Evaluating a potential proxy test for Feed Conversion Efficiency in beef cattle.

The aim of this project is to explore options for implementing a new approach to assess feed conversion efficiency (FCE) in UK beef cattle. The longer-term aim is to use the new approach to breed for cattle with high FCE. It is important to maximize FCE because feed is the largest production cost in beef production and breeding for high FCE is a good long-term strategy that has worked well in the pig and poultry industries. The traditional approach to breed for FCE has been to measure feed intake and weight gain over long periods of time, but this is expensive for beef cattle and so has only been implemented for a few breeds in other countries. The project is based on testing for a novel biomarker and we will explore the practicalities of implementing this method alongside other on-farm testing of beef cattle and use the results to define options for future sampling and testing protocols.