University of Missouri officials recently announced a historic donation from one of the nation's top private livestock producers.

The 17 megabytes of detailed animal performance data on approximately 6,000 animals, including DNA samples, is believed to be the first such gift to a public institution.

The gift, from the David W. Gust family, owners of Circle A Ranch in Iberia, Mo., is valued at $5.6 million.

"To some people, this may seem just a CD ROM full of data and a freezer full of DNA samples," said Jerry Taylor, MU Wurdack Endowed Chair for Animal Genomics. "But to those of us in livestock genetics, and to the livestock industry as a whole, it's practically priceless. There simply isn't another set of records and DNA this complete and of this magnitude on the planet. So we're very pleased that the Gusts decided to donate this information to MU."

Before the age of genomics, finding those animals meant keeping meticulous records on breeding animals and their offspring, recording the offspring's performance during its life, then confirming the desirable traits once the animal was slaughtered.

That process requires up to 5 years just to collect the information on one generation, Taylor said. The geneticist and animal scientist has spent his career searching for the genes and gene sequences that control traits such as feed efficiency, marbling, fat production and other meat characteristics, in order to develop a way to find an animal's potential with a quick DNA test.

"With this gift, we can look through the Circle A performance data, find the animals with desirable traits, then find the DNA from that animal, and through DNA sequencing, look for the genes that create the variation in those traits."

Once the genes or groups of genes are found, Taylor and other scientists will use that information to develop DNA tests that help cattle producers choose bulls and cows that will produce calves with particular traits, and sort the animals already in the herd according to nutrition needs or other management strategies.

"Beef producers have become businessmen, in the business of creating a product consumers want for their dining experience," said Eugene "Doc" Hinds, adjunct professor of veterinary medicine, and a long-term adviser to Circle A. "The Gust family has always been focused on building a herd that had the traits the market wants, and on the traits that allow the most efficient, economical meat production."

"Now we're ready to take meat production to the next level, using genetic information to select desirable animals ahead of time, rather than feeding them, slaughtering them, and seeing if they do or do not have the traits consumers want," Hinds said.

This donation is one of many ways the Gust family has contributed to MU. Other contributions include $100,000 for a bovine reproduction study conducted by Randall Prather, MU distinguished professor of reproductive biotechnology, and other scientists. The Gusts also donated a show-quality Angus heifer to the MU Ag Alumni Association Ag Unlimited Banquet and Auction. The heifer sold for $3,200--a record for a single-item purchase at the auction. Proceeds from that annual event are used for scholarships and other student programs within the College of Agriculture Food and Natural Resources.

Circle A has satellite ranches in Stockton, Mo., Huntsville, Mo., and Lineville, Iowa. The ranch includes some 700 registered Angus and Red Angus females, plus some 6,000 Angus-cross females. It globally markets semen from the ranch's bull herd, top females and frozen embryos, and has been recognized with numerous awards in the livestock industry.