THIS PROPOSAL DESCRIBES AN INTEGRATED PROGRAM ADDRESSING PROGRAM AREA CODE - A1701 "CRITICAL AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND EXTENSION AS IT RELATES TO ANIMAL HEALTH AND PRODUCTION AND ANIMAL PRODUCTS." THE PROJECT USES A MULTIDISCIPLINARY INTEGRATED APPROACH TO ADDRESS THE HIGH PRIORITY, ECONOMICALLY RELEVANT PROBLEM OF TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER IN THE US BEEF INDUSTRY, WHICH STYMIES PROFITABILITY AND SUSTAINABILITY OF CATTLE PRODUCTION. ADVANCES IN REPRODUCTION AND GENOMICS AFFORD BEEF PRODUCERS THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE RAPID IMPROVEMENTS. THESE TECHNOLOGIES ADD SIGNIFICANT VALUE THROUGH IMPROVED WHOLE HERD REPRODUCTIVE MANAGEMENT AND ACCELERATED GENETIC IMPROVEMENT. COMBINING THESE TECHNOLOGIES INTO PRODUCTION AND MARKETING SYSTEMS TO MAXIMIZE THEIR ECONOMIC IMPACT ON BEEF OPERATIONS MUST BE ASSESSED TO STIMULATE THEIR WIDE-SCALE ADOPTION. THE SPECIFIC AIMS OF THIS PROJECT ARE TO: 1) QUANTIFY FARM-LEVEL ECONOMIC EFFECTS RESULTING FROM IMPLEMENTATION OF COMBINATIONS OF REPRODUCTIVE AND GENOMIC TECHNOLOGIES; 2) DEVELOP COMPREHENSIVE CURRICULA AND TRAINING PROGRAMS THAT WILL ENABLE THE VARIOUS SECTORS OF THE BEEF INDUSTRY TO ACQUIRE NEW KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS; AND 3) IMPLEMENT COMPREHENSIVE EXTENSION PROGRAMS THAT FOCUS ON THE EFFECTIVE TRANSFER OF REPRODUCTIVE AND GENOMIC TECHNOLOGIES TO INDUSTRY STAKEHOLDERS. THE OVERALL GOAL AND RESULTING OUTCOMES FROM THIS PROJECT WILL DEFINITIVELY QUANTIFY FARM-LEVEL ECONOMIC EFFECTS RESULTING FROM IMPLEMENTATION OF REPRODUCTIVE AND GENOMIC TECHNOLOGIES IN US BEEF HERDS; AT THE SAME TIME, THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR APPLIED REPRODUCTION AND GENOMICS (NCARG) WILL SERVE AS OUR NATION'S TRAINING SITE TO ENABLE ALL SEGMENTS OF THE BEEF CATTLE SECTOR TO ACQUIRE NEW KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS AIDING IN THE SUCCESSFUL ADOPTION AND LONG-TERM USE OF THESE TECHNOLOGIES.