• Title/Summary/Keyword: Beef Cow Efficiency

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Efficiency of Calf Production from Twin-bearing Beef Cows on an Intensive Pasture System in Subtropical Australia

  • Hennessy, D.W.;Wilkins, J.F.
    • Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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    • v.18 no.12
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    • pp.1735-1740
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    • 2005
  • Forty-two single-bearing and 42 twin-bearing mature Angus${\times}$Hereford cows were allocated, seven per cell to 3 replications of 2 stocking rates (3.2 cows/ha; medium stocking rate [MSR], and 3.8 cows/ha; high stocking rate [HSR]) to graze summer-active and winter-active pastures from late pregnancy to the weaning of their calves. Cow liveweights and growth of calves were recorded as well as estimates of pasture quantity and forage intake. Pasture quantity did not differ in the paddocks grazed by single- and twin-bearing cows during pregnancy, nor effectively did forage intake. Subsequently, intake was higher during mid-lactation especially with twin-rearing cows (25% higher than single-rearing cows at the MSR; 9% at the HSR). However, quantity of pasture decreased for twin-rearing cows and was less than that available to single-rearing cows as lactation progressed. Liveweights of twinrearing cows decreased by 16% from late pregnancy to weaning at the MSR, and by 14% at the HSR, compared to decreases of 1% for single-rearing cows. Twin calves were lighter at birth, had slower growth rates, and were lighter at weaning than single calves. In spite of weaning smaller calves twinning increased the output (kg of calf weaned) per cow and per ha, and increased the efficiency (kg calf weaned per unit of forage eaten by the cow) over single calf production by 46% at the MSR and by 58% at the HSR. Twinning also increased the marginal returns from investment in high input pastures required by the enterprise.

Current situation and future prospects for the Australian beef industry - A review

  • Greenwood, Paul L;Gardner, Graham E;Ferguson, Drewe M
    • Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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    • v.31 no.7
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    • pp.992-1006
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    • 2018
  • Beef production extends over almost half of Australia, with about 47,000 cattle producers that contribute about 20% ($A12.7 billion gross value of production) of the total value of farm production in Australia. Australia is one of the world's most efficient producers of cattle and was the world's third largest beef exporter in 2016. The Australian beef industry had 25 million head of cattle in 2016-17, with a national beef breeding herd of 11.5 million head. Australian beef production includes pasture-based cow-calf systems, a backgrounding or grow-out period on pasture, and feedlot or pasture finishing. Feedlot finishing has assumed more importance in recent years to assure the eating quality of beef entering the relatively small Australian domestic market, and to enhance the supply of higher value beef for export markets. Maintenance of Australia's preferred status as a quality assured supplier of high value beef produced under environmentally sustainable systems from 'disease-free' cattle is of highest importance. Stringent livestock and meat quality regulations and quality assurance systems, and productivity growth and efficiency across the supply chain to ensure price competiveness, are crucial for continued export market growth in the face of increasing competition. Major industry issues, that also represent research, development and adoption priorities and opportunities for the Australian beef industry have been captured within exhaustive strategic planning processes by the red meat and beef industries. At the broadest level, these issues include consumer and industry support, market growth and diversification, supply chain efficiency, productivity and profitability, environmental sustainability, and animal health and welfare. This review provides an overview of the Australian beef industry including current market trends and future prospects, and major issues and opportunities for the continued growth, development and profitability of the industry.

Cow Residual Feed Intake(RFI) monitoring and metabolic abnormality prediction system using wearable device for Milk cow and Beef

  • Chang, Jin-Wook;Kwak, Ho-Young
    • Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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    • v.26 no.10
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    • pp.139-145
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    • 2021
  • In this paper, by using the cattle feed intake, rumination, and in heat monitoring technology, RFI (Residual Feed Intake) monitoring and wearable devices and PCs for predicting abnormalities in budding target web and smart A monitoring system using a phone application was designed and implemented. With the development of this system, the farmer is expected to increase economic efficiency. By analyzing the feed intake, it is possible to identify the difference between the recommended feed amount based on the cow's weight and the feed amount consumed by the cow, and it is expected that early detection of metabolic disorders (abnormality of metabolism) is possible. Farmers using the results of this thesis can distinguish the cows with the most efficient performance, and the 6-axis motion sensor signals input from the wearable device attached to the cow's skin (neck) and the microphone attached to the wearable device. It is possible to measure the cow's rumination and feed intake through the sound of the cow's throat. In the future, improvements will be made to measure additional vital signs such as heart rate and respiration.

Current situation and future trends for beef production in the United States of America - A review

  • Drouillard, James S.
    • Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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    • v.31 no.7
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    • pp.1007-1016
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    • 2018
  • USA beef production is characterized by a diversity of climates, environmental conditions, animal phenotypes, management systems, and a multiplicity of nutritional inputs. The USA beef herd consists of more than 80 breeds of cattle and crosses thereof, and the industry is divided into distinct, but ofttimes overlapping sectors, including seedstock production, cow-calf production, stocker/backgrounding, and feedlot. Exception for male dairy calves, production is predominantly pastoral-based, with young stock spending relatively brief portions of their life in feedlots. The beef industry is very technology driven, utilizing reproductive management strategies, genetic improvement technologies, exogenous growth promoting compounds, vaccines, antibiotics, and feed processing strategies, focusing on improvements in efficiency and cost of production. Young steers and heifers are grain-based diets fed for an average of 5 months, mostly in feedlots of 1,000 head capacity or more, and typically are slaughtered at 15 to 28 months of age to produce tender, well-marbled beef. Per capita beef consumption is nearly 26 kg annually, over half of which is consumed in the form of ground products. Beef exports, which are increasingly important, consist primarily of high value cuts and variety meats, depending on destination. In recent years, adverse climatic conditions (i.e., draught), a shrinking agricultural workforce, emergence of food-borne pathogens, concerns over development of antimicrobial resistance, animal welfare/well-being, environmental impact, consumer perceptions of healthfulness of beef, consumer perceptions of food animal production practices, and alternative uses of traditional feed grains have become increasingly important with respect to their impact on both beef production and demand for beef products. Similarly, changing consumer demographics and globalization of beef markets have dictated changes in the types of products demanded by consumers of USA beef, both domestically and abroad. The industry is highly adaptive, however, and responds quickly to evolving economic signals.

The Use of Radioimmunoassay to Monitor Reproductive Status of Dairy and Beef Cattle and the Effect of Farm Size and Managment System on Reproductive Performance

  • Choung, D.C.;Kim, J.K.;Kim, D.C.;Yoon, S.K.
    • Korean Journal of Animal Reproduction
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    • v.12 no.2
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    • pp.91-96
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    • 1988
  • A study was conducted to improve breeding efficiency of dairy and beef cows on Cheju Island. Milk progesterone and plasma progesterone profiles were determined by using radioimmunoassay techniques during the oestrus cycle, onset on oestrus and during the gestation period. Progesterone connections in milk were very low during the oestrus with a means value of 2.4ng/ml and 4.6ng/ml at the onset of oestrus but gradually declined at 4 to 9 hr after oestrus. In the cyclic cow, milk progesterone concentraitons in the early part of the cycle, ranged from 3 to 5ng/ml and increased from 6.0 to 11.6ng/ml on day 13 to 21 of cycle. Milk progesterone concentrations of pregnancy cows ranged from 5.0 to 40ng/ml during the gestation and grom basal line to 3.5ng/ml for nonpregnant cows. Plasma progesterone concentrations of beef during pregnancy period ranged form 3.0 to 33ng/ml and basal levels ranged from 0 to less than 2.5ng/ml for non-pregnant beef cows.

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Development Strategies of The Hanwoo [Korean Native Cattle] Industry (한우산업의 발전전략)

  • Kim Jin Suk
    • Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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    • 1998.10a
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    • pp.68-111
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    • 1998
  • The structure of the Hanwoo (Korean Native Cattle) Industry remains very weak and vulnerable to the WTO/IMF system. Considering that the majority of cattle farmers are small sized, and that marketing systems are outdated and inefficient, rapid expansion of lower priced beef imports by WTO system and rapid increasing of production costs by IMF system would lead to the deprivation of a regular source of farm income and threaten the stability of rural life. Accordingly, the Hanwoo industry should be expanded in accordance with progress in the implementation of (1) programs for the structural adjustment and (2) measures to compensate for the loss. Efforts for lowering major production factor costs needs to continue, In order to increase the supply of calves at low cost, the programs of collective cow-calf farms should be expanded, thereby reducing the cost of calf purchase, which constitutes the largest share of Hanwoo production cost. Also, feedlot operations should be encouraged for small herd farms in order to achieve a substantial saving in beef production costs by integrated operations from calf production to cattle fattening. A substantial saving would also be made by collective purchase and distribution of various inputs through the cooperatives' channels. Extension services should be strengthened for cattle farm management, cattle care and feeding, prevention of cattle disease, etc. In order to minimize cash outlays for commercial mixed feeds, utilization of far by-products as feeds should be enhanced and production of forage crops productive of resources, such as land and rural labor, during the farm o(f-season, needs to be encouraged. Also, technological development for enhancing the nutritional value of farm by-products should be encouraged. Measures for successful segregation of the Hanwoo beef market should be implemented, thereby enhancing incentive for quality beef producers and protecting consumers willing to pay higher price for quality beef. For development of the Hanwoo industry, a considerable time frame would be required in order for (1) small livestock farmers to make a successful adjustment by staying in the enterprise and achieving increased price efficiency (2) livestock farmers to acquire know-how for producing quality Hanwoo beef, (3) the ongoing Government policy of enhancing price-quality competitiveness, and for improving the quality Hanwoo beef marketing to take root. (4) consumers to increase their ability to distinguish meat quality, and others.

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Indigenous Thai Beef Cattle Breeding Scheme Incorporating Indirect Measures of Adaptation: Sensitivity to Changes in Heritabilities of and Genetic Correlations between Adaptation Traits

  • Kahi, A.K.;Graser, H.U.
    • Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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    • v.17 no.8
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    • pp.1039-1046
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    • 2004
  • A model Indigenous Thai beef cattle breeding structure consisting of nucleus, multiplier and commercial units was used to evaluate the effect of changes in heritabilities of and genetic correlations between adaptation traits on genetic gain and profitability. A breeding objective that incorporated adaptation was considered. Two scenarios for improving both the production and the adaptation of animals where also compared in terms of their genetic and economic efficiency. A base scenario was modelled where selection is for production traits and adaptation is assumed to be under the forces of natural selection. The second scenario (+Adaptation) included all the information available for base scenario with the addition of indirect measures of adaptation. These measures included tick count (TICK), faecal egg count (FEC) and rectal temperature (RECT). Therefore, the main difference between these scenarios was seen in the records available for use as selection criteria and hence the level of investments. Additional genetic gain and profitability was generated through incorporating indirect measures of adaptation as criteria measured in the breeding program. Unsurprisingly, the results were sensitive to the changes in heritabilities and genetic correlations between adaptation traits. However, there were more changes in the genetic gain and profitability of the breeding program when the genetic correlations of adaptation and its indirect measures were varied than when the correlations between these measures were. The changes in the magnitudes of the genetic gain and profit per cow stresses the importance of using reliable estimates of these traits in any breeding program.

Reproductive performance of Korean native cattle (Hanwoo) focusing on calving interval and parity (분만간격과 산차를 중심으로 한국 재래종인 한우의 번식능력 분석)

  • Cho, Jaesung;Do, Changhee;Choi, Inchul
    • Journal of Embryo Transfer
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    • v.31 no.3
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    • pp.273-279
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    • 2016
  • The Korean native cattle, Hanwoo, is the most popular breed of beef cattle in Korea. However, the reproductive performance data are limited although reproduction is one of the most economically and biologically important in beef production. Therefore, this study was undertaken to investigate reproductive performance parameters including calving interval, parity for life time production. Data collected from 206,827 calvings were analyzed. There were no significant differences in calving interval and gestation days as parity increased from 2nd and 13rd parity cow, from spring to winter. However, we found a dramatic increase in calving interval after year 2000. About 1 month were increased per year ( y = 30.578x + 344.45 $R^2=0.9157$). Interestingly, we observed that parities for life time can be affected by birth weight. Calves with 23 kg at birth showed highest parities, $3.4{\pm}2.0$ times. In summary, this study provides valuable data on reproductive performance of Hanwoo and the data presented here can be used as a standard target for optimising and enhancing reproductive performance.

Effect of temporary weaning and creep feeding on calf growth and the reproductive efficiency of their Hereford dams

  • Cruz, R. Santa;De Barbieri, I.;Olmo, V. Morales;Montossi, F.;Vinoles, C.
    • Animal Bioscience
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    • v.35 no.10
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    • pp.1524-1534
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    • 2022
  • Objective: The objective was to test if creep feeding (CF) improves the average daily gain (ADG) and weaning weight of calves submitted to temporary weaning (TW) and if the combination of CF and TW improves conception and pregnancy rates of cows. Methods: Primiparous (n = 74) and primiparous and multiparous (n = 104) cows grazing native grasslands were used in experiment 1 and 2; respectively. The experimental design was in plots divided into complete random blocks with two replications. The CF was the big plot and TW the small plot, thus four experimental groups were formed: i) -CF-TW (n = 21 and 27); ii) -CF+TW (n = 16 and 24); iii) +CF-TW (n = 20 and 26); iv) +CF+TW (n = 17 and 27) with cow-calf pairs for experiments 1 and 2; respectively. Nose plate application for TW had a duration of 14 and 15 days for experiment 1 and 2: respectively. In experiment 1, calves were fed at 1% of live weight for 112 days using a commercial supplement with 18.4% crude protein. In experiment 2, the supplementation lasted 98 days, and was carried out with corn dried distillers grains with soluble (DDGS) at 40% of the potential intake on a daily basis. Results: The TW reduced ADG during the TW period and the following 14 days, but the negative effect of TW was maintained until the final weaning only in experiment 2. The CF increased ADG during TW period in both experiments. The TW promoted an earlier conception of the dams (12 days in -CF treatment and 19 days in +CF treatment, p<0.01) and CF increased pregnancy rate in experiment 1, being the effects not consistent between experiments. Conclusion: The CF consistently promoted an increase in ADG during the period of TW and increased final weaning weight of calves, therefore it is economically viable.

Agricultural Policies and Geographical Specialization of Farming in England (영국의 농업정책이 지리적 전문화에 미친 영향 연구)

  • Kim, Ki-Hyuk
    • Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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    • v.5 no.1
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    • pp.101-120
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    • 1999
  • The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of agricultural polices on the change of regional structure based on the specialization during the productivism period. Analysis are carried on through the comparison of distribution in 1950s and 1997. Since the 1950s, governmental policy has played a leading role in shaping the pattern of farming in Great Britain. The range of British measures have also been employed in an attempt to improve the efficiency of agriculture and raise farm income. Three fairly distinct phase can be identified in the developing relationship between government policies and British agriculture in the postwar period. In the 1st phase, The Agricultural Act of 1947 laid the foundations for agricultural productivism in Great Britain until membership of the EC. This was to be achieved through the system of price support and guaranteed prices and the means of a series of grants and subsidies. Guaranteed prices encouraged farmenrs to intensify production and specialize in either cereal farming or milk-beef enterprise. The former favoured eastern areas, whereas the latter favoured western areas. Various grants and subsidies were made available to farmers during this period, again as a way of increasing efficiency and farm incomes. Many policies, such as Calf Subsidy and the Ploughing Grant, Hill cow and Hill Sheep Schemes and the Hill Farming and Livestock Rearing Grant was provided. Some of these policies favoured western uplands, whilst the others was biased towards the Lake District. Concentration of farms occured especially in near the London Metropolitan Area and south part of Scotland. In the 2nd stage after the membership of EC, very high guaranteed price created a relatively risk-free environment, so farmers intensified production and levels of self-sufficiency for most agriculture risen considerably. As farmers were being paid high prices for as much as they could produce, the policy favoured areas of larger-scale farming in eastern Britain. As a result of increasing regional disparities in agriculture, the CAP became more geographically sensitive in 1975 with the setting up of the Less Favoured Areas(LFAs). But they are biased towards the larger farms, because such farms have more crops and/or livestock, but small farms with low incomes are in most need of support. Specialization of cereals such wheat and barely was occured, but these two cereal crops have experienced rather different trend since 1950s. Under the CAP, farmers have been paid higher guaranteed prices for wheat than for barely because of the relative shortage of wheat in the EC. And more barely were cultivated as feedstuffs for livestock by home-grown cereals. In the 1950s dairying was already declining in what was to become the arable areas of southern and eastern England. By the mid-1980s, the pastral core had maintained its dominance, but the pastoral periphery had easily surpassed arable England as the second most important dairying district. Pig farming had become increasingly concentrated in intensive units in the main cereal areas of eastern England. These results show that the measure of agricultural policy induced the concentration and specialization implicitly. Measures for increasing demand, reducing supply or raising farm incomes are favoured by large scale farming. And price support induced specialization of farming. And technology for specialization are diffused and induced geographical specialization. This is the process of change of regional structure through the specialization.

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