Kevin Gould, Michigan State University Extension Beef Educator is certified as a field technician by the Ultrasound Guidelines Council. Kevin travels in Michigan and surrounding states to ultrasound beef cattle as a fee for service program offered by the MSU Beef Team.
Anyone interested in learning more about how ultrasound can benefit your beef cattle selection and breeding program can contact Kevin Gould in Ionia, MI at
(616) 527-5357 or gouldk@msu.edu.
Producer Requirements
- Producers must obtain an ultrasound “BARN SHEET” from their breed association for animals to be scanned before the scan date
- 110V power is needed to operate scanning equipment
- Cattle need to be restrained in an effective handling facility
- Cattle need to be weighed at scanning or within 7 days of the scanning date
What the Breeder Receives
- After scanning and interpretation, the measurements are forwarded to the appropriate breed association for processing. Ultrasound record processing follows the same format used for weight traits within performance programs. Breeders receive the ultrasound measurements (adjustments and contemporary group ratios) as a part of the program.
- Ultrasound measures are adjusted to 365 days for yearling bulls. The current age end point adjustments for developing heifers is 390 days of age (approx. 13 months). The end-point adjustments for feedlot steers and heifers is 420 days of age.
- Ultrasound measures on each animal include:
- Rump fat thickness
- 12-13th rib fat thickness
- Ribeye area
- Percentage intramuscular fat (marbling)
# of animals
|
Scan charge/animal* |
| 5-10 |
$17 |
| 11-25 |
$16 |
| 26-50 |
$15 |
| 51+ |
$14 |
|
*Plus $30 setup fee per session. Round-trip travel is charged
at MSU's current reimbursement rate ($0.56/mile as of 1/1/2013).
|
For more information about beef cattle ultrasound, visit the Centralized Ultrasound Processing Lab website.
The MSU Beef Team thanks the Michigan Cattlemen’s Association and North Country Beef Producers for their support in launching this program.