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This Level 1 record-keeping module is designed for producers who are new to genetic record-keeping or who may already keep records but are unsure of what information is worth keeping or how these records can be used. If you have completed other Level 1 modules, you may have already identified the areas of your operation where you would like to improve and set some production goals. Once you know where you are, you can then start to plan where you would like to go.
Photo provided by Beef Farmers of Ontario
Do you want your calves to be heavier at weaning? Or are you interested in more uniform coat colour, so that your calves fit into a certain market? While some of your goals will be influenced by your production practices (i.e., feeding, breeding season), other goals, such as coat colour, will be largely impacted by genetics.
Straight-breeding, which uses a single breed of cattle on your farm, is one method of animal breeding that is easy to manage because you are only using one breed. While straight breeding is easier to manage, it is difficult for one breed to be efficient at everything. There is an advantage to crossbreeding, which is called heterosis or hybrid vigour. Hybrid vigour happens because crossbreeding overcomes the inbreeding depression that occurs in purebred or straight-bred populations and it combines good attributes of two or more different breeds. Learn more about different breeding strategies: Bull Selection: Breeding Programs that Suit Operational Goals.
Crossbreeding: Breeding cattle of different breeds together to capture the production benefits from breed complementarity and hybrid vigour.
Straight-breeding: The breeding herd is comprised of only one breed of cattle, resulting in a homogenous herd where cattle responses to environmental and nutritional factors are easier to predict.
If one of your goals is to sell calves at weaning, it would make sense to use a breed such as a Continental or exotic breed, which will maximize direct weaning weights. However, a straight-bred system like this system might maximize outputs but may require large inputs (feed) as well. With that in mind, perhaps it would make more sense from an economic perspective to use a British breed as the genetic base for all dams and use a continental breed for sires. Or use the existing cow herd and capture added growth in the calves via the sire, which could reduce the input costs from the female side yet still capture added growth in the calves due to the direct growth provided by the sire breed. This is a simple example of a crossbreeding system.1
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Why crossbreed?
When compared to purebred cows, crossbred cows have a 10% increase in calf crop and calves weaned, with the calving percentage of crossbred cows being consistently higher than their parents2,3. Similarly, crossbred heifers reach puberty at heavier weights and in fewer days than their purebred counterparts.4
Improving the genetics of your herd starts with clearly defining your production objectives and evaluating how your current herd aligns with those goals. For example, are you looking to maximize carcass characteristics and consider genetics suited for a terminal crossbreeding system? Is improving feeding efficiency a priority? Or do you plan on retaining heifers and want to strengthen maternal traits?
Hybrid vigour can improve overall herd performance but the most effective approach depends on your operation. One place to start is by identifying which type of breeding system could work best for your operation based on factors such as:
the management style of the operation
the operation’s production goals
feed availability
heifer retention (i.e., terminal versus maternal sires)
production environment
number of breeding fields available
time of marketing
availability of bulls
Hybrid vigour or heterosis
Heterosis is an increase in performance seen when crossing two genetically different individuals. Seen as individual heterosis (i.e., increase in production seen in the crossbred offspring; generally, an improvement in growth) and maternal heterosis (i.e., increase in calving percent, higher weaning weight, longevity and reproductive traits in crossbred dams compared to straightbred dams).
Heterosis is calculated using the following formula:
% Heterosis = Crossbred average-straightbred average x 100/ straightbred average
For example: if the average weaning weight of the straight bred calves was 204 kg (450 lb) and the average weaning weight of the crossbred calves was 213 kg (470 lb), the percent of heterosis would be estimated as:
% Heterosis = (213-204)/204 x 100 = 4.5%
Methods of Specific Breed Crossing
There are several methods in which hybrid vigour can be achieved in a calf crop. Some of the most common methods include:
Terminal crossing is when females are bred to a sire from a breed known for meat traits known as a terminal sire. This type of cross is used for breeding feeder calves and shouldn’t be used for replacement heifers due to large mature size or excessive muscling. This means you may need to buy all of your replacements or have a separate herd that is bred for replacement females.
Two-way rotation uses two sire breeds (e.g. Simmental and Limousin). The heifer calves are kept and bred to the other sire breed. This system requires two pastures or groups and it is possible to achieve approximately 67% of the maximum amount of heterosis or hybrid vigour.
Three-way rotation uses three breeds, but it works best when these breeds are not strictly maternal or terminal.
The following table is a summary of the various crossbreeding systems that can be used to achieve hybrid vigour. The type of system that you use will depend on5:
Number of females (cows and heifers). You want to ensure you are maximizing resources such as the number of females per bull
Number of breeding pastures available,
Number of breeds currently within the breeding herd that match the genetic potential of the target market.
How can you decide which breeds to use in your breeding system?
The following figure is a good visual of how closely some of the most common beef breeds are related. The different branches show which breeds are most genetically similar. For example, AN and AR represent types of Angus cattle that are all on the same branch. On the opposite side, HL and HH representing Hereford lines are on the same branch. The breeds that some refer to as Continental including Simmental (SM), Limousin (LM), Charolais (CH) and Gelbvieh (GV) are on another large branch. Breeds like Brahman (BR) are well outside the other breeds.
Breed Key: Angus (AN), Hereford (HH), Line 1 Hereford (HL), Red Angus (AR), Shorthorn (SH), Braunvieh (BU), Charolais (CH), Gelbvieh (GV), Limousin (LM), Maine-Anjou (MA), Salers (SA), Simmental (SM), Beefmaster (BM), Brahman (BR), Brangus (BN), and Santa Gertrudis (SG)9.
Data to Record
When to Record It
Breed(s) of herd sires used each breeding season
At turnout
Breed composition of females in the breeding herd
At birth or purchase
Which females were exposed to which bull breeds
At turnout
Example:
You have decided that you would like to produce a group of calves that will produce a higher weaning weight. Your group of 60 cows is primarily a mix of Angus and Hereford and make the decision to purchase two Limousin bulls that are known for carcass traits (terminal sires). The following year, all of the steer and heifer calves are sold in the fall. This has resulted in a year without producing any replacement females.
For the next breeding season, you decide to purchase an Angus bull to breed what you believe are your 15 best females with the intent to produce daughters from those females as replacements. The two Limousin bulls are then used to breed the remaining 45 females.
Example Goals
Select bull(s) of the right breed(s) to achieve goals.
Improve hybrid vigour in feeder calves by using a terminal sire.
Identify the breed composition of the breeding herd before next breeding season or bull purchase.
trade-offs
As mentioned in the example above, using terminal sires may not produce the optimal traits in replacement females for your operation. This could result in the need for multiple bulls and pastures.
“We’ve been building our herd, and right from the start, we realized that if we wanted to make genetic progress, we needed to be tracking the right information,” says Saskatchewan beef producer Chelsey Siemens.
No two beef operations in Canada are exactly the same. Factors such as climate, terrain, forage production, management style and marketing schemes will dictate the type of cattle that will perform best in your system.
Determining breeding goals should start by identifying what your production system looks like currently. By outlining the current production parameters, it will become more clear which traits need improvement in order to meet your goals. Once these traits are identified, it also becomes easier to select replacement bulls and females and make culling decisions to help you achieve your goals.
As an example, let’s look at three scenarios with different goals and what breeding program might be suitable for each:
George retains ownership of all his calves (steers and heifers) through slaughter. Because he doesn’t retain replacement heifers, a terminal crossbreeding system is probably best suited to meet his goals. Both two-breed and three-breed terminal crossbreeding result in 100 percent of offspring heterosis, leading to calves with higher growth performance.
For producers like Susan, who are selling their entire calf crop at weaning, increasing weaning weights is a primary focus. Choosing a crossbreeding program with high calving ease and the added benefit of hybrid vigour would likely be ideal for her operation.
Jeff retains replacement females for his breeding herd. To support his goal, he could focus on crossbreeding to develop F1crosses that should result in higher reproductive efficiency and longevity. Alternatively, he could focus on outcrossing (breeding to non-relatives or distant relatives) within a single breed. This system can be used to maintain performance levels and restore lost performance due to inbreeding depression.
Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. 2006. The Beef Cow Calf Manual.
Gaines, J. A., McClure, W. H., Vogt, D. W., Carter, R. C., & Kincaid, C. M. (1966). Heterosis from crosses among British breeds of beef cattle: Fertility and calf performance to weaning. Journal of Animal Science 25(1): 5- 13.
Turner, J. W., Farthing, B. R., & Robertson, G. L. (1968). Heterosis in reproductive performance of beef cows. Journal of Animal Science 27(2): 336-338.
Gregory, K. E., Cundiff, L. V., Koch, R. M., Laster, D. B., & Smith, G. M. (1978). Heterosis and Breed Maternal and Transmitted Effects in Beef Cattle I. Preweaning Traits 1, 2, 3, 6, 7. Journal of Animal Science 47(5), 1031-1041.
Spangler, M.L. 2007. The Value of Heterosis in Cow Herds: Lessons from the Past That Apply to Today. Range Beef Cow Symposium. 21.
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Acknowledgements
Thanks to:
Canadian Beef Breeds Council (CBBC)
Alberta Beef Producers (ABP)
Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture
Maritime Beef Test Station
University of Guelph
for their time and expertise in review of the contents of this page.
