Improving Economics on Alberta Ranches
CANADA - Still with livestock, Alberta Agriculture is midway through a sire verification programme that uses a DNA verification system from IdentiGen Canada Ltd. to improve the economics of Alberta ranches.
28 March 2012
1 minute read
In the first phase, Jim Hansen, livestock business development specialist with Alberta Agriculture and project lead, partnered with some select Alberta ranchers to demonstrate the practical use of the biometric identifier DNA.
From participating ranches, a DNA sample was collected from bulls and calves to identify parentage, and to determine which individual bulls were proven breeders and which bulls sired the healthiest, most viable calves.
In the second phase, production data is being collected and evaluated.
This data makes it possible to identify the individual bulls that sired the highest-quality calves in terms of growth performance, grade, yield and other indicators of meat quality. Mr Hansen says the goal is to help Alberta ranchers become more profitable, adding toward that end, DNA is a rancher’s best friend, because it can help them greatly improve their profits by helping them determine which sires are proven producers.
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