Disease Resistant Cattle
Farmers raise crops that are resistant to certain diseases, in fact even gardeners will select plants that have been proven to be hardy against bugs and blights so why not disease resistant cattle? I’m Susan Allen Open Range will return after the break. Like Bill Gates has espoused in seminar after seminar , 21st century agriculture holds incredible promise to feed the masses. Using precision farming like GPS, bio genetics and genomic-enhanced selection, plants and animals can thrive in conditions past generations found impossible. This agricultural renaissance is one reason ag unlike other economic sectors is booming. At this year’s Beef Improvement Federation Conference raising cattle for specific disease resistance traits was a hot topic especially BRD. Bovine respiratory disease accounts for a significant portion of cattle/calf losses in the beef industry. Some estimates say 29 percent of all US cattle deaths, that equates to a loss of more than a million animals and nearly $700 million dollars each year due to BRD. Research is currently being done at UC Davis to find the genetic component to BRD resistance that will provide ranchers with genetic marker, basically the ability to breed out this deadly disease into their herds. 21st century agriculture isn’t it great!
