The Canadian Simmental Association has a made a commitment to the program by covering the costs of the DNA profiles for all sires enrolled on the Total Herd Enrolment program.

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As a purebred producer, one of the best ways to get involved in the SMARTag program is to get a DNA profile on all breeding sires. All bulls with the DNA profile on file will qualify all of their progeny for the Blue Tag Program, which offers a higher level of service and data manipulation to the industry. DNA profiles are gathered through the use of a Typafix tag, which is a tag used to punch a small hole in the animal’s ear to gather a biopsy for the profile. The tag is not required to stay permanently in the animal’s ear. Once the sample has been gathered, it is shipped to Merial for analysis, and the producer will receive results in about three weeks from time of shipment. Today, Igenity tests produce results on the following: Tenderness, Coat Color, and Meat Traits (including Rib-eye area, hot carcass weight, fat thickness, and yield grade).