In a recent article for the “Charolais Edge” by Paige Nelson, the Executive Director of the Integrity Beef Alliance, Robert Wells, stated:
If you look at cattle on an age basis… those “Charolais-sired calves coming out of Angusbased black-type cows will typically wean off heavier than that Angus-sired calf out of that same Angus cow. Hybrid vigor pays off, describes Wells.
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The Integrity Beef Alliance is Value-Added Calf program that is part of the non-profit Noble Foundation located in Oklahoma. This alliance only accepts Charolais or Angus bulls with certain genetic criteria.
Explosive Performance Originally bred for dual purpose draft animals in France, Charolais are still a leading Continental breed for growth, feed efficiency, and red meat yield. Any feeder that has finished a group of Smokey or Buckskin calves can attest to the value that they bring to the industry.
Not your Daddy’s Charolais It is probably no surprise that the Charolais breed remains the performance growth leader of all the major breeds. It is lesser known however, that just as the British breeds have placed emphasis on growth, the Continental breeds, including Charolais, have made tremendous strides in regard to carcass quality, birth weight, and mature size.
Table 1. Shows the genetic progress that US Charolais breeders have achieved by breeding for goals with the commercial cattleman in mind. Data from both the recent National Cattle Evaluations from the AmericanInternational Charolais Assocation and the American Angus Association show that today’s modern genetics have Charolais birth weights, on average for both bulls and females respectively, within 10 lbs of their Angus counterparts. Furthermore, on a purebred basis, Charolais holds a 17 lb (heifers) & 16 lb (bull) advantage over Angus on adjusted weaning weights and 57 lb (heifers) and 38 lb (bull) advantage on adjusted yearling weights among registered progeny in 2015. *Source: American-International Charolais Association & American Angus Association
Economic Traits: Birth Weight & Performance Research at the Meat Animal Research Center in Clay Center, NE shows that in a commercial setting Charolais offspring are born only 9.7 lbs greater than Angus and considerably closer to other major breeds while leading in % Survival to Wean and Weaning Weight.
*Source: Note: Estimates for Hereford, Angus and Red Angus sires were adjusted for heterosis in F1 crosses (10.0 lbs. was added for weaning weight) to provide for unbiased comparisons to F1 crosses by Continental European sire breeds.
If birth weight is a concern, there are plenty of genetic tools to find a Charolais with the calving ease needed to meet your goals. Furthermore, Dr. Dan Shike of the University of Illinois, gave a presentation on the adverse effects of going too extreme on light-weight births at the Angus Convention in November 2016 in Indianapolis. His data showed an Angus based commercial cow herd that was bred to both Angus and Charolais bulls in subsequent years. Not only did the Charolais cross calves outperform the Angus sired calves by 50+ pounds at weaning, but with both breeds, the lightest 1/3 of the calf crop at birth showed a drastically higher death loss, less ADG, longer days to slaughter, and lower carcass weight. This Meat Animal Research Data shows that Charolais continues to be a growth leader without sacrificing and growing mature cow size.
Breed
5-year-old-weight, lbs.**
Hereford
1,419
Angus
1,410
Red Angus
1,409
Simmental
1,404
Gelbvieh
1,323
Limousin
1,391
Charolais
1,371
*Least squares means by breed of sire for weight of F1 cows at 5 years of age **Weights adjusted to body condition score 505 w: U.S. Meat Animal Research Center, Germ Plasm Evaluation Program, Cycle VII
CharX:
America’s Favorite Feeder On America’s predominately Angus and British based commercial cow herd, the Continental Cross of a Charolais Bull is the unsung hero of today’s beef industry. More than ever, the use of breed complimentary traits and heterosis is needed to produce more efficient beef and maximize producer’s profits. Charolais brings the growth, feed conversion, carcass weight, optimum yield grade, and % red meat yield as an ideal match to the maternal traits and quality grade provided by British based cowherds. These breed compliments alone prove the value of crossbreeding as a means to achieve growth orientated cattle with a high % of Yield Grades 1 & 2’s without sacrificing Quality Grade. This combination becomes even more advantageous when you consider the proven individual heterosis of crossbreeding shown below:
Individual heterosis: Advantage of the crossbred calf1 Trait
Calving Rate Survival to Weaning Birth Weight Weaning Weight ADJ Yearling Weight
Observed Improvement
Adapted from Cundiff and Gregory, 1999
1
3.2 1.4 1.7 16.3 0.08 29.1
%Heterosis 4.4 1.9 2.4 3.9 2.6 3.8
Over 3 million head of steer calves were analyzed from 20102016 and Charolais sired calves brought the largest average premium on a per pound basis! (McCabe, 2018)
Profitablity Charolais Cross ‘Smokey’ & ‘Buckskin’ feeders are always in high demand. As feeder cattle sell this fall, be sure to note the prices of these Charolais influenced calves They sell well on a per pound basis, but be sure to take that price multiplied by Total Pounds to see the Total Return to the rancher’s bottom line. Furthermore, based on the science of heterosis shown above, consider the input costs needed to get these calves to this point.