NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665
August 26, 1999
Ultrasound, a valuable diagnostic tool in human medicine and a fixture in hospitals, is now being put to use in beef barns and feedlots as well.
"Ultrasound is really coming into its own as an accessible and useful tool for beef producers," says Karl Hoppe, a North Dakota State University Extension Service livestock specialist. "A number of uses have been developed that can improve management and boost profitability."
Ultrasound sends sound waves through tissue. The way those waves are reflected can be translated into pictures.
In human medicine ultrasound's most familiar use is to detect and observe a developing fetus. That was one of the early applications for beef producers too, says Hoppe. Ultrasound can detect pregnancy in beef cows a month sooner than other methods. That gives producers valuable time to make culling and rebreeding decisions. Later in the pregnancy, ultrasound can be used to determine the sex of the unborn calf. That information is useful in sorting cattle for sale.
More recently, researchers and producers have been using ultrasound to look at the carcass characteristics of cattle while they're still on the hoof. As livestock marketing becomes more customer oriented, size, consistency and quality of meat cuts are becoming increasingly important, Hoppe notes. Some meat processors pay premiums for cattle that produce meat that meets strict specifications for those characteristics.
The challenge for beef producers is to evaluate their herds' genetics and make breeding adjustments. That's a long process when the best way to evaluate the genetics of bulls and cows is to size up the carcasses of their offspring. Ultrasound gives producers a shortcut. They can evaluate backfat, loin size, marbling and other characteristics of bulls and heifers themselves, Hoppe says.
"Ultrasound measurements become selection tools for producers who want to make adjustments in the genetic makeup of their herds," Hoppe says. "It allows them to make genetic evaluations of breeding stock without waiting for offspring."
Producers can also use ultrasound as a marketing tool to evaluate live animal meat characteristics. One approach is to evaluate cattle as they approach slaughter weight. "Ultrasound can identify cattle that may be ready for sale now and help you sort out those that would benefit from additional feeding."
Another approach is to use ultrasound information to sort and sell cattle according to carcass characteristics. "Within any group of cattle there is variation in carcass characteristics. The key to adding value in marketing is to match those characteristics to the specifications of processors."
In a demonstration project at the NDSU Carrington Research Extension Center, steers that were sorted and marketed individually to processors that paid the best price for specified characteristics earned more than $27 per head more than steers that were marketed as a group based on a single price.
That easily covers the cost of having a technician come to the farm to perform an ultrasound which can range from $2 to $10 per head depending on the location of the cattle, services required, number of cattle and other factors. In most cases, a specially-trained ultrasound technician or veterinarian comes to the farm to perform the ultrasound examination.
For more information on ultrasound or the NDSU demonstration project, contact Hoppe at (701) 652-2951.
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Source: Karl Hoppe (701) 652-2951
Editor: Tom Jirik (701) 231-9629