Amount Requested: $1,000,000
The funds would provide funds for a project that develops, tests, and provides to beef producers genetic evaluation techniques to breed beef cattle for desirable commercial traits.  The U.S. beef industry consists of more than 1 million businesses, farms, and ranches in all 50 states.  The value of livestock production is over $100 billion.  Demand for beef has increased 20 percent since 1998.  The United States accounts for less than 10 percent of the world’s cattle inventory, but produces nearly 25 percent of the world’s beef supply with significant exports of beef and veal.The program was authorized in the 2008 Farm Bill to 1) Establish and coordinate priorities for genetic evaluation of U.S. beef cattle; 2) Consolidate research efforts to reduce duplication of effort; 3) Streamline the process between the development and adoption of new genetic evaluation methodologies by the industry; 4) Identify new traits and technologies for inclusion in genetic programs in order to reduce the costs of beef production and provide consumers with a high value, healthy, affordable protein source; and 5) Create decision-making tools that incorporate the increasing number of traits being evaluated and the increasing amount of information from DNA biotechnology into genetic improvement programs.