ALBANY, Ga. (AP) – A livestock specialist at the University of Georgia has developed a scoring system that allows owners to assess the temperaments of cattle so they can breed calmer calves.

Studies conducted in Australia, Colorado and elsewhere have shown that serene cattle gain weight faster and provide more tender meat than cranky cattle.

Also, calves with poor dispositions can cause costly damage to equipment, fences and harm handlers, said Jerry Baker, a researcher at the university’s Coastal Plain Experiment Station.

Baker’s system uses electric eyes and an electronic clock to measure the time it takes for each animal to travel six feet after they leave a chute – restraining devices that hold animals by the neck while they are weighed or examined by a veterinarian. The slower the exit, the calmer the cattle.

“We’ll have calves that meander on out, maybe in three seconds,” he said. “Other calves are highly excited. They want to get away from the handler and the restraining device. You’re looking at a fraction of a second to cross six feet.”

Baker believes his “exit velocity” test is more precise than other methods in measuring the cattle temperament. A system developed in Colorado, for example, requires handlers to assign a value from 1 to 5 based on behaviors ranging from completely calm to combative.

“Some subtle differences are not taken into account in the 1-to-5 system,” Baker said.

When meat from the cattle used in the Georgia tests was checked, the most tender cuts came from cattle with calm dispositions, he said.

Most of Georgia’s cattle are shipped to Western feedlots and they eventually wind up as steaks or hamburgers in homes and restaurants.

Chuck Sword, who has a cattle ranch in Williamson, said he’s read about similar research in Texas and Australia and some cattle breeding associations are taking a “serious look” at temperament scoring systems.

“With the research behind it, I think it’s definitely something we need to look at,” he said.

Crop exports

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) – A new genetics testing laboratory for crop seed will help ensure that export markets remain open to Illinois farmers, state agriculture officials say.

The new Trait Lab at the state Agriculture Department in Springfield gives the department’s Bureau of Product Inspection the ability to verify the genetic makeup of seeds within a matter of days rather than weeks, said Jim Larkin, the chief inspector.

“As more (genetically modified) seed comes on the market, we as a regulatory agency have to be able to guarantee the claims on the seed label,” Larkin said.

The testing is necessary to help prevent mingling of grain that is modified to resist pests, disease or herbicide with conventional crops intended for export to countries that ban genetically altered grain, said Jeff Squibb, an Agriculture Department spokesman.

“There are countries that are paying a premium for non-biotech corn and soybeans,” Squibb said. “You must have a system in place to segregate conventional and biotech crops, and that system begins with the seed.”

The grain industry still must ensure that handling and transportation systems keep grain separated, he said.

Grain exporting is a major revenue source. More than 40 percent of the state’s corn and soybean crops were exported in 2002, bringing more than $2 billion, Squibb said.

The Champaign-based Illinois Crop Improvement Association, a nonprofit group that certifies the label claims of about 150 seed companies, worries that the new trait lab might compete with its own efforts, said Dennis Thompson, the group’s chief executive.

Squibb said there might be some duplication, but ultimately the Agriculture Department bears responsibility to guarantee seed label claims.

AP-ES-01-15-04 0230EST