Lincoln, Neb., Jan. 14, 2025 — With unmatched commitment to serving the cattle industry with impactful herd health and genomic solutions, Neogen (NASDAQ: NEOG) announces its launch of Igenity BCHF to uplift overall bovine heart health standards. Bovine Congestive Heart Failure (BCHF) stands as a significant threat to cattle health and productivity, and this new genomic test unveils opportunity for improved selection for heart health.
“Igenity BCHF is a revolutionary genomic test designed to assess an animal’s genetic predisposition to heart failure,” says Victor Pedrosa, PhD, Director of Technical Genomics and Innovation with Neogen. “The test results directly correlate with the percentage of BCHF risk an animal carries and should pass on to their progeny, serving as a genetic indicator of the likelihood of disease development.”
Testing with Igenity BCHF assesses animals’ genetic predisposition for BCHF. Test results are scored on a 1-to-10 scale, ranging from 1 (lowest risk) to 10 (highest risk of symptom development), where each decrease in score translates to an expected 3.5% lower BCHF incidence. Case study results demonstrated the variability for risk in a feedlot setting, where animals with an Igenity score of 2 characterized a genetic effect of 3.5% for BCHF predisposition and animals with an Igenity score of 7 signified a genetic effect of 21.2% for BCHF predisposition. This demonstrated a 17.7% lower probability of exhibiting BCHF with an Igenity score decrease of 5.
Operational Advantages Using Igenity BCHF
In severely affected cattle pens, mortality rates have surged up to 7%, translating to staggering annual losses surpassing $250,000 for a single operation. In addition to death losses due to BCHF, there are also significant economic risks and performance losses possible, such as a reduction in average daily gain by 0.2 lbs per day and lighter hot carcass weights by up to 38 lbs. Igenity BCHF provides producers with the opportunity to effectively manage the risk of BCHF within their herd, confidently produce feeder calves that will have a lower risk of mortality from BCHF in a feedlot setting, and decrease economic losses attributed to BCHF.
Core advantages include:
- Easy to interpret 1-10 scores
- Cull high scoring and keep low scoring replacement heifers with a genetic predisposition to produce calves with a lower risk of BCHF
- Group cattle based on their Igenity BCHF scores to better manage potential health issues in high-risk cattle
- Manage mortality and morbidity rates related to BCHF in offspring through targeted management strategies (i.e., enhanced monitoring, tailored nutrition plans, and reduced stress)
- Mitigate economic losses related to cattle death or decreased performance due to BCHF related complications
- Increase overall bovine heart health standards by selecting animals with lower prevalence of heart failure-related genes
Industry-wide Impact

By employing DNA testing for BCHF in cattle, producers gain the confidence to pinpoint animals harboring genetics conducive to enhancing bovine heart health.
Database Powering Igenity BCHF
The prediction equation powering the Igenity BCHF genomic test is a two-trait genomic evaluation informed by heart score, lung score, and breed percentage. Backing Igenity BCHF is a robust database of 32,763 phenotypes and 25,186 genotypes assembled from animals fed at a single commercial feedlot and harvested at a single facility, which represents one of the largest single-source commercial data sets of its kind. A subset of this reference population was also selected for genomic sequencing to determine the heritability and genetic correlations of the phenotypes collected and complete a genome-wide association study (GWAS). Moderate heritability estimates of both heart score (0.36) and lung score (0.27) were observed and further reinforced the application of these phenotypes in the Igenity BCHF prediction. In addition to capturing variation in heart morphology, a novel scoring system was developed describing pulmonary changes exhibited; with this, a lung deflation score was assigned.
“Igenity BCHF represents additive polygenic effects across the entire genome rather than the single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers previously discovered. With the more robust marker sets, polygenic effects are better characterized,” says Kelsey Luebbe, PhD, Genomics Technical Services Scientist with Neogen.
To learn more about Igenity BCHF, visit neogen.com/igenity-beef or contact your Neogen representative.
About Neogen
Neogen Corporation is committed to fueling a brighter future for global food security through the advancement of human and animal well-being. Harnessing the power of science and technology, Neogen has developed comprehensive solutions spanning the Food Safety, Livestock, and Pet Health & Wellness markets. A world leader in these fields, Neogen has a presence in over 140 countries with a dedicated network of scientists and technical experts focused on delivering optimized products and technology for its customers.