Through genomic selection, producers across sectors can now mitigate costly bovine respiratory disease (BRD) risk and its significant economic impact.
“Over 55% of calf mortality is due to pneumonia or bovine respiratory disease. While there is reduced risk in breeding-age cattle, we’re still looking at over 12% of mortality caused by respiratory disease,” says Kirk Ramsey, DVM, MS, professional services veterinarian at Neogen. “BRD is the No. 1 cause of morbidity and mortality in feedlot cattle, amounting from $800 million to $1 billion annually.”
Industry impacts include:
- Treatment costs
- Death loss
- Reduced average daily gain (ADG)
- Poor feed efficiency
- Carcass quality loss
- Subclinical BRD (a hidden loss driver)
Dr. Ramsey noted that the industry has spent more than 30 years working to reduce BRD—improving vaccine protocols, emphasizing prevention and investing enormous effort into management. Yet, BRD continues to be one of the most persistent and expensive challenges in beef cattle.
Now, producers can select for BRD-resistant cattle.
Reducing Risk Using BRD Scores
Simple scoring system
The BRD trait is included with Igenity Beef results. The BRD score is intentionally simple: it’s reported on a 1 to 10 scale and predicts genetic susceptibility to BRD. A higher score equals lower risk, while a lower score equals higher risk.
What does the variation in scores mean for cattle operations?
Significant variation in cattle
The Genetic Effect table translates scores into expected differences in BRD resistance potential between groups of animals.
“Within the Genetic Effect Table, you can see that animals with a BRD score of 10 are expected to have a 46.35% greater probability of genetic resistance to BRD compared to animals with a score of 1. This allows producers to make more informed selection decisions using an intuitive scoring system,” shares Victor Pedrosa, PhD, Director of Technical Genomics and Innovation at Neogen.
When referencing the BRD score, producers can make confident selection and management decisions that move herds forward, as shown below.
Insight, not replacement
At its core, the Igenity Beef BRD score predicts an animal’s genetic susceptibility to BRD, reflecting the genetic component of risk—not a diagnosis of BRD. Vaccination programs, nutrition and overall management and health protocols remain critical in successful BRD outcomes. Animals with more favorable scores are expected, on average, to be more resilient in environments where BRD is a challenge. The BRD score provides producers with another layer of information to make better, more informed decisions.
Industry progression
BRD has an estimated heritability of 18%, meaning genetics play a meaningful role in disease susceptibility. With consistent selection over time, producers can make measurable progress toward building more resilient cattle. The BRD score allows producers to identify genetic differences in BRD susceptibility early and use that information to improve selection, sorting and overall herd health strategy. The BRD score was developed using large-scale commercial feedlot data — linking genomic profiles from more than 20,000 crossbred cattle directly to observed BRD treatment and mortality outcomes.
3 Steps: Getting Started With Genomics
A recent survey demonstrated that increased ROI, reduced inputs, and producing more valuable offspring are key reasons progressive producers leverage genomic testing. The main reason for not yet implementing genomic testing was simply not knowing where to start.1 Here are three steps toward building a genomics program:
1. Outline goals
The first step in genetic improvement is understanding your needs and deciding what you want your cattle to do better. Consider focusing the program around your specific operation to either (a) identify opportunities to boost profits or (b) identify opportunities to reduce losses.
2. Get a baseline
Consider testing a group of heifers and a group of three-year-old cows to see if the next generation is going in the right direction. “This approach is essentially genetics 101 to ensure you’re making the right selection decisions. Your youngest animals should have the best genetic merit, right? So maybe that’s how you determine your goals for your operation—you take a snapshot,” shared Kelsey Luebbe, PhD, Technical Services Genomics Livestock with Neogen.
3. Sample collection
To get started with genomic testing on an operation, a DNA sample is needed, and this can be achieved by a hair, blood, semen, or tissue sample. Industry professionals urge producers to select the sample collection method that works best for them and their crew. Tissue samples are the most effective method of taking a genomic sample.
Genomics offers a practical and impactful way to make long-term progress. Confidently select replacements and breed around BRD risk with Igenity Beef.
1Farm Journal Survey Results
