That rules out other factors and makes genetics the most obvious reason for the differences in tenderness among the carcasses, Johnson said. The team is finding that carcasses with lung lesions are tougher than those with no lesions. All the information collected in the CVD program is compiled and returned to the producers, enabling them to make wiser management decisions. Producers can use this information as an incentive to buyers representing feedlots. Johnson is not advocating retained ownership.
Producers can do what they want with the information when they sell their calves.
R ich and Ed Blair run Blair Brothers Ranch north of Sturgis. They are past CVD participants who have put the information from the program to work in their operation. The CVD project re-enforced our idea of selecting bulls with carcass data in mind. Besides using the data to make genetic improvement, Blair said the information also serves as a tool to increase profitability. If you could cull the bottom steers and produce more of the valuable ones, it was obvious that you would be well compensated.