321: We’re Selecting the Wrong Traits — And It’s Hurting Cow Efficiency with Travis Mulliniks

The beef industry has made major strides in performance but are we sacrificing cow efficiency in the process? Lauren is joined by Travis Mulliniks, beef professor at Oregon State University, to break down how decades of selecting for growth, milk production, and output traits are impacting the cow calf sector.

From larger cows to higher milk production, Travis explains why more isn’t always better and how these changes can increase costs, reduce reproductive performance, and hurt overall system efficiency. They also discuss practical ways to improve efficiency, including better alignment between genetics and environment, grazing management, and simple tools like implants that are often underutilized. With strong markets today, this episode highlights why now is the time to make long-term changes that will matter over the next decade.

Links:

Oregon State - https://anrs.oregonstate.edu/users/travis-mulliniks

Research: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/John-Mulliniks

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Key Takeaways:

• Increased milk production doesn’t always improve performance
• Larger cows come with higher input costs
• Efficiency gains post-weaning don’t always benefit cow-calf operations
• Reproductive performance can decline with higher milk cows
• Grazing and nutrition management are critical to efficiency
• Genetic selection should match the environment
• Implants are a highly underutilized tool
• Now is the time to make long-term herd changes

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction + Travis Mulliniks

02:30 Selecting for milk, size, and output traits

07:00 Weaning weight and efficiency

11:30 Bigger cows, higher inputs, and reproduction issues

15:30 Identifying inefficiencies

19:30 Grazing, nutrition, and managing within your environment

22:30 The most underused tool: Implants

24:30 What needs to change for the next 10–15 years

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