Carcass traits have become an area of much interest. By determining animals that have the needed DNA for quality traits, Youngs stressed producers also must look at physical traits and composition. Cloning or nuclear transfer is another reproductive area being studied. The most popular cloning project was the 1997 birth of a ewe, Dolly. This sheep was the world's first nuclear transfer of an offspring produced by using a donor cell from an adult animal.
Youngs warns the success rate of cloning is low.
It took 277 attempts to create Dolly. Youngs said most of these costly techniques will be controlled by corporations. By taking advantage of these technologies, Youngs said the cattle industry has the ability to recreate a prominent A.I. bull, create a brucellosis-resistant animal, help propagate endangered species, and multiply transgenic females.