By Diane Broek, Advanced Technologies Sales and Marketing Manager
The Value of Your Best Genetics
Every program has a few animals that rise above the rest: the rockstars of the barnyard.
They might not always be the prettiest animals or those that win the most in the showring, but they are the ones that:
- Consistently produce at a high level and produce your best calves every year
- Pass on predictability to their offspring
- Fit your environment and management
- Move your program forward year after year
These are the animals that shape the direction of your herd, not just for today, but for the next generation.
The reality is:
One truly elite animal can influence your program more than dozens of average ones.
And once they are gone, so is that exact genetic combination—unless you’re prepared.
Planning Ahead for Genetic Impact
More producers today are thinking beyond just the next calf crop.
They are asking:
- How do I protect what I have built?
- How do I extend the impact of my best animals?
The key shift is genetic strategy is moving from reactive → to intentional.
The best time to think about preservation or cloning is before you need it:
- When a donor is in her prime
- When a bull is proving himself
- When a young animal shows unique potential
- When you realize you have a rare, unique individual.
- When you import new genetics that are unique to the U.S.
Waiting too long often limits your options.
How Genetic Preservation Works
In simple terms, genetic preservation is: Saving an animal’s DNA today so you can use it in the future.
Trans Ova Genetics Advanced Technologies (TOGAT) makes it easy to preserve the genetics that matter most to your program. We’ll send you a simple collection kit that allows you to take a small tissue sample from your animal’s ear and return it to our lab. From there, the sample is cultured into a cell line or genetic preservation (GP), helping protect future opportunities for your operation. The process typically takes one to two weeks.
For producers looking for a more economical option, express tissue banks (ETB) offer large-scale DNA preservation for animals you may want to clone in the future. ETB allows you to preserve genetics now while keeping your options open down the road.
That gives you flexibility to:
- Clone the animal right away or come back years later to clone the animal
- Reintroduce genetics that were lost due to illness, injury, death, or castration
- Make decisions when timing and economics are right
Think of it as a DNA insurance policy on your best genetics.
You may never use it, but if you need it, you will be glad it is there. And the real beauty is that the ETB or GP can be stored long term in liquid nitrogen….just like semen and embryos.
How Cloning Fits In
Cloning is simply creating a genetic copy of a proven animal. We say, “producing an identical twin just born at a later place in time”.
Why does this matter? Cloning allows you to:
- Extend the life and influence of an elite animal
- Recreate genetics that are no longer available
- Build around something you already know works
- Extend a rare, critical, endangered animal or breed.
Clones are not the end goal—their offspring are.
They allow you to put proven genetics back into production and continue moving forward.
A GP can be used to produce cloned animals multiple times, and additional cells can be grown as needed, creating a long-term source of preserved genetics.
When These Tools Make Sense
Not every animal needs to be preserved or cloned. These tools are typically used for animals that are:
- Truly unique or rare
- Proven at a high level
- Difficult to replace
- Central to a breeding program
- Have a quantifiable measurement that identifies them as an outlier like an extremely high Genomic Total Performance Index, or high Net Merit Dollars, etc.
Common situations include:
- Losing an elite donor unexpectedly
- A bull that outperforms expectations
- A one-of-a-kind genetic combination
- High value show or seedstock animals
It comes down to one question:
“If I lost this animal today, would I regret not having a way to bring it back?” or simply, “Is this a once in a lifetime animal that will be almost impossible to replace?”
Final Takeaway
Your best genetics are the foundation of your program. Planning ahead is not about doing everything, it is about knowing what matters most, protecting it, and keeping your options open.
Because in this business, you cannot go back and recreate a great one—unless you’re prepared.
Want to Learn More? Let’s Connect:
TransOva Genetics
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