Line One Herefords - History & Benefits of Line One

3R LIVESTOCK

L1NE ONE GENETICS

HISTORY & BENEFITS OF LINE ONE GENETICS

3R Livestock Tamworth, NSW, AUSTRALIA

www.3rbeef.com.au info@3rbeef.com.au

'One should never loose sight of the fact that the ability to grow rapidly to desirable market weight with an acceptable degree of finish, next to being born alive, is THE most important trait of any beef animal' Jack Cooper, 1960 Founder Cooper Hereford Ranch Willow Creek, Montana, USA

HISTORY OF LINE ONE HEREFORDS With a simple objective to increase profit for cattle breeders, the Line One breeding program was established in 1934 by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). To this day the project remains located at the Ft Keogh Research Centre, Miles City, Montana.

Whilst the practice of line breeding has been implemented throughout history never before had a structure program been undertaken to deliver an economic objective.

To establish the program the finest genetics of the era were selected as foundation stock. These included two sires - Advance Domino 20 & Advance Domino 54 - both progeny of Advance Domino 13 . The sires were purchased from the highly regarded herd of Fred DeBerard.Â

1934 - 2019 50 Hereford females were purchased from the herd of George Miles, a highly regarded maternal herd.

Daughters of each sire were then mated to their paternal halfsiblings and the Line One program progressed. Since 1934 Line One Hereford cattle have been maintained by USDA at Miles City descending solely from this foundation.

Line One illustrates a successful line breeding program in which a high degree of relationship (>40%) to the founding sire has been maintained for generations.

Without line breeding, the relationship to an ancestor generations ago is far less than 1%.

Careful attention has been kept to avoid breeding close relatives.

Nearly all academic and commercial tests that assess production characteristics of individual bulls can be traced to research undertaken on the Line One program. Data from Line One also contributes to the first estimates of heritability and genetic correlation for beef cattle in turn founding the Beef Improvement Federation.

While 85 years may have passed the Line One program remains a cornerstone in the beef cattle industry. It has aided the progression of the global beef industry and achieved beyond any doubt its objective of increasing profit to breeders using Line One genetics.

Line One Genetics - 85 Years Strong.

Since 1934 Line One Genetics have shaped the global beef industry. Today Line One Genetics can be found in every corner of the globe as Producers realise the benefit of 85 years of dedication to producing profit driven cattle.

MAXIMUM HETEROSIS

THE GREATEST HYBRID VIGOUR

Whilst the benefits of cross breeding in commercial beef cattle production are well proven the unique advantages of Line One genetics make them an unrivalled choice.

For 85 Years the Line One breeding program has operated as a closed gene pool. This period of closure has resulted in a divergence of genetic similarity from the modern Hereford breed population. This divergence is now sufficient to generate Heterosis, or hybrid vigour, when joining pure non-line one Hereford cows to Line One bulls.

Herefords have long been considered as the arguably the most complimentary of breeds for cross breeding programs. During the past 1020 years Hereford genetics have experienced a surge in the USA as continually more commercial cows are bred to Hereford bulls then ever before. Today Baldie & Tigerstripe females command premiums well above their straight bred rivals and demand for Hereford bulls is rising rapidly.

The American Hereford Association has conducted many cross breeding research trials and proven the impact of Hereford genetics in all stages of the production cycle.

The 2,000 Bull Project was conducted by USMARC (United States Meat Animal Research Centre) in 2007 to 'study relationships between genomic variation and economically important traits in 16 prominent breeds'.

The above diagram proportionately illustrates the genetic diversity of cattle breeds. Long regarded as a exceptional cross breeding option Hereford (HH) is well diversified from Angus (AN) and Brahman (BR). This 'distance' returns in increased heterosis when joined ie, maximum direct & maternal benefit.

What the 2,000 Bull Project proved beyond this however was that Line One Herefords (HL) are further diversified than Hereford resulting in a level of heterosis that is only matched by Brahman cattle. This study therefore proves the superior genetic advantage of Line One genetics in cross breeding programs involving cattle of any breed including non-line one Hereford cows.

With a long term focus on the commercially relevant economic traits that drive profitable beef production Line One Hereford genetics are regarded as the highest performing, most profitable genetics in the world today. In line with research findings a cross bred cows (including Line One x Hereford) will have 3.7% higher calving rate, 38% greater longevity, 17% more calves and wean 25% more kilograms of beef in her lifetime. Whether your program is cross bred or straight bred Hereford, Line One genetics are proven to deliver the maximum heterosis advantage.

American Hereford Association Cross Breeding Research For the past 10-15 years the American Hereford Association has centred much of its efforts on promoting the benefits of Hereford cattle in cross breeding programs. The 2,000 Bull Project proved the genetic diversity of Hereford genetics and these benefits have been proven by the AHA projects, the most comprehensive of which were conducted on Harris & Circle A Ranches.

Harris Ranch, California The Harris Ranch is a large scale Angus commercial herd located in California. In this trial Hereford bulls were introduced alongside Angus bulls into the Black Angus cow herd. The Angus cow herd had only been exclusively Angus for 10 years and some presence of Hereford & Gelbvieh genetics were detected by DNA therefore the Heterosis was not maximised.

Throughout the course of the multi year trial the following results were achieved; Direct Heterosis - Baldie calves achieved 1.9% Increase in survival to weaning, 3.9% greater weaning weight, 3.8% greater yearling weight, 2.2% higher feed conversion = a $30 per head advantage.

Maternal Heterosis - Baldie Cows achieved 3.7% higher calving rate, 38% greater longevity, 17% more calves over a lifetime and 25% more kilograms weaned.

Circle A Ranch, Missouri Circle A Ranch is a large, well regarded Angus ranch in the USA. Following on from the research findings of the 2,000 Bull Project Circle A made the decision to inject Hereford genetics into their commercial breeding program. The results again proved higher weaning weights, large muscle areas and increased feed efficiency. Economic modelling of the impact of heterosis was undertaken by the University of Missouri and proved the Baldie female produced an economic advantage of $514 across her lifetime.

Circle A offered baldie females in their commercial female sale and on average these bred heifers achieved a premium of $110 per head.

THE ULTIMATE BREEDING COW For generation after generation the Line One herd has maintained a strict focus on selecting for traits that maximise profit. The program is conducted in a purely commercial environment to prove the animals ability & verified through unequalled performance testing.

The intensity of the selecting for profit generating traits has given rise to the unrivalled maternal strength of Line One cows. Line One cows consistently are more fertile, offer genuine calving ease, produce higher weaning weights, and maintain greater longevity than any other genetics.

Line One bred cows are renowned for their survivability and production efficiency in commercial settings. 85 Years of selection refinement produces cattle that are profitable, predictable, uniform and strong in the core traits of physical traits of udder quality, foot & leg structure, eye placement and pigment - all critical physical components of breeder longevity.

These attributes are critical to a profitable beef production and sought after by leading cattleman globally.

THE LINE ONE ADVANTAGE Increased Economics & Profit Long term focus on higher yearling weights has proven Line One genetics as the most profitable in the beef industry.

In conducting research a strong correlation between the following has been established;

ü Higher weaning weights (achieve earlier sale weights); ü Increased body fat (increased survivability and marbling correlated); ü Earlier maturity pattern (increased fertility and reproduction); ü Increased lifetime maternal performance (maximum longevity).

Higher Maternal Value Focussing on increased yearling weight has developed lines of breeding cows that are renowned for their maternal ability.

Preferencing strong calves at young ages requires a greater contribution by the dam. Only cows that are capable of reproducing and rearing calves under purely commercial environments have survived 85 years of rigorous selection pressure.

Increased Carcase Value Intramuscular Fat is exactly that, ‘fat’. The correlation between higher body fat and IMF stands to reason. Higher body fat and survivability has remained a focus of Line One. Cows with higher fats mature earlier and produce heavier calf weights at earlier ages.

In an industry that recognises IMF as THE most determining factor of carcase value focus Line One genetics offer great application.

MORE LINE ONE ADVANTAGES Predictability, Consistency & Type The aim of Line Breeding is to maximise the prevalence of desirable genetic traits. Line One cattle today contain a breeding co-efficient of 24-36% meaning the progeny of Line One bulls are consistent in performance and type beyond all others. Increased consistency attracts buyers and allows Producers to market larger lines of cattle therefore maximising demand for Line One sired calves.

Adaptability Line One genetics have proven their ability to adapt and perform in all climates across the globe.

Real World Focus The Ft Keogh Research Centre operates on a commercial production systems. Cows are selected on performance without pamper, capturing only genuine profit driving genetics – not show winners!

Global Demand Today a select group of breeding programs maintain pure Line One herds. These herds have been built from only Line One genetics. The cattle from these programs are sought after and in demand from both the commercial and seedstock industry. This year more cows in the USA will be bred to a Hereford bull then ever before and Line One genetics have driven this change.

In March each year Holden & Cooper herds conduct their Annual Production Sales. Now in their 53rd year Cattleman from across the world return to source the finest Hereford genetics. The results of these sales consistently outperform all other programs as Cattleman of both straight and cross breeding programs compete for herd building genetics.

3R LIVESTOCK

AUSTRALIA'S ONLY PURE LINE ONE HERD

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