Clark Rattray, owner of Pleasant View Beefmasters in the Swartberg in KwaZulu-Natal, writes that maternal heterosis is the most important trait in a cow herd. Beefmaster bulls are the most important part of any crossbreeding programme, because of its contribution to maternal hybrid vigour, says Rattray.
As beef producers, we all know that our market is experiencing a high at the moment. This is caused by old-fashioned supply and demand. However, the tide will turn and we are going to have to create the upmost efficiency in our beef supply chain to be competitive on the market. The most proven way to create efficiency in beef production is to utilise heterosis (hybrid vigour). Heterosis is the increased function of any biological quality in hybrid offspring.
This is the occurrence of genetically superior offspring by mixing the genes of its parents. Heterosis is introduced through crossbreeding. Thus, because of the genetic make-up of the Beefmaster, which is a three-way cross, the breed offers you the best of everything that its offspring will inherit from its parents. The Beefmaster gives you the best chance to inherit the traits that will impact your cow efficiency the most.
These are what make a beef enterprise successful. Beefmaster bulls will pass along that 16% increase in heterosis in the form of more kilograms of calf weaned and more productive female animals in almost every trait. This equates to more income from every cow sired by a Beefmaster. With crossbreeding, almost every trait is improved; calves are stronger at birth and end up heavier at weaning, which improves profit. But the biggest advantage when breeding with Beefmaster-cross cows is the maternal heterosis that you gain. The driving factor for hybrid vigour is the retained heterosis you gain in the cow herd.
Because of the unique genetic make-up of the Beefmaster, 63% of the possible heterosis is retained in the offspring. This is significant because most other breeds retain only 47% heterosis.
One of the benefits of using Beefmaster bulls is that calves are easy to birth and are heavy at weaning.
Maternal heterosis is the increase in production of a cow above that of the average of her parents’ breed. Advantages of maternal heterosis are seen in maternal ability; reproduction; longevity; calf survivability; kilograms of calf weaned; and early sexual maturity (precocity). One of the most important heritable components is fertility. Thus, crossbreeding with the Beefmaster leads to a big improvement in low heritable traits such as fertility. This will result in more calves born in a shorter time frame, which means a cow will produce more beef over her lifteime compared with the average of other breeds. Thus maternal heterosis will make a beef farmer more money than anything else.
Beefmasters are the most important part of any crossbreeding programme because of the powerful impact they can have on maternal heterosis. Whatever breed your cow herd consists of, using Beefmaster bulls will create superior crossbred female animals to capitalise on maternal heterosis.
‘BECAUSE OF THE GENETIC MAKE-UP OF THE BEEFMASTER, 63% OF THE POSSIBLE HETEROSIS IS RETAINED IN ITS OFFSPRING’
For example, if a beef farmer has heifers sired by continental bulls, the fastest way to improve maternal worth in those female animals is to breed them back to Beefmaster bulls. No other breed can add as much to maternal traits in as short a generation interval as the Beefmaster bull can.
The only way one can survive in the beef-producing industry is through ensuring that your cows conceive, calve down with no problems, raise a calf to a weanable age and weight, and get back into calf as soon as possible. All of these the Beefmaster-cross cow will achieve, with very little fuss. Based on the advantages that one’s beef operation will benefit in terms of finances and with cow productivity, it wasn’t a difficult decision for the Pleasant View farming operation to start using the Beefmaster. We then started the Pleasant View Beefmaster Stud by upgrading our Simbra-type beef herd, and now sell bulls on the Southern Natal Beefmaster Sale, which will take place on 12 August at the Swartberg Saleyards. Pleasant View Beefmaster aims to produce wellfleshed, hardy and adaptable animals that will make the Pleasant View Stud and the Beefmaster Cattle Breeders’ Society of South Africa proud.
Phone Clark Rattray on 072 185 4571.
Phone the Beefmaster Cattle Breeders’
Society of South Africa on 083 417 7047.