Hoof Track Aims to Improve Cattle Breeding Through a More Accurate Hoof Scoring Process
- published: 2025/05/28
- contact: NBDC Communications - Nebraska Business Development Center
- phone: 402.554.6256
- email: kjefferson@unomaha.edu
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Omaha – Mark and Patty Goes, cattle ranchers in Odell, Neb., believe the better path to breeding healthier, more desirable livestock lies literally at the cattle’s feet – the hooves, to be precise.
The couple are fourth generation cattle producers who have operated their business, M&P Gelbvieh, for more than four decades.
The Goes’ raise Gelbvieh cattle, and Mark Goes has served on the American Gelbvieh Association’s Board of Directors and as their president. He grew up on a cattle operation near Wymore.
After graduating from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL), he returned home to start building a cattle partnership with his brother. He worked as a research technician and livestock manager for the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and UNL, before accepting a position at Southeast Community College in Beatrice as an instructor in the livestock program. Goes retired from teaching in 2021, and in 2023 joined the Nebraska Beef Council board of directors.
One strategy the Goes’ employ to maintain the health of their herd is a breeding program, selecting desirable traits based on the genetic reports provided by registered breed associations, and artificially inseminating their heifers. This gradually improves the genetics of the herd across the selected traits.
Genetics significantly influences two of the most effective measures of structural soundness: foot angle and claw set. “They are the foundation of the skeletal structure and indicate how the muscle and tissues are laid,” Goes says. “They are also the easiest to observe because they are not obscured by any other body part.”
The problem is that the relevant data provided in the genetic reports is based on self-assessments – the scoring from 1 to 9 – of such traits. The vast majority of scoring is done by non-experts who have difficulty identifying 1s through 9s and tend toward assigning 5s. This limits the ability of genetic evaluators of the breed associations to assess and certify the quality of their product, and limits the Goes’ and other breeders from improving their herd further across these critical traits.
That is why the Goes’ are developing Hoof Track, a 3D scanning system that can more accurately score the foot angle and claw set. “The cattle industry has evaluation experts but the process is still relatively subjective, and there’s always some inherent bias,” Goes says. “By standardizing the process with a machine, we can achieve equal scoring every time.”
The Goes’ are working to adapt a scanning system used in human podiatry for use with cattle. They have developed a prototype model and are in the process of building a library of images to create an algorithm to be used in scoring.
Ultimately, the Hoof Track system could collect data on hoof health for entire herds, not just sires; as well as increase safety and profitability by reducing labor for tasks related to collecting this data; and contribute to other improvements in the reliability of the genetic reports provided by bovine semen dealers.
To develop their system, Hoof Track participates in The Combine, Invest Nebraska’s ag-tech incubator in Lincoln. The company has received a prototype grant from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development (NeDED), and is working with Sparrow Development at Scott Technology Center to develop the mathematical models and software applications.
Additionally, the Nebraska Business Development Center (NBDC) and its Innovation & Technology Program Director Josh Nichol-Caddy have helped Hoof Track apply for a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the USDA in 2023. “While they did not receive that funding, they did obtain Phase 0 funds from NeDED, hire a grant writer, and resubmit,” Nichol-Caddy says.
Goes says the NBDC is a valuable resource for entrepreneurs like him and his wife who have a marketable idea but lack experience in obtaining necessary funding. “It requires a particular expertise, especially when it comes to grant applications and requirements,” he says. “It’s definitely a process that’s not for the faint of heart.”