It is a busy time for the beef project team at Livestock Gentec with all our projects in full swing. However, it is always important to participate in knowledge transfer activities and connect with producers, funders, and other researchers. Adoption of genomic tools by beef producers is critical to our in mission to improve the profit and sustainability of the industry. Adoption of a new technology starts with learning about it and its potential benefits. It is also valuable to learn about funding opportunities to incentivize their adoption. Here, we will highlight three events the Livestock Gentec Beef team participated in recently to help share our knowledge on genomic tools.
On April 29 2026, Jordan Roberts (Livestock Gentec Project Manager) presented in the Alberta 4-H DNA webinar. Students who participated in the provincial steer competition for 4H clubs collected hair samples and submitted them to Livestock Gentec for genomic analysis. The students received customized reports for their animals showing genomic breed composition, hybrid vigour scores, Feeder Profit IndexTM values and the gEPDs contributing to this economically weighted multi-trait selection index. There is a lot of information in these reports, so our goal with this webinar was to help to provide some interpretation and background for their genomic values reports. It was also a fun exercise to look at genomic values and compare to actual carcass traits. This was also a good way to highlight how important management and environment are critical to the expression of phenotypes. As a highly technical topic it is important to break the information down into more understandable key points. We know these students are smart and we were happy to get some very insightful questions that reflected their understanding. It was also great to hear from some parents who listened in reach out to us about testing their animals.
Dr. Everestus Akanno (Research Associate), Dr. Chinyere Ekine-Dzivenu (Research Associate) and Jordan Roberts went to Lac La Biche June 4, 2026, to give a workshop hosted by the Lac La Biche County on genomic tools for beef production. We appreciate producers taking the time out of their busy schedule to participate. In this two-hour workshop, we were able to get into the science of genomics, our ongoing research projects and opportunities for producers to get involved through the project: “Using genomics to improve the profitability and sustainability of Alberta’s beef industry” funded by SCAP and administered by RDAR. In our presentation, we tested everyone’s knowledge by showing a picture of a beef cow and asking them to guess her breed composition. Then we showed the genomic breed composition. While there were some good guesses, this was a good reminder looks can be deceiving! Producers know their herds very well, but guessing at breed composition is not an easy task. Extensive crossbreeding and the nature of recombination make the task challenging even with a good intuition and knowledge of your herd. Genomic breed composition provides an accurate breed composition for individual animals. Applying genomic breed composition can support better breeding and retention decisions. We enjoyed the follow-up conversations getting invaluable perspectives from producers.
Most recently, on June 17 2026, Dr. Everestus Akanno, Dr. Chinyere Ekine-Dzivenu, Jordan Roberts and Morgan Rioche (MSc student) went to Cremona to participate in the RDAR research roundup event. This annual event hosted very informative presentations and booths. In the morning, The Honourable MLA Tara Sawyer Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation, spoke about advocating for agriculture and agriculture research in her role. She also spoke to how RDAR’s adoption first approach should serve as a model for research Canada-wide. RDAR CEO Dr. Mark Redmond gave an address on RDAR’s producer first approach to funding projects and highlighted some impactful projects. In the afternoon, we were at the University of Alberta booth with our ALES colleagues (Dr. Rene Dery, Dr. Gliese Medeiros da Silva and Dr. Erick da Silva Santos), sharing information on our research projects. This event was also a great networking opportunity. We connected with many groups in the research world including team members from Olds College, Genome Alberta, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, and Alberta Milk among others.
We want to thank our hosts and the attendees for engaging in these activities. It is always fulfilling to talk with producers and hear their comments. We believe in the value of applying genomic technologies and we hope these events help spread that message and convince producers. If you would like Livestock Gentec to speak at an event or run a workshop for your producer group please reach out. The best way to reach us is by email: lsgentec@ualberta.ca