01/21/05 Cow`s tail

Cow's Tail Just how many uses are there for a cow's tail? I'm Jeff Keane and I'll tell you about some old ones and a new one in one minute. Now most of you know Mother Nature gave cows a tail to swat and mash flies. Then there was the old use of whacking a cow milker's head when cows used to be milked by hand. Well, I just read about a brand new use for a cow's tail and believe it or not, it can determine meat marbling and tenderness of tested cattle. A cow's tail hairs can be tested by Bovigen Solutions, a global genetic technology company based in Louisiana that has DNA testing technology for cattle validated by the National Cattle Beef Evaluation Consortium. The GeneStar tests, with costs starting at $95 per animal were used on more than 7,000 head of cattle through October of 2004. GeneStar Marbling evaluates the presence of a gene for Thyroglobulin that is implicated in placing fat between muscle fibers, while GeneStar Tenderness looks for two gene markers that are involved in the tenderization process. Tests on future breeding animals can be concluded about ten days after a lab receives a test packet of at least 20 tail hairs with visible follicles. Conventional testing of a bull's ability to produce offspring with marbling and tenderness traditionally takes from three to four years by evaluating the carcasses of his offspring. The technology of Bovigen Solutions could save big feed bills for bulls with undesirable traits or traits that fail to meet a certain standard. I'm Jeff Keane. Capital Press 12/31/04