The Minor Beef Cattle Breeds  Their Pros and Cons

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  THE PROS AND CONS OF USING MINOR BEEF CATTLE BREEDS

     Minor breeds of beef cattle are simply those who are not as abundant, and a breed is defined as “a group of domesticated animals with a homogeneous appearance, behavior, or other characteristics that distinguish it from other animals of the same species.”

     Each breed, regardless of whether it is a minor breed or one well known and abundant provides certain characteristics to make it more interesting to one farmer than the next.  For instance, lets look at what the ubiquitous Holstein requires as opposed to another breed.  The Holstein is a fabulous provider of whole milk, however it must be fed a formidable level of cereal-based grains.  The Dutch Belted breed however has an extraordinarily gentle disposition that makes it very important for rotational grazing, family owned farms, and such where ease of handling is important.  What’s more, the Dutch Belted breed puts out milk that contains 3.5 to 5.5% butter fat as opposed to the Holstein that gives a higher percentage of butterfat. Thus the Dutch Belted breed is sometimes favored for its naturally made soft curd making it a very easily digested milk. Thus breeders that seek lower fat milk would welcome the Dutch Belted. It is important to note is that the Dutch Belted breed is a forager.  Consequently it is much lower in cost to feed.  You can easily see why different breeds are important to those who breed cattle.

     There are over 250 breeds of beef cattle worldwide, and of those there are approximately 60 of these breeds in the US. Less than 20 different breeds represent the majority of the genetics that are utilized for US beef production in the commercial market. The combinations of breeds or even one breed when used in a distinct breeding program can have a noteworthy impact on the profitability and efficiency of any beef project.  Breed is one of the greatest influences in the vital parameters affecting end-product specifications, maternal ability, reproductive efficiency, and growth rate. Of course there are also the specific nutritional requirements related to the traits of the mature cattle that are determined by its specific breed. It stands to reason then that a beef cattle breeder has to make a very careful decision as to which breeds will be utilized in crossbreeding programs.

     British breeds of beef cattle were developed in the British Isles and eventually made their way to the US somewhere in the 1700-1800s.  The primary breeds are Red and Black Angus, Horned and Polled Hereford, and the Shorthorn. British breeds are found to be smaller when they mature, however they reach their mature mass at an earlier age.  Also, they have a lesser amount of growth potential. They are highly sought after nevertheless because of their fertility and calving efficiency, and more importantly they attain higher quality grades of meat.

     Cross breeds are judged by their elevated retail merchandise yield, sufficient carcass value grades which refers to the amount of marbling in the meat, acceptable calving efficiency, and finally high growth rate/speed with moderate mature size

     There is no single superior breed of cattle because all traits are superbly important in the business of beef production.  Thus a breeder may make compromises for certain traits, when they select different breeds for a crossbreeding program.  Also, there is a remarkable variation, even within a certain breed, for important traits.  Sometimes variation within a single breed may be bigger than the difference amid two breeds when seeking a particular trait.  Selection from within a breed uses an Expected Progeny Difference (EPDs) when a trait is critical for a specific breeding program.  

     For instance breeders in the US use Simmental, Salers and Gelbvieh sire and dam breeds to use for rotational crossbreeding programs.  Some of the heifers are maintained as replacements and the what's left of that particular calf crop, the cull heifers and steers, will then be sold in a feedlot.  In this way the higher level of growth and milk production in these specific breeds will result in females that will produce heavier calves. Occasionally heavier and heavier calves are not desired, as they frequently cause calving problems that require human assistance.

     Different breeds will be selected to fit into a specially designed production structure. The production structure for cow and calf producers must include a cross breeding plan that will utilize two or even more breeds. Being suitable for their end use is what will influence which breeds will be chosen. As an illustration, a breeder may choose a different sire breed when that producer is eventually selling crossbred replacement heifers than a producer who will sell the majority of his calves when they are weaned. 

     Also, consider that a producer may be selling replacement heifers.  The reproductive and maternal performance along with the growth rate and calving efficiency become essential considerations in both sire and dam. But, if the calves will be sold at weaning, then growth rate and calving efficiency are the most important traits. Breeds that are used in crossbreeding programs influence what the mature size of the cowherd will become. This is highly important when considering the environment and feed resources. For instance, cows that are too large to be used as supplemental feed more often than not have lower reproductive efficiency.

     Also when a breeder wishes to sell calves for carcass weight (what’s left after the salable red meat is trimmed) which will give an excellent product yield, certain breeds and cross breeds stand out, such as the Italian bred Chianina, which is probably one of the largest oldest breeds around and the French bred Limousin.

     Breeds that are considered high marbling breeds in general are lower in salable red meat yield. The carcass fat thickness has the principal impact on the retail product yield. A lower percentage of the left over carcass is salable as fat thickness increases due to the high percentage of trimming loss. Thus lean breeds with the least carcass fat thickness stand out in retail product yield.

     In conclusion, you’ll agree that when circumstances change in the world meat market, that’s when minor cattle breeds are at their most important. This article researched and written by a paid professional ghostwriter.