![]() ![]() “Why is that important? Because the world beef industry is looking at sustainability and efficiency as the metrics of performance of the future. ![]() In northern breeding systems turning off 300-to 400kg steers for feedlots he said an animal growing at 0.8kg per day would take 125 days and 44,000kg of feed for maintenance, while an animal growing at 1.2kg per day would take just 84 days and 14,000kg less feed intake. “It is not as though Brahman doesn’t have the opportunity to change the focus of its breeding program very quickly, it can because you have got that variation there.”Īmong more specific traits he discussed was the challenge of selecting for growth without increasing mature cow weight. “So for all of those traits, you can make change,” he said. ![]() In Brahmans these variances spanned more than 5kg kilogram of birthweight, over 19kg of 200 day weight, over 53kg of mature cow weight, nearly 22 days to calving, and 20kg of carcase weight (worth over $100 per head on current markets), with variations in many other important traits such as eye muscle, rib fat and marbling also mention. He produced a range of data to highlight the variation that exists in Brahman cattle (as in all breeds) between the top 10pc of genetics and bottom 10pc of genetics. “If you’re not meeting the aspirations of quality, sustainability and welfare, as a bull breeder, then you need to have a really good look at your bull breeding program.” “If you have got animals that don’t meet the aspirations of the modern market or the future market, the information system will soon find you out, and that is going to be quite important for all breeders in the audience. Technology means the industry was under more consumer and community scrutiny than ever before, and the power of information transfer through the value chain also meant that there was now “no place you can hide in the value chain”. Leading red meat scientist Dr Alex Ball was characteristically direct in his comments, advising that the beat of the consumer drum is bringing dramatic changes to the beef industry, and placing greater emphasis on selection for traits based on eating quality, welfare and sustainability. “The whole context of measuring shouldn’t be to define the elite, it should be to remove the bottom 30 percent – you will get a bigger production advantage by measuring to remove the tail than you will by measuring to identify the elite.” “We’ve got to step that up to everyone measuring at least a little. “There are some people that measure a lot, some that measure a little, and some that don’t measure at all,” Mr Noakes, observed. The two-hour long session provided a variety of insights, some that would have lifted the spirts of stud breeders present, some that would have challenged their comfort zones, but all delivered in a constructive spirit of ensuring the breed remains relevant amid changing market and consumer trends.Īmong the overall messages presented was the need for measurement and benchmarking to ensure progress on a variety of increasingly important traits. “If you don’t ask, you can’t understand where you sit,” Australian Brahman Breeders Association senior vice president Matthew Noakes said. BRAHMANS might be one of the largest beef cattle breeds in Australia but the national committee overseeing the breed’s progress is not taking that position for granted.Īt the Australian Brahman Breeders Association annual conference in Rockhampton last Thursday several customers of Brahman cattle from commercial breeding, stud genetics and feedlots to live export and meat processing were invited to offer an honest assessment of where they see current strengths and short comings of Brahman cattle. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |