News

MU: National Center on beef reproduction and genomics

The University of Missouri has received a $300,000 USDA grant to set up a National Center for Applied Reproduction and Genomics in beef cattle.

Jared Decker, an M-U Extension beef geneticist, tells Brownfield Ag News there is a lack of training across the country, “One of the things that we noticed as we were going out doing trainings for veterinary groups or trainings in other states is that there was really lacking a national presence to train various people about the use of these technologies to produce better beef.”

Decker tells Brownfield success achieved by Missouri cattle producers (in the Show Me Select heifer program, for example) can be achieved by all beef producers with a combination of reproductive and genomic tools, “We’ve seen this happen time and time again from producers here in Missouri and so, really, what we’re trying to do in the center is to take that success that we’ve had here in Missouri through various programs and spread it across the United States.”

The center, in conjunction with the M-U College of Veterinary Medicine in Columbia, Missouri, will provide education to veterinarians, vet students and cattle producers. Decker says a big component will be research to show cattle producers their return on investment.

AUDIO: Interview with Jared Decker~