Gene-based breeding - Shaping the future of farms and medicine

Apr 29, 2024

By Farms.com

A new era in agriculture and medicine is emerging from Texas A&M University through Gene-Based Breeding (GBB). This innovative technology leverages genetic insights to enhance the breeding of crops and livestock, promising significant improvements in food production and disease treatment.

Hong-Bin Zhang, the pioneer behind GBB, aims to create super varieties of crops and animals by selecting the best genetic traits available. These new varieties are designed to be high-yielding, climate-resilient, and disease-resistant, addressing both the needs of a growing global population and the challenges of climate change.

GBB isn’t just transforming agriculture; it's also making strides in healthcare. Known as the basis for molecular precision medicine, GBB allows treatments to be specifically tailored to an individual’s genetic profile. This approach moves away from general treatments to more effective, personalized medical care.

Already successfully applied to crops such as cotton and maize and various livestock, GBB demonstrates its versatility and effectiveness. It improves farming efficiency and enhances the environmental sustainability of agricultural practices.

With its promise to revolutionize both food production and medical treatment, Gene-Based Breeding represents a significant leap forward in managing the world’s resources and improving health outcomes. As we face ongoing global issues like population growth and climate change, GBB provides a sustainable solution that combines the best of technology and biology to better our lives and those of future generations.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.