BRANGUS SECTION
Building with Brangus is the Right Decision
By Tommy Perkins, Ph.D., PAS, IBBA executive vice p resident A
S WE MOVE INTO THE 2015 SPRING CALVING SEASON, cattle prices continue to maintain levels never before seen in the industry. Economists continue
to show a strong retail demand for beef and extremely tight cattle supplies. This has also been coupled with lower feed prices. I do not want to jinx anything, but it certainly looks as if the cow-calf producers will con- tinue to have good fi nancial times ahead. The value of every pound of weaned calf continues
to have greater signifi cance in the commercial cattle segment. I do not know of any faster way to increase weaned calf weight than to use a good crossbreeding program that maximizes heterosis. Heterosis is simply the superiority of crossbred
progeny as compared to the average of their parents. Most research suggests that heterosis will increase lifetime calf production (15 to 20 percent), cumulative weaning weight (20 to 25 percent) and longevity (25 to 30 percent). Commercial cattlemen have always understood
the importance of crossbreeding to taking advantage of heterosis. However, commercial cattlemen have
72 The Cattleman April 2015 Dr. Tommy Perkins
not truly managed the full benefi ts of hybrid vigor or heterosis, because just changing the breed of bull has merely resulted in a crossbred animal. This management style does not take full advantage
of the benefi ts of heterosis when compared to a planned, complementary crossbreeding program. On the other side of that statement it has been sug-
gested that too many producers have continued to use Angus bulls, to the point of reduced or complete loss of heterosis effects. This is evident in the predominantly black-hided, English-based commercial cow herd. Although heterosis is diffi cult to see and even more
diffi cult to measure, it is important to realize that low heritable traits generally result in a greater level of heterosis than do highly heritable traits. For instance, fertility, maternal ability and longev-
ity can see as much as a 10 to 25 percent increase in productivity, whereas ribeye size and fat thickness may yield less than a 5 percent increase. The American breeds, Brangus included, have re-
tained some level of original heterosis created from the initial crosses. More importantly, these breeds
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