Bringing more technology to ranch country

Dec 30, 2024

When cow-calf producers head out to buy a young bull at auction — an animal crucial to the herd’s success for years to come — they really don’t know what they’re getting.

Knowing the bull’s genomic information is critically important because, on average, 75 per cent of a calf crop’s genetics come from bulls used in the last two generations, 50 per cent from the current sire, and 25 per cent from the maternal grandsire.

Dr. Bart Lardner (PhD) thinks it’s time to apply better technology so producers can make informed decisions about the future of their herds.

“For years, they’ve made that decision based on visual assessment,” said Lardner, the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture Strategic Research Program Chair in Cow-Calf and Forage Systems, in the College of Agriculture and Bioresources at the University of Saskatchewan (USask).

“Producers go in the back and visually assess the bulls on offer, kick the tires, check out feet and legs, girth, all kinds of things they look at.”

But that hardly guarantees a reproductively sound young bull once relocated to the farm or ranch.

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Video: Why Invest in Canada’s Seed Future? | On The Brink: Episode 3

Darcy Unger just invested millions to build a brand-new seed plant on his farm in Stonewall, Manitoba so when it’s time for his sons to take over, they have the tools they need to succeed.

Right now, 95% of the genetics they’ll be growing come from Canadian plant breeders.

That number matters.

When fusarium hit Western Canada in the late 90s, it was Canadian breeders who responded, because they understood Canadian conditions. That ability to react quickly to what’s happening on Canadian farms is exactly what’s at risk when breeding programs lose funding.

For farmers like Darcy, who have made generational investments based on the assumption that better genetics will keep coming, the stakes are direct and personal.

We’re on the brink of decisions that will shape our agricultural future for not only our generation, but also the ones to come.

What direction will we choose?

On The Brink is a year-long video series traveling across Canada to meet the researchers, breeders, farmers, seed companies, and policymakers shaping the future of Canadian plant breeding. Each week, a new story. Each story, a piece of the bigger picture.

Episode 3 is above. Follow Seed World Canada to catch every episode, and tell us: Do you think the next generation will have the tools they need to success when they takeover? How is the future going to look?