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Wayne Cockrell, manager, Carter Ranch, Oakwood, Texas, says IGENITY® helps him manage
the ranch's 1,500-head cow herd in a way that until now has been next to impossible.
"We raise our own replacement heifers and we have always been able to evaluate those
heifers phenotypically, but that is it. We really didn't know what we had in our
cow herd," Cockrell says. "Based on carcass data from our calf crop, I knew that
we had a product that was about 60 percent choice. But, we had no way of knowing
where the other 40 percent of the animals came from."
Cockrell markets the ranch's calves on a value-based system that pays a premium
based on how the calves perform in the feedyard and on the grid. In an effort to
improve the calves' chances of excelling, he invests in high-quality Angus bulls.
However, it hasn't been enough to get the herd to where Cockrell wants them to be.
"By using higher-quality bulls, we moved our calves from 40 percent to 60 percent
choice, but then we leveled off," he says. "I knew that we weren't going to make
anymore progress until we were able to do so with our cow herd."
This is why he has incorporated the comprehensive IGENITY profile into his heifer
selection process - which Cockrell says is just what he has been waiting for.
"Since the profile includes so many traits, I can look at each individual in two
different ways, on the reproductive side or the feedyard side," he says. "Now, I
can go through our herd and not necessarily select the super cows, but instead,
identify the bottom 20 percent to cull. And, because the IGENITY profile is comprehensive,
I can market the heifers differently that won't work as replacements. We can look
at these heifers and tell that they aren't going to make good cows, but they can
make us some money in the feedyard."
Cockrell says the investment in profiling his heifer crop is one he can't afford
to skip.
"If I can select females that will result in even a 5 percent increase in conception
rates, I am ahead based on the improvement in fertility alone," he explains. "Then,
when you look long term at traits such as feed efficiency and all of the carcass
traits, the investment more than pays for itself over the productive life of the
cow."
Though Cockrell is optimistic about what IGENITY can do for him on the female side,
he is most impressed about how it can help him manage his herd sires.
"This technology really excites me when I see what it can do for me in terms of
selecting and managing my bull battery," he says. "I know that some of our bulls
perform better than others, but we run multiple sires per pasture, so I have now
way of knowing which ones are which after they are turned out. With IGENITY, I can
identify the superior sires in my battery, which will help me in two ways. First,
I can go back to the breeders of the better bulls and select more like them. And
second, I can use the IGENITY profiles on the bulls and put them alongside the profiles
on my females and make some better breeding decisions."
In addition to the inside information from the IGENITY profile, Cockrell has been
impressed with the entire system available from IGENITY.
"At first, I was apprehensive about collecting the DNA samples and the additional
work it would add to our processing routines. However, the tissue collection device
was very easy to use, and didn't slow us down at all," he says. "I also appreciate
that the IGENITY software is cowboy simple and gives me a way to manage and apply
all of this information with a program that I can understand."
Cockrell says the IGENITY profile is a tool that helps him get ahead of the times
and evaluate his cattle in a way that will help the ranch stay profitable.
"We know that there will soon be either discounts or premiums for tender cattle
and we have to be prepared to provide cattle to meet that demand," he says. "We
also know that with all of the recent increases in inputs, we can't afford not to
eliminate the bottom end of our herd, and IGENITY gives us a way to do that."
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