Neogen testing supercharges steer turn-off at Knowla Angus

The speed of genetic improvement in the Laurie family’s Knowla Angus herd has been supercharged in a way that could only be dreamed of before genomic testing. About 10 years ago the family’s steer drop was being turned off at 450 kilograms and 20 months of age for feedlots to finish for either the EU or Japanese trade – now the same weights are being reached in just 14 months.

The transformation is due to the use of genomic profiling for parentage and production traits across both the Knowla stud and commercial herds to inform bull selection and joining decisions. “That’s a great step up in profitability for our business and I think for the industry as a whole,” James Laurie said.

Knowla Livestock is a family operation, with the company owned by James and Annie Laurie, Ted and Alison Laurie, and Marie Laurie (whose late husband Cliff passed away in 1992). The next generation is also actively involved through Ted and Alison’s children Jack and Georgie.

Together they run the 2700-hectare stud and commercial operation in the picturesque Barrington Tops area of New South Wales.

The family were among the early adopters of genomic testing, taking their first samples about nine years ago.

The results were immediate such that within three years all 250 stud cows plus progeny were genomically tested, with herd-wide testing continuing ever since. The next step is to profile the 500 head commercial herd through Angus SteerSELECT and Angus HeiferSELECT.

I’m sure that we’re now making better management decisions than we were 10 years ago,” James said. “Basically, you had to wait for carcase data to come in on your steers before you knew just where you sat, but now you’re getting those signals pretty strongly when you get your first drop of calves on the ground.”

While the carcase and growth traits are critical to the Knowla steer trade, this breeding objective is balanced against traits for ease of calving and reproductive performance.

“The genomics has been fantastic for the hard to measure traits,” Ted Laurie said. “We’ve been collecting birth weights and 600-day weights and so on for a long time, so all those traits have had a fairly high degree of accuracy.

“But the hard to measure traits like intramuscular fat (IMF), for example, it’s been fantastic to give that a stronger accuracy through DNA testing, and in conjunction with the Angus Sire Benchmarking Program, we’ve taken a massive leap forward.”

The gains to the commercial drop have also been reflected in demand for stock at their annual production sale each July where they offer 85 stud bulls, a small selection of stud heifers, and up to 100 ready to join EU-accredited Angus crossbred commercial females.

“We wouldn’t buy a bull now that hasn’t been genomic tested because it increases the accuracy and predictability of our Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) and so we don’t expect our clients to buy bulls that are not genomically tested,” James said.

“Our rate of genetic gain is increasing, and I don’t think we can attribute that to anything else apart from genomics.

“It’s increasing the accuracy of our breeding decisions and essentially increasing that accuracy a lot sooner in the breeding cycle. We’re not waiting on the carcass data for three-and-a-half to four years from a mating to an outcome – we can bring that into the 12-month sphere.”

The Lauries are now exploring the use of Neogen’s DNA tests for commercial cattle, Angus SteerSELECT and Angus HeiferSELECT.

“We’re in the process of getting about 100 steers tested now so that we can set a benchmark for our commercial herd, so we know which cows are producing those better end steers before they go to the feedlot,” James said.

“Why feed an animal for 150 days and try to get him into a marbling market if the genomics tells you that an animal hasn’t got the potential to do it? Why incur that extra cost to feed on when he could go to Woollies after 70 to 90 days, rather than try to fit into a market that he’s not capable of achieving?”

The Lauries chose Neogen over competitor products because of Neogen’s local laboratories and long-standing commitment to the Australian industry, as well as the faster turnaround times for results.

The Lauries will be participating in the Neogen Angus World Forum in May, with Knowla cattle to be on display at the live animal events in Tamworth, and steers have been entered into the Angus Shootout competition.

“And then the big show in Brisbane where there’s some exceptional speakers on the program – it’s a must-go event for progressive breeders.”