Imagine scanning 15,000 head a year, that's what it takes to boost beef
Scanning 15,000 head of cattle a year is no mean feat.
But brushing up on your skills is not just a matter of getting a piece of paper.
Scanners like Liam Cardile, Holbrook have been put through their paces in a rigorous program this week at the Agricultural Business Research Institute (ABRI), which runs a BreedPlan scanner accreditation course in Armidale, NSW.
Ultrasound scanning of live cattle has allowed Australian livestock producers to examine carcase attributes and their potential for heritability critically.
Mr Cardile, a 20-year-experienced scanner who was updating his industry accreditation, says he scans an average of about 15,000 cattle yearly, and the benefits to the beef industry are substantial.
"I've been able to gather a lot of data over the years, which has been going into the system and is interpreted as estimated breeding values (EBVs)," he said.
BreedPlan collates data collected by scanners like Mr Cardile and is used by beef producers worldwide. In his experience, he said that seedstock producers can make more informed selections and identify animals with the best genetics.
The course included 15 scanners from around Australia, including NSW, Queensland, Victoria, and South Australia. They had a mix of expertise, from the lowest level seeking accreditation to 15 years of experience.
Catriona Millen, the extension and engagement team leader, ABRI, said ultrasound scanning allows beef producers to understand the carcase attributes of live cattle.
For the accreditation course, each scanner examined 20 head of cattle crush-side. The cattle are then run back through (in a different order) to be re-scanned. Repeatability is a key component of the scanning accreditation process.
Additionally, each scanner's results will be compared to those of a team of benchmarking scanners to ensure that each scanner produces accurate results across animals.
Dr Matt Wolcott of the Animal Genetics and Breeding Unit (AGBU) said ultrasound scanning is one of the leading methods for identifying intramuscular fat content in live animals.
"As for any trait in BreedPlan maximising the precision of the performance records collected is critical to the accuracy of the genetic evaluation and resulting EBVs.
"Significant marbling data is driven by scanning, and the best indicators of genetic performance are selection index traits," Dr Wolcott said.
He says breed indexes include Angus Australia's Heavy Grain Index ($GN) and Heavy Grain Low Feed Cost Index ($GN-L), which estimate the genetic differences between animals in net profitability per cow joined in a commercial self-replacing herd targeting pasture-grown steers with a 250-day feedlot finishing period for the grain-fed high-quality, highly marbled markets.
According to Dr Matt McDonagh, Wagyu Australia's chief executive officer, emerging techniques in the Wagyu breed have overtaken older forms of ultrasound scanning.
He said that current scanning devices can easily read eye muscle area (EMA) and subcutaneous fat measurements, but they are limited to intramuscular fat (IM) measurements as the "process cuts off at eight percent."
He added that scanners like the US-developed MEQ Live camera can better predict carcase values in live cattle, even when induction into feedyards.
This year, BreedPlan will celebrate 40 years since the first genetic evaluation was published in 1985.
