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Grandin pleased to see leg conformation issues in cattle being addressed

Noted livestock consultant Temple Grandin says she’s glad the cattle industry is starting to address foot and leg conformation issues.

Grandin says she’s been warning the cattle industry about those issues for several years.

“Back in the late 80’s the pig industry got into a lot of issues with just selecting for production traits and the legs got really bad conformation. And some of those problems started happening in cattle when you just breed for meat,” Grandin says.

“The problem is, if you over-select for meat, then you’re going to lose something else,” she says. “What you have to start looking at is that there’s always trade-offs—how do you optimize the genetic selection, not maximize it.”

Grandin is pleased by recent action taken by the American Angus Association.

“Fortunately, the Angus Association realized this and now has EPD’s for leg conformation. I want to commend them for that. That’s going to prevent that problem from getting worse.”

Grandin is well known for her efforts to improve animal handling. She thinks the livestock industry is doing a much better job in that area.

Grandin spoke with Brownfield at the recent National Farmers convention in Des Moines.

AUDIO: Temple Grandin