For nearly three decades, Dr David Johnston from the University of New England’s Animal Genetics and Breeding Unit has been at the forefront of a quiet revolution in Australian beef cattle production.
Australian research into feed efficiency is providing primary producers with the tools they need to future-proof their operations in an era of rising input costs and increasing environmental challenges. It asks the essential question: how much feed do individual animals consume relative to their performance?
“We’ve had the ability to measure the performance, the carcass attributes, but we haven’t been able to say, well, was that animal eating more or less?” Dr Johnston explains. “The cost of feed is such a high input cost to any production system.”
In response to this pressing question, the evolution from early GrowSafe models to today’s sophisticated Vytelle SENSE™ system has been transformative for research.
Vytelle SENSE is a proprietary individual animal data capture system that records feed intake and in-pen weight gain measurements through low-contact devices that collect performance data without stressing the cattle. This information is integrated with other data sets, enabling researchers and producers to identify elite-performing animals holding economically and environmentally important traits.
“The ability to select for these traits requires the ability to record the trait,” Dr Johnston notes. “That’s what we get through the Vytelle system: the ability to measure individual feed intake on key animals that allows us to get the genetic predictions that we can then use to improve these animals for their feed efficiency.”
The commercial implications of feed efficiency data are substantial. By incorporating this information into genetic evaluations, Dr Johnston’s research empowers producers to make informed purchasing decisions when selecting bulls.
“It allows them to make a decision whether they’re buying bulls whose progeny are going to eat less or be more efficient than other bulls,” David explains. This capability is particularly valuable for producers whose animals may end up in feedlots, where feed costs represent a major proportion of production expenses.
Beyond economics, this research aligns with Vytelle’s goals around sustainability.
“[Producers] might have environmental credentials that they want to align with societal goals around sustainability, global warming, and lower methane emissions,” Dr Johnston observes. “Providing those tools to breeders gives them the capacity to make those decisions and change their breeding program, ultimately changing the cattle that they produce.”
Dr Johnston’s current research continues to push boundaries, focusing on enabling genomic selection that will drive increased rates of genetic improvement, particularly in tropically adapted breeds. This work is essential for the diversity of Australia’s beef industry, which spans vastly different climatic zones and production systems.
Dr Johnston’s research provides producers with something invaluable: choice backed by science. Whether managing tough country, pursuing environmental credentials, or simply seeking to maximise efficiency, producers can now make breeding decisions with unprecedented precision.
Dr Johnston’s work in feed efficiency research and the Vytelle SENSE technology represent the future of Australian beef production: one where genetic improvement, economic viability, and environmental responsibility converge to create more resilient and profitable operations for generations to come.