BEEFMASTER SECTION
Beefmaster cattle work in a crossbreeding program, providing respectable feedyard performance and superior maternal capabilities in the cow herd.
Crossbreeding with Beefmasters By Bill Pendergrass, Beefmaster Breeders United executive vice president
A
S OF 2015, WE HAVE THE SMALLEST BEEF COW HERD IN the U.S. since the 1950s. Meanwhile, our human population continues to increase at a rapid pace.
The demand for protein in higher quality diets around the world has also increased the demand for beef. It takes a long time to expand a cow herd. That is
why it is so important to create as much effi ciency as possible in the beef supply chain. Planned crossbreeding with Beefmasters is the fastest way to create effi ciency and profi t in the cattle business. The U.S. cow herd is dominated by black-hided, Brit-
ish breed-infl uenced genetics. These females excel at raising calves that produce high quality carcasses for the consumer. To earn premiums for their calves over time, many producers have begun straight breeding their commercial cows. True, those black-hided British calves earn a premium at the sale barn, but at what cost to the producer? Crossbreeding using Beefmasters is a proven method
to increase maternal effi ciency and calf performance, resulting in more cost savings and profi t for the beef producer.
74 The Cattleman March 2015 How do we know that crossbreeding works? There
have been countless scientifi c research projects on the effects of heterosis (the hybrid vigor that occurs with crossbreeding) in livestock production. Crossbreeding has proven to be the single most effective way to in- crease productivity in commercial cow herds. Heterosis leads to performance advantages in cross-
breds over the average of their straight-bred parents. When used properly, as in a well-planned crossbreed- ing program, heterosis can lead to big improvements in performance and effi ciency. That in turn leads to more profi t for the beef producer.
Effects of heterosis There are various positive effects of heterosis, and
how well a breeder harnesses these determines how much impact hybrid vigor will have on his or her calf crop. Individual heterosis directly affects several economi-
cally important traits. These improvements actually begin before the crossbred calf is born, because the fetus is more viable and resilient. Crossbred calves
thecattlemanmagazine.com
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