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 Profit is 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: % or lbs 2. Heavier calves due to hybrid vigor: + 4-5% or 20lbs 3. Total Advantage: % or 68 lbs.

Maternal Heterosis Advantage of the Crossbred Cow Advantage of crossbred cow vs. straightbred –Reproductive efficiency –Calf weaning weight Increase pounds of calf weaned per cow exposed

Heterosis (Hybrid Vigor) cont. F1 X-bred cow vs. a Sb cow- both producing X-bred calves 1. Calving % weaned/ cow bred: % 2. Heavier calves due to hybrid vigor: + 4-5% or 20 lbs. 3. Total advantage (min): + 4-9% or lbs.

Heterosis (Hybrid Vigor) cont. F1 cow producing a 3-way X calf vs. Sb cow producing a Sb calf 1. Total Advantage: % or lbs.

And now a review….

Movement Time… A little participation please….

Factors to consider in planning a Crossbreeding program.. 1. You MUST have a plan- lack of planning will get you nothing but a mess!! 2. Think about your production objectives.. A. Terminal- all calves sold- growth and carcass traits are priority B. Keeping Replacements- maternal traits become an issue…

The Systems…..

What did we just say?

What about the little guy? 1 bull herd- purchase females to mate to a terminal sire-change breed of the bull every 3 years 2 bull herds –2 pastures: 1 for terminal, 1 for replacements –High heterosis and complementarity

Special Applications 1. Replacement Females: some producers specialize in producing X-bred females for use in terminal crosses 2. Minimizing Calving Difficulty: use sires of smaller mature size on heifers to reduce problems- often a different breed 3. Crossbred Bulls: easy to produce combinations of 2 or 3 breed calves with this type of bull-max heterosis

Example Scenario Farmer Tom has 60 cows that are Sb Angus- he wants to maintain his herd at this size, raise his own replacements, and sell all other calves at weaning. He is interested in maximizing profit. What system should he use?

Your Assignment… You have no choice but to accept it!!!

Scenario # 1 Dr. Camp is rich man with a large farm in Virginia. He has approximately 500 head of cattle (you can pick the breed on his cows too). Dr. Camp has been attending Extension seminars in the area and has taken a large interest in the idea of crossbreeding to increase his profits. He approaches you and asks you to design a crossbreeding system for his herd. Labor and management resources are not an issue. Select the system and breeds and be prepared to justify your choices in your oral presentation. You may use the poster paper to draw your program.

Scenario # 2 Mrs. Smith has a moderate size farm in Southwest Virginia. She has only been in the cattle business for a few years and is eager to find a way to increase her productivity and profitability with her herd of 50 cows. She comes to you, a respected producer for advice. She mentions “mixing up” the breeds she has. Mrs. Smith works for Virginia Tech and has a few college students that work for her and take care of her cattle. Select the system and breeds and be prepared to justify your choices in your oral presentation. You may use the poster paper to draw your program.

Scenario # 3 Brad and Jessie are two good old country boys that recently inherited a moderate size farm from a “friend” who passed away. The farm has approximately 500 acres and currently has about 250 head of cattle on it. Unfortunately for Brad and Jessie, they napped through most of the classes on crossbreeding and now need some help. They are interested in making the most money possible. Select the system and breeds and be prepared to justify your choices in your oral presentation. You may use the poster paper to draw your program.

Rewind… What is crossbreeding? What is heterosis? How can crossbreeding help you as a producer?

In Conclusion… Crossbreeding allows producers to benefit from the best of 2 or more breeds. By doing this, producers can increase their weaning weights through heterosis in the calves and increase maternal abilities through maternal heterosis. These factors combine to increase productivity and profitability.