BEEFMASTER Pay Weight Planned Crossbreeding Systems

by Lance W. Bauer, PhD., Beefmaster Breeders United

Beef producers are always looking for a way to increase the profitability of their operations. To do this they use selection criteria that will help them increase weaning weights, yearling weight, rib eye area, marbling, stayability, and pregnancy rates. Many times, producers look at EPDs and recorded weights and records to do this, and those are very valuable numbers in the selection process, but one thing that may get overlooked sometimes is the value of crossbreeding. Crossbreeding helps to optimize these traits and can be a simple tool when used in a thought-out crossbreeding system.

Advantages of Crossbreeding

Crossbreeding provides two advantages to using straight bred animals, first there is heterosis or hybrid vigor and the second advantage is breed complementarity (in a properly designed system). Breed complementarity is taking advantage of the strengths of the different breeds used in the system. In a welldesigned crossbreeding system, the producer can maximize the effect of both of these advantages.

Heterosis or heterosis is the ability of the cross bred offspring to outperform the average of the two parent breeds. There are two types of heterosis to take advantage of, direct and maternal heterosis. Direct heterosis refers to the heterosis of the animal itself, and maternal heterosis refers to the heterosis of the dam of the animal. The amount of heterosis can be estimated by the percent of heterozygous gene pairs, where one gene comes from one breed and another from the other breed. With this in mind, an F1 animal has the maximum amount of direct heterosis and a F1 dam has the maximum amount of maternal heterosis. Direct heterosis will affect and improve most traits in a calf. Heterosis has the most effect on lowly heritable traits but will also be observed on weight traits which are moderately heritable and carcass traits which are highly heritable. With these moderately heritable traits, the level of heterosis to be expected is moderate, from 5-10% and with the highly heritable traits the level of heterosis to be expected is around 0-10%.

Maternal heterosis is extremely important because many of the maternal traits are lowly heritable traits. Reproduction, maternal ability, longevity and other traits that deal with overall cow productivity are lowly heritable traits and heterosis has the greatest affect on lowly heritable traits. The expected levels of heterosis for these lowly heritable traits typically ranges from 10-30%.

To calculate the level of heterosis the equation is: Level of Heterosis=((Average of crossbred animalaverage of parent breeds)/ average of parent breeds) X100. For example, if level of heterosis is being calculated for weaning weight in a Beefmaster X Angus cross and the average weaning weight on the particular Beefmasters used is 675 and the average for the particular Angus used is 650, and the average weaning weight of the calves is 700 pounds the level of heterosis can be calculated to be 5.7%. Level of Heterosis=((700-662.5)/662.5) X100=5.7%.

Taking full advantage of heterosis is done when a system is in place the utilizes a crossbred female to produce crossbred calves. There are different crossbreeding systems that are very successful at utilizing and maximizing both types of heterosis. Direct heterosis is important because it directly impacts the weight and carcass traits of the calf and increased weight and better carcass traits lead to increased profits for the producer. Maternal heterosis is extremely important in the overall productivity of the cow, impacting things such as fertility and longevity, both of which lead to more calves that are raised by a cow in her lifetime. The more calves a cow can raise in her lifetime makes her more valuable to the producer. Another way to help effectively utilize heterosis is to use cattle that are Bos indicus influenced, Bos indicus X Bos taurus cross cattle tend to exhibit a higher level of heterosis than Bos taurus X Bos taurus cross cattle.

The other big advantage of crossbreeding is the ability to take advantage of breed complementarity. Different breeds of cattle have different strengths that they are known for and a well-planned crossbreeding system can take advantage of the strengths of two or more breeds. For example, if a producer is looking to use a terminal cross, it would be a good idea to utilize a breed known to be a good mother for the dam and a sire that is known for growth and carcass. A good cross in this case could be a Beefmaster dam and a Charolais sire, taking advantage of the maternal ability of the Beefmaster and the growth and carcass from the Charolais. When looking at breed complementarity it is also important to use breeds that work in the production environment.

Types of Crossbreeding Systems

When determining what type of system to use, a producer needs to look at their herd size, time, management requirements and the target market. Some crossbreeding systems produce replacement females to go directly back into the herd and others require the producer to purchase replacement females. These are all factors that need to be analyzed before selecting the preferred crossbreeding system. Composite Breeds

Composite breeds are crossbred animals that are continued on page 4

Articles In This Issue...

Page 1 - Planned Crossbreeding Systems by Lance Bauer, PhD., Beefmaster Breeders United

Page 4 - Beefmaster Breeders United & Event Calendar

Page 8 - Meet the Beefmaster Breeders United Staff by Addison Coburn, Beefmaster Breeders United

Page 12 - Cattlemens News Heterosis by Troy Rowman, Assistant Professor & Extension Specialist (Beef Genetics)

Page 16 - Is Sustainability on your Menu? by Greg Henderson, Drovers

Page 18 - 2022 Beefmaster Sale Calendar

Page 19 - Advertisers' Index