Researchers needed accurate feed efficiency data for their herd — plus technology that would help them leverage that data to make more genetic progress. How Vytelle helped: Vytelle SENSE™ helped NC State staff identify the most feed efficient animals. Then, Vytelle ADVANCE™ helped them replicate those genetics faster. |
About Upper Piedmont Research Station (UPRS): The UPRS is the Black Angus seedstock operation for the North Carolina Beef System. The NC Beef System is a collaboration with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and North Carolina State University, and includes six research stations across the state.
Brent Weiss is a Beef Cattle Research Specialist and manages the UPRS herd.
The Problem
Researchers at NC State wanted herd growth and genetic progress. But they also wanted to do so efficiently. They needed the right data — and a proven reproductive system — to do so.
In a big cow-calf state like North Carolina, NC State researchers also know the importance of feed efficiency. As input costs have risen, maximizing genetic progress based on available resources and land is more critical than ever. If they could breed more feed-efficient cattle, NC State could see short-term benefit. But in the long run, it could mean a better herd too.
“If we can get producers in the state to see the value of feed-efficient genetics, it can trickle down through the full production system,” Brent said.
The Solution
NC State took a two-pronged approach with Vytelle. First, researchers started with Vytelle SENSE in 2021 to more confidently identify which cattle were most feed-efficient.
“You can’t look at a group of 40 heifers and say, ‘I think these 20 will be the most efficient.’
Even if you have growth data, they could just be growing well because they’re eating a lot, even if it’s inefficient. It’s hard to see any of that until we got results and data through Vytelle SENSE.”-Brent Weiss, Beef Cattle Research Specialist
After gathering Vytelle SENSE data and identifying feed-efficient genetics in the herd, NC State began using Vytelle ADVANCE to replicate those traits. UPRS has partnered with Windy Hill Farms, a POWERED BY VYTELLE™ Satellite Partner, owned by Will Moss, to perform onsite hormone-free IVF treatments.
The Results
Because of NC State’s partnership with Vytelle, researchers have been able to:
Accelerate breeding progress: NC State researchers leverage data-driven genetic selection, combined with reproductive technology, to accelerate herd improvement.
“Both the resident herd and the whole (North Carolina) system herd is growing,” Brent said. “We are probably a step or two ahead of the national industry in terms of herd rebuilding.”
Save on labor costs and give cattle a hormone-free experience: Vytelle ADVANCE allows researchers to accelerate herd progress, without complicated shot schedules, stressful aspiration days, or high labor needs.
“The other methods are a lot of labor and money and drugs, and is a very big upfront investment before the cow even goes to be aspirated,” Brent said. “So from a labor side, the hormone-free method is a dream. Whenever Vytelle is coming to do the session, you just get the cows up and they’re ready.”
Optimize Vytelle’s value through a 360-degree approach: NC State has seen separate value in both Vytelle SENSE and Vytelle ADVANCE. But integrating the two systems together has accelerated their progress even more. For example:
“Let’s say you have a mom cow who doesn’t produce feed-efficient genetics, but she raises a 600-pound calf every year,” Brent said. “She’s the dream cow from a fertility standpoint, but she doesn’t hit those feed-efficiency metrics. The big value in layering together Vytelle ADVANCE and SENSE is that now you can take those feed-efficiency genetics from another, put that embryo in that cow, and she can raise an amazing calf that can also meet feed efficiency goals.”
-Brent Weiss, Beef Cattle Research Specialist
Put North Carolina in position to meet future challenges: “Ag land is decreasing and demand for beef is increasing,” Brent said. “Put both of those into an equation, and feed efficiency isn’t the only answer. But it will become more and more important in the coming years with the way those trends are going.”
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