Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster, Ron Hays, is back talking with Donnell Brown of the R.A. Brown Ranch located in Throckmorton, Texas. Hays and Brown talk in more detail about the potential of gene editing in the cattle industry.
“Gene editing is a new frontier I am super excited about,” Brown said. “We are using a technology called precision breeding, where we are using CRISPR-Cas9 technology to edit an animal’s own DNA. All we are doing is switching their genetic code.”
Using this technology to rework an animal’s genetic code, Brown said, can change specific traits such as hide color and hair density to help cattle handle hotter climates better. This technology does not add to their DNA, Brown said, but simply edits the code that already exists.
“Seventy percent of the globe’s cattle are in the tropics and subtropics closer to the equator,” Brown said. “We can utilize the technology of the great genetics we have in America and export that to where those cattle fit so much better in those tropics and subtropics.”
Aside from changing the physical traits of cattle through gene editing, Brown said the best thing about this technology is that it can enhance the immunity of cattle. More immunity, Brown added, means less antibiotic use and more beef to the finish line.
“FDA has already approved the slick hair gene to go into the food supply,” Brown said.
This technology isn’t bringing in any new traits, Brown said, as it is only recoding an animal’s traits to give them the best possible.
“I am excited about the future of what we will be able to do to enhance the sustainability and profitability of cattle with advanced technologies like precision breeding of gene editing,” Brown said.
It is also important to make sure consumers understand these processes, Brown said, because gene editing does not make these animals genetically modified organisms.
“We are not bringing DNA from another animal of any kind, even its own kind,” Brown said “We are just recoding the animal’s own DNA. All we are doing is increasing the speed at which we can make genetic change through generations of breeding.”
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