Factoring methane into genetic selection will be a balance: Knowla Livestock

Some of those productivity traits have just as much value to environmental sustainability, they point out.

However, there's a good chance methane reduction will garner far more societal interest.

James Laurie, from well-known NSW breeding operation Knowla Livestock, has been outspoken in Angus circles warning about ensuring the chase for lower methane genetics does not lead to trading off the versatility and production traits that have made Angus genetics so widely sought.

With his brother Ted and their families, Mr Laurie runs 500 Angus-based breeders to produce feedlot steers for with the European Union grainfed market or the midfed Japanese feedlot trade. Knowla also grass fattens steers for the heavy EU export market and the domestic market through major supermarkets.

"Whilst there is no doubt we will be able to select for reduced emissions in the future, we should not disregard the effect that genetic gain has played, and can continue to play, in reducing emissions," Mr Laurie said.

"Twenty years ago we were selling steers to the feedlot at 20 months of age and they were being fed for 180 to 200 days. Our steers are now going off at 14 to 15 months of age at heavier weights, fed for only 150 days, and marbling at least one and a half scores higher.

"Our beef is now getting to the consumer by the time cattle used to be just entering the feedlot.

"That mere fact in itself reduces the emissions markedly, with the higher marble scores allowing entry into higher value international markets.

"Selection allows for significant improvement over time but while the aim is to take everything with you, there are always trade-offs.

"What we have to be careful of now is that the forced focus on emissions coming down the pipeline doesn't see us neglect what has made Angus so widely accepted.

"If we chase emissions, don't forget the cattle still have to perform."

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As tools like genomics increasingly add accuracy to Estimated Breeding Values, and the range of EBVs becomes broader, the balancing act will become even more precarious, Mr Laurie said.

More than 500,000 genotypes are now passing through the Breedplan evaluations each month, according to its managers, the Agricultural Business Research Institute.

This is facilitating greater accuracy on reported EBVs, especially for young animals, more accurate selection decisions on younger animals and the ability for true genomic relationships to be used in addition to the pedigree, ABRI says.

All available information, including genotypes, are used to predict the genetic merit of animals more accurately - this is called Single-Step Breedplan.

ABRI's Dr Brad Crook said single-step retained as much of the available SNP information (between 50,000 and 100,000 SNPs per animal) and used all that information in the analysis.

Single-step evaluations are validated scientifically, demonstrating improved accuracy of prediction compared to pedigree-based evaluations.

At the moment, it is avaialable for Angus, Hereford, Wagyu, Brahman and Santa Gertrudis.

It is in development for Brangus, Speckle Park, tropical composites, Limousin and Simmental.

"The science underpinning breedplan is always at the cutting edge of genetic evaluation services world-wide and it will soon have over 600,000 genotypes passing through monthly," Dr Crook said.

The fourth generation to run beef cattle on the headwaters of the Barrington River at Moppy, west of Gloucester, those at Knowla Livestock today live by the philosophy that the beef consumer is king.

The 2300 hectare operation is surrounded by the Barrington Tops National Park, and a further 400 hectares of leased land is managed.

It's undulating to steep country, ideal for cow-calf production, Mr Laurie said.

"We're different to most on the coast in that we've spent a lot on pastures," he said.

"Because of that, we aim our commercial steers at feedlots and we retain commercial ownership so we know the value of the growth.

"One of the issues going forward is longevity of cows in steep country. As our cattle grow bigger faster, and have a lot of performance in them, we have to ensure a focus on structure too.

"The challenge is to maintain structure and keep shifting performance up."

The operation has had a good autumn break but could do with a bit of rain now, Mr Laurie said.

It was traditionally a Devon/Shorthorn crossbred operation, with the Knowla Angus stud established in 1995 on foundation females from Forres, Dulverton and DSK.

Today, it has 250 registered and performance recorded Angus cows joined annually, with the elite ones placed into an embryo transfer program to increase purebred progeny.

Knowla supplies branded products, and adheres to a marble score of 4, which Mr Laurie said seemed to be the benchmark for brand programs.

"We never take the focus off IMF as we chase other traits," he said.

"Value based marketing is now a reality. JBS, for example, in their grassfed program pays a 40 cent premium for a carcase at marble score 4.

"They are finding that product easy to sell and are therefore willing to pay for higher IMF in a grass situation.

"The consumer is always king and Australia has positioned itself as a provider of a high quality product.

"If an Angus can be fed for less days and get into a premium market because of its marbling, we can relate that to both reduced emissions and increased productivity."