If the local farming community’s coffee row were surveyed about the beef industry’s major players, the rancher, feedlot operator and packing plants would likely dominate responses.

In Olds, Alberta, not far outside Calgary, Harvie Ranching stands as a testament to the lasting tradition of family farming. For over four decades, members of the Harvie family have dedicated themselves to the production of top-quality cattle.

Fink Beef Genetics owns about 200 head of mother cows. Each of those, presumably, raises about one calf per year. Yet, somehow, in 2023, the Finks managed to sell more than 600 bulls carrying their herd’s genetics to customers across the country.

Not only do these producers gain a higher-value calf that commands a premium from buyers versus beef-on-dairy crossbred calves or full-blood dairy bull calves, but they’re also able to improve conception rates during the hottest months of the year.

Many beef producers use a bull to make sure calves are hitting the ground. However, artificial insemination is a viable option for farmers and ranchers.

Johne’s disease is often thought of as a dairy problem. In fact, beef producers also need to be vigilant to prevent the spread of this destructive, chronic disease.

High weaning weights, a uniform calf crop and a high calf crop percentage are every cow-calf producer’s goal to obtain the highest profit margin. Genetics combined with management is integral to achieving these goals.

Assisted reproductive techniques have revolutionized the field of animal breeding, as these techniques allow practitioners and scientists the ability to perpetuate the genetics of superior animals; cryopreserve genetic materials such as embryos, oocytes and sperm; allow shipping and transport of genetic material globally; enable selection and control of the sex ratio; and facilitate cloning and stem cell research.

The usual suspects (expected progeny differences [EPDs], genomic testing, heterosis) were covered, as were some issues (beef-on-dairy, methane emissions, cardiac health) that may have been a bit more of a surprise to the uninitiated at an event ostensibly dedicated to beef cattle genetics.

Breeding Simmental and SimAngus cattle is the passion for Stephens Beef Cattle, a family-owned operation located in Ewing, Kentucky. The business was started in 1997 by Jeff and Angie Stephens, and their two children and son-in-law now partake in daily operations.