Crossbreeding in Beef Cattle.pptVIP

Crossbreeding in Beef Cattle Susan Keene A portion of these slides work of: Matthew I. Miller Extension Agent Animal Science This presentation is from Virginia Tech and has not been edited by the Georgia Curriculum Office. What is the best beef breed? Angus Simmental Charolais Gelbvieh Santa Gertrudis Answer……. There is no best breed Breed combinations will vary from producer to producer and from environment to environment This is where crossbreeding comes in…. What is crossbreeding anyway? Simply put- the mating of animals of different breeds How can crossbreeding help? It can increase production levels! 2 ways: 1. Crossbreeding allows the breeder to combine desirable characteristics of 2 or more breeds to achieve a more desirable animal Complementarity- strong points of 1 breed complementing or covering up the weak points of another It really can help… 2. Increased levels of performance for different traits due to heterosis (hybrid vigor) Heterosis (hybrid vigor)- phenomenon that causes crossbred individuals to have increased levels of performance for certain traits above the average performance of their straightbred parents How heterosis is measured.. The difference between the average performance of crossbred animals and average performance of the straightbred animals of the breeds involved in the cross % heterosis = X-bred avg. – Sb avg. X 100 Sb avg. Cow/Calf Profitis determined by: 1. Reproductive Efficiency 2. Early Growth 3. Maternal Ability 4. End Product Merit Economically Important Traits Reproductive efficiency Calving rate Calf survival Weaning Wt. Post-weaning growth Cow longevity Cow lifetime production Production Increase Due to Crossbreeding Heterosis (Hybrid Vigor) Advantage of a Sb cow producing a 2-breed X calf vs. a Sb cow producing a Sb calf 1. Calving % weaned/cow bred: + 5-10% or 23-45 lbs 2. Heavier calves due to hybrid vigor: + 4-5% or 20lbs 3. Total Advantage: + 9-15% or 68 lbs. Matern