of beef consumption in China. And the potential of beef market is enormous. Based on the panel data from 2007 to 2016, this paper uses SBM (Slacks Based Measure of Efficiency) to calculate the productive efficiency of beef cattle breeding in china, analyze each breeding area’s spatial and temporal distribution characteristics, and explore the factors influencing the efficiency. The results prove that: (1)The beef cattle breeding efficiency in China was much lower than expected, there are input-output slacks in nearly all areas in different degree. (2) the net efficiency of beef cattle breeding did not show a significant upward trend, while the growth range was quite different among regions. The agricultural areas in central plains have higher efficiency and obvious annual upward trend than the northwest and northeast pastoral areas in China. (3) Beef cattle breeding model and geographical location conditions are important factors affecting the net breeding efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beef cattle breeds in Poland: Various of beef cattle breeds offer many different paths of breeding for Polish breeders. Understanding their predisposition is the key to effective and profitable production. The current level of beef consumption in Poland barely exceed 3 kg per person per year, what is lower result than in the past when it amounted nearly to 18 kg per person per year. It is strongly connected to lack of beef cattle production and consumption tradition. The rapid development of poultry and pork production results in prices drop of those products and deepen marginalization of the culinary beef. To repopularize beef on the Polish market, it is necessary to increase its quality in order to meet the current requirements of customers and become attractive for them. According to many authors, the key element is the promotion of knowledge in this field among farmers to produce better quality beef. Quality is a key due to the increase in nutritional value and improvement of its taste and appearance which is crucial during making a choice. The difficult market situation forces breeders to make a deliberate decision and apply new solutions in breeding. The mentioned and described breeds are present on Polish farms, however their populations differ significantly despite the diverse potential they have. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives were to evaluate the effects of temperament at feedlot arrival and breed type on productivity, feed efficiency, feeding behavior, and carcass quality traits in finishing beef heifers, and to examine interactions between temperament and breed type. Heifers (Angus, Braford, Brangus, and Simbrah, N = 411, BW = 280 kg) were fed a high-grain diet (ME = 3.0 Mcal/kg DM) in pens equipped with electronic feed bunks. Quality grade (QG), yield grade (YG), and Warner-Bratzler shear (WBS) force values (day 1 and 14 postmortem) were evaluated. Relative exit velocity (REV) at feedlot arrival was used as a covariate in mixed models to assess the effects of temperament and interactions with breed type, with means compared at ±1 SD from the mean initial REV. Calm heifers (mean REV minus 1 SD) had 4% greater (P < 0.001) initial BW, 12% greater (P < 0.001) ADG, 8% greater (P < 0.001) DMI, and 4% greater (P < 0.02) G:F than heifers with excitable temperaments (mean REV plus 1 SD). A temperament × breed interaction was detected (P < 0.01) for residual feed intake (RFI). Braford heifers had a more (P < 0.05) negative REV covariate slope (−1.49 ± 0.65) than the other breeds, such that excitable Braford heifers had lower (P < 0.05) RFI than the other breeds with excitable temperaments. Temperament × breed interactions were observed (P < 0.001) for DMI per BW0.75 and bunk visit (BV) duration. Braford heifers had more (P < 0.05) negative REV covariate slopes for both traits than Angus, Brangus, and Simbrah heifers such that excitable Braford heifers consumed less (P < 0.05) DMI per BW0.75 and had less BV duration compared to excitable Angus and Brangus heifers. Calm heifers had 9% greater (P < 0.01) meal duration, and consumed meals that were 22% longer (P < 0.001) and 17% larger (P < 0.001) compared to excitable heifers. Calm heifers had 12% more (P < 0.001) BV events per meal then excitable heifers. Carcasses from calm heifers were 4% heavier (P < 0.05) and had 7% greater (P = 0.05) backfat (BF) depth and tended to have 4% greater (P = 0.07) USDA YG than carcasses from excitable heifers. Additionally, loin steaks from calm heifers had 8% lower (P < 0.05) WBS force than steaks from excitable heifers. Based on a carcass grid with discounts and premiums for HCW, QG, YG, and tenderness, calm heifers returned $62 more (P < 0.01) revenue per animal than excitable heifers. These results demonstrate that heifers with divergent phenotypes for temperament on feedlot arrival differ in their performance, feed efficiency, and feeding behavior patterns, as well as carcass quality and revenue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Providing students with opportunities for higher-order thinking is crucial. However, delivering this experience can be difficult. This is especially true in animal breeding classes where breeding animals during the semester, even mice, is not feasible. Therefore, many educators use worksheets and math problems to demonstrate genetic change. Often, the students learn to complete the questions, but they struggle to contextualize or conceptualize the difference they observe in the numbers. The use of computer simulations is a potential answer to this challenge. Using simulations students can manipulate modeled systems and see results in a timely and controlled environment. Motivated by this information, we developed a beef cattle breeding simulation, SeeBeefGenetics®. This simulation allows students to make breeding decisions in a simulated cow herd and see genetic change over time. The simulation was developed according to learning objectives determined through educator interviews. Through iterative testing with students in the United States and Canada, we have designed a simulation that shows increased learning gains, motivation, and engagement in undergraduate animal breeding and genetics courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF1R) plays a vital role in immunomodulation and muscle and bone growth. The copy number variation (CNV) is believed to the reason for many complex phenotypic variations. In this paper, we statistically analyzed the copy number and the expression profiling in different tissue types of the IGF1R gene using the 422 samples from four Chinese beef cattle breeds, and the mRNA of IGF1R was widely expressed in nine tissue types of adult cattle (heart, liver, kidney, muscle, fat, stomach, spleen, lung and testis). Results of CNV and growth traits indicated that the IGF1R CNV was significantly associated with body weight and body height of Jinnan (JN) cattle and was significantly associated with body height and hucklebone width of Qinchuan (QC) cattle, making IGF1R CNV a promising molecular marker to improve meat production in beef cattle breeding. Bioinformatics predictions show that the CNV region is highly similar to the human genome, and there are a large number of transcription factors, DNase I hypersensitive sites, and high levels of histone acetylation, suggesting that this region may play a role in transcriptional regulation, providing directions for further study of the role of bovine CNV and economic traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unlike specific expression in the skin of wild mice, the agouti signaling protein (ASIP) is expressed widely in the tissue of cattle, including adipose and muscle tissue. Hence, it has been suggested that ASIP plays a role in bovine fat metabolism. An inserted L1-BT element was recently identified upstream of the ASIP locus which led to an ectopic expression of ASIP mRNA in cattle. In this study, we detected the indel of the L1-BT element at g. -14643 nt and three SNPs in introns of the ASIP gene (g. -568 A > G, g. -554 A > T, and g. 4805A > T) in a Chinese Simmental steer population. The association analysis between variants of ASIP and economic traits showed that the homozygous genotype of L1-BT element insertion, AA genotype of g. -568 A > G, and AT genotype of g. 4805A > T were significantly correlated with carcass and fat-related traits, such as live weight and back fat thickness. Moreover, three haplotypes (H1: AT; H2: AA; H3: GT) were identified by linkage disequilibrium analysis and formed six combined genotypes. Results indicated that Chinese Simmental steers with an H1H2 combined genotype had a higher measured value of fat-deposition-related traits (p<0.05), including thickness of back fat and percentage of carcass fat coverage, but a lower content of linoleic acid and α -linolenic acid (p<0.05). Individuals of an H3H3 combination had a lower marbling score, perirenal fat weight, and carcass weight (p<0.05). This suggests that these three SNPs and two combined haplotypes might be molecular markers for beef cattle breeding selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animal breeding is one of the main pillars of livestock production. Statistics, computer science, and genomics have transformed productivity in the industry. Another round of breakthroughs is expected to come from harnessing the power of big data and machine learning analytics to address the complex interaction between animal genetics and the environment. Developing methods that enable precise selection decisions for animals in diverse production environments is expected to result in significant productivity gains and a reduction in welfare issues, while also mitigating the environmental impact of suboptimal allocation of resources to ill-adapted animals. Due to climate uncertainty, an understanding of these genetic and environmental interactions will be critical for decision-making. Our multi-institutional group initiated a project to generate a comprehensive enviromics data lake to develop and apply novel methods for breeding more adapted and resilient beef cattle for varying environments. Using GIS technology and integrating various sources of environmental information from publicly available databases and satellite imaging, detailed descriptions of soil, climate, forage, and weather conditions will be created for thousands of U.S. farms, representing millions of cattle, with phenotypic and genotypic data. Farms will be comprehensively described in terms of their facilities and management practices through surveys. Machine learning and artificial intelligence techniques will then be used to predict future animal performance for precision livestock management. The proposed models will also be biologically validated by measuring direct indicators of animal resilience. Results will be communicated to beef cattle producers and industry groups to foster the implementation of environment-aware approaches into routine genetic evaluations. In this talk, we will discuss this ongoing project in detail and present some preliminary results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beef cattle production is a relevant component of the Argentine economy. The Argentine Angus is the most common beef cattle breed, and this population has a large economic and cultural importance for the country. In 2019, a national genomic selection program was implemented in the Argentine Angus population. The objective of this study was to explore alternative approaches for the genomic selection program in Argentinean Angus so that it will better serve the stakeholders. For this study, a total of 9,944 phenotypes for weaning weight from Argentine Angus born in 2018 were used. All animals had pedigree information for at least 3 generations. Genomic information on 1,078 individuals for 150k SNPs was used. The genotyped individuals were connected to the population by pedigree. Weaning weight EPDs were calculated under an animal model considering contemporary group as fixed effects and additive direct and maternal genetic effects as random. Variance components were estimated using AIREMLF90, and EPDs were calculated using BLUPF90. The enhanced EPDs were the genomic estimated breeding values obtained by single-step GBLUP, by including the genomic information into the original model. Validation of the EPDs and enhanced EPDs were made by cross-validation, where a random sample of 70 genotyped individuals with more than 20 progeny was the validation population. The reference breeding values were the EPDs of the validation population with complete data. In a second analysis, the phenotype of the progeny of the validation population was removed. The correlation between the reduced and complete EPDs was the accuracy for this study, according to the LR method. The accuracy obtained by this method was overestimated due to potential relationships between animals in the training and validation population. However, the enhanced EPDs were 4% more accurate than the pedigree EPDs. The next steps of this research are exploring alternative approaches of the validation methodology, which will be accomplished by implementing a forward-in-time cross-validation. Such validation will be performed once more data is included in the model. Additionally, other models will be tested to identify the ideal combination of effects that will yield higher accuracies. Details regarding the construction of the genomic relationship matrix will be tested with the overarching goal of improving convergence without affecting accuracy. Moreover, a weighted single-step GBLUP approach will be tested to verify if prediction accuracy can improve even further. Finally, indirect prediction models will be tested so that the Argentine Angus Association can implement interim enhanced EPDs for young animals. In conclusion, including genomic data into this dataset yielded greater accuracy and such values are expected to improve even further after optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]