The National Junior Hereford Association (NJHA) team recently initiated a webinar series to help educate NJHA Fed Steer Shootout participants about the cattle feeding industry.

“The webinars are off to a great start,” said Amy Cowan, American Hereford Association (AHA) director of youth activities and foundation. “Last week we heard form Craig and Becky Hays from UltraInsights, Inc., who ultrasounded the steers in February and May.

Craig and Becky began by covering the reasons behind using ultrasound in the feed yard. They explained that ultrasound measurements are used to determine when to harvest an animal, to avoid discounts and capture premiums.

“We want cattle producers to be profitable,” Becky Hays said. “The real reason to incorporate ultrasounding is for the consumers who are ultimately making the buying decision.”

The duo showed the participants actual ultrasound images of some of the cattle in the program. They then compared ultrasound images from the February scan to the ultrasound they completed in early May.

“Some ribeye’s had almost doubled in size,” Cowan said. “It was really interesting to see how much the animals had grown and changed since the last time they were ultrasounded in February.”

This week, Shane Bedwell, AHA director of breed improvement, discussed the role genetics play in the feed yard. He talked about how important data is and how data collected in the feed yard relates back to the participants own herds.

“Shane took a closer look at genetics, how EPDs are calculated and what the data we are collecting means,” Cowan said. “I think it will help the participants build the connection between genetics and feed yard performance.”

Sponsors for the 2017 NJHA Fed Steer Shootout include: Gregory Feedlots, Inc., Tabor, Iowa, UltraInsights Processing Lab, Inc., Maryville, Mo., Allflex USA, Zoetis Animal Health and Geneseek, Lincoln, Neb.

Stay tuned for more information on the progress of the NJHA Fed Steer Shootout webinar series.