, Beefmaster Hires New Youth Programs Coordinator, April 19, 2023 There is no minimum on the number of head you can send, but he cautions against sending only one head. Your preferences will apply to this website only. Its hardiness also makes it an economical choice. They excel post-weaning as well, with faster weight gains, excellent feed conversion and carcass yields around 64%. The Beefmaster is a great range cattle breed that can handle adverse environments and climates. Previous revisions by Dan T. Brown, former Extension Animal Scientist. Breeding Hereford bulls to Angus cows results in the perfect female, and the steers hold their own, too. Toughness- they can thrive in cold winters. The bigger the genetic difference between the parents, the greater the hybrid vigor in the 50/50 crossbred calf. You get all the convenience traits in the female along with a crossbred, high performing calf with excellent carcass traits. Its hardiness also makes it an economical choice. American Cattlemen is a division of Twin Rivers Media. This cattle breed is mainly found in North Queensland, Australia. The breeding program leading to their establishment was started by Ed C. Lasater in 1908, when he purchased Brahman bulls to use on his commercial herd of Hereford and . What is the best food to feed a Labrador puppy? The calf of an Angus cow and a Charolais or Brahman bull will have far more hybrid vigor than a calf produced by breeding an Angus cow to a Galloway bull. Droughtmasters are medium to large cattle with medium maturity. A post shared by Kader Cattle Company (@kadercattle). Texas A&Ms Paschal points out, It doubles the amount of heterosis. This cattle breed is higher in weight and have very good fertility. The Noble Research Institute is also working with Beefmaster Breeders United to conduct economic research on grass-fed, and grain fed carcass merit. The Santa Gertrudis cattle breed are a tropical beef cattle breed that is well known for the good quality of beef and pleasant temperaments. The Zebu-influence breeds were developed in the Gulf Coast region of the United States. One of the most popular uses of terminal crosses to take advantage of hybrid vigor are "Black Baldy" cattle (also known as Black Whiteface cattle), which are a true terminal cross of Hereford Cattle and a solid black cattle breed, most commonly Aberdeen Angus. These cattle have been developed by the Lasater Ranch then headquartered in Texas. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. In the early 90s, the St. The breed will jump-start your cattle and give your next calf crop a performance boost. The breed originated in Southern Texas in the late 1800s into the early 1900s. The cows are extremely fertile have calves with good birthweights and weaning weights. As a producer, you must be satisfied with the color and its uniformity or lack of uniformity. Good marbling makes for a tender, succulent and very tasty cut of meat that holds its quality throughout the carcass. If that doesnt convince you theres prejudice in cattle circles when it comes to Brahman blood, take a look at the specs for many branded beef programs. Scotch Highland As one of the hardiest breeds, they survive in poor conditions where other cattle perish. Beefmasters are well known within the international beef industry for their successful adaptation in tropical climates. Through centuries of exposure to inadequate food supplies, insect pests, parasites, diseases and the weather extremes of tropical India, the native cattle developed some remarkable adaptations for survival which cattle producers in the USA found useful and advantageous. Beefmaster females, purebred or percentage, will add disease tolerance, insect tolerance, heat tolerance, longevity, docility, calving ease, maternal abilities and hardiness. Usually, around 279 to 287 days but most gestation is 283 days. The most obvious example of a crossbreeding program is a terminal cross in which both parents are purebred cattle, but from two distinct breeds, and the calves are always a 50/50 mix of the two breeds. Lack of color uniformity is considered a disadvantage to some people. Chriss current passion is wine. What are the characteristics of a Beefmaster? If you are leaning toward a specialty breed that is selected for some trait other than beef production, you must accept the risk of a limited market for the chance at the higher prices sometimes received for the product. The association has over 3,000 members registering around 19,000 calves annually. When crossbred offspring are rebred (either to other crossbred cattle or back to a purebred animal), the next generation of calves will display traits that can be anywhere along a sliding scale between the two (or more) purebred extremes, ranging from looking almost completely purebred on either end of the scale to literally ANYWHERE in between. There are very few problems reported regarding this breed. Because a terminal crossbreeding program creates offspring with a fixed breed ratio (i.e. Beefmasters were introduced to Europe in 2014 by way of Italy and since have grown in popularity throughout Poland, Ireland, United Kingdom, Portugal, Spain, Austria, Germany and most recently Turkey. They can't stand heat, so they can't be used as draft oxen. Beefmaster is a breed of beef cattle that was developed in the early 1930s by Tom Lasater (the breed founder), from a systematic crossing of Hereford cows and Shorthorn cows with Brahman bulls. Diamonds of the Flint Hills Spring Female Sale, Paxico, KS, document.write(new Date().getFullYear()); Beefmaster Breeders United | 118 W. Bandera Road, Boerne, TX 78006 | It is possible to select a bull of one of the breeds that would be an exception to the averages. Beefmaster ranks fifth in the U.S. in terms of membership and is the largest of the American breeds. Reduced per cow cost will become a requirement of cow/calf operators to survive in the current and evolving beef industry. Mixed breeding is similar to crossbreeding in that it combines multiple breeds, but there is no strict adherence to fixed breed ratios within the herd. This bull could perform either better or worse than the bulls used in the MARC project. Beefmaster. Fewer calving problems 4.Dispositon Land grant universities in Texas, Florida, and Oklahoma are conducting research projects to evaluate carcass quality and feed efficiency through utilizing Beefmaster for crossbreeding on popular breeds such as Angus, Charolais, Hereford, Simmental, Limousin and even some dairy breeds. On the other hand, you may select a breed that is relatively unavailable in your area in order to offer a unique alternative for other breeders. He adds the IMF on heifers was 2.0 to 2.5 square inches per cwt but now is 2.5 to 4.0 square inches per cwt. Many cattlemen are unaware of the level of increase in productivity that crossbreeding offers the cattle industry. Beefmaster Cattle Breed Uses While its primary purpose is meat, the Beefmaster also produces a decent amount of excellent milk for dairy products and high-quality leather for other uses. The Beefmaster is a gentle animal, both cows and bulls. The Lasater Ranch is located on the Rocky Mountain plains, which is known for its high altitude, snow, extreme cold and meager grassland for foraging. Hybrid vigor is for real.. Its disposition is one of its defining qualities. The price range of these cattle may differ from place to place because of their listed benefits as compared to fewer disadvantages. Texas A&M Extension animal scientist Joe Paschal says Santa Gertrudis already have genomic-enhanced EPDs, and Brangus should have them soon. Less than 50% Brahman, and meat quality does not suffer significantly in either quality grade or tenderness. You either need to rely on other farmers to supply you with replacement heifers or you need to maintain a second separate purebred breeding herd that must produce sufficient heifers to maintain the herd numbers of both your purebred and your cross-bred herd. These tests indicated in the Kempfers case the majority of their beef was in the acceptable range. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. The advantage of a terminal crossbreeding program goes far beyond just mixing characteristics from two breeds. The purebred operation requires more time, record keeping and initial input. Cow milk production declines after three months; therefore, supplement the nutrient requirements of the growing calf by making high-quality forage available. Johnson and fellow UF researcher Mauricio Elzo reached these conclusions after feeding out and harvesting 1,367 head of Brahman, Angus and Brahman/Angus crosses from 1989 to 2009. Drought master cattle have become rare now days. Several states have pasture-to-plate type programs where cattle from several producers are grouped together and sent to a feedlot for finishing, then to harvest. They get bred easily, year in and year out. However, George Kempfer says that in the spring and summer, the steers have gained 3.5 to 4.4 pounds a day and have shown a feed-conversion ratio of 5.4 to 1 (dry-matter-intake-to-gain ratio). You may decide to select a breed that is amply available, so replenishing the herd is easier. She and her husband, Norm, were awarded the State of Kentucky Colonel Honor for their restoration work at Mammoth Cave National Park. 365. George Kempfer adds: Weve seen a huge amount of interest from people who understand the importance of improving carcass quality and other production traits. Johnson explains they found there is a difference in tenderness, based on percentage of Brahman genetics in an animal. Copyright 1997-2016 All Rights Reserved. Office: 210-732-3132 | Fax: 210-732-7711, The Cowboy Heritage Beefmaster Sale Report. If your program needs more growth, select a bull from one of the growth breeds that has a light birth weight and low birth weight EPD. Scientists suggest that as much as a 25-30% advantage may exist by use of crossbreeding. The project was designed to evaluate the recently imported breeds from Europe and provides the most complete, comprehensive data available. network of committed specialists, agents and volunteers to help Georgians learn, grow and do more. They excel post-weaning as well, with faster weight gains, excellent feed conversion and carcass yields around 64%. Novice to intermediate Cattle farmer/keeper level, Livestock should not be left unattended around unsupervised children. In the early 1970s, a research project was started at the Meat Animal Research Center (MARC) in Clay Center, Nebraska. The Beefmaster is a hardy range animal that can live in most climates. They cut cows and heifers for fertility problems, udder quality, calving ease and disposition. Combining cattle from multiple breeds can add environmental adaptations to your herd that you just can't get from a single breed. Learn more. The purebred cattle market often provides a higher return per cow unit, but at the expense of higher maintenance costs, higher breeding costs, more management inputs and greater risks. They scare easy., Henry says theres still room for improvement. The values in the table are listed in ratios. If your cattle are predominately one breed, your breed association may also have a feed-out program. Annual Cost per Cow* must equal Weaning Weight** x Calf Crop Percentage x Market Price, * Annual cost per cow considerations include: Land, feed (grain and mineral), herd health, fertilizer, hay (purchase vs. custom), depreciation (cow purchase), ** Weaning weight considerations: growth rate, milk production, environment, Calf crop percentage considerations: selection, bull fertility, dystocia, health, Market price considerations: season, demand, management ability. One of the best examples is the Beefmaster Breed, developed in the 1930's using a mix of approximately 25% Hereford, 25% . A post shared by San Isidro Beefmasters (@sanisidrobeefmasters). These guidelines were the brainchild of Lasater, who recognized the importance of these inheritable traits. Henry recalls: We got a video of them, and the tags were out. Naturally polled- there is no need to dehorn Angus calves, which results in less stress on the animal and no infections. This will keep them at bay long enough for you to escape with your livestock. With this optimum philosophy in mind, we can look at general trends in milk production, growth and reproduction of several breeds in the United States. Still, if you have a state feed-out program, he encourages those new to the feeding process to go through it. However, the news was far from all bad for devotees to the Brahman breed. According to this evidence, base the selection of a breed on the level of performance in your environment. Brothers George and Henry Kempfer give Johnsons statement a strong Amen. These fifth-generation ranchers, from St. Beefmaster cattle are known for their easy handling, although a cows mothering ability and protection of her calf should not be confused with bad temperament. The ABBA is working with Zoetis. Do you really know cattle? These cost cutting measures are built into the Beefmaster influenced female. Coat color, whether it is red, black, white, yellow, gray or mixed, has little to do with performance, but it does affect how people perceive cattle. A hereford bull over the SG cows make some very good replacements that will bring top dollar. It is hard to maintain the purity of this breed. For example, you could combine the heat tolerance of a tropical breed, like Zebu Cattle with the smaller frame size, lighter (and younger) finishing weight, and cold adaptability of one of the British beef cattle breeds. The Lasater family originally developed a large herd of Hereford cattle carefully selected to withstand the heat and insects of the Texas Gulf Coast region, but they were still not perfectly suited to that difficult environment. They have a lot of positive traits. Another variation is to re-bred the 50/50 mix to a third breed, which increases the range of environmental adaptations you introduce into your herd, but also adds yet another degree of complexity to your herd management. They're prone to eye cancer and sunburn. Brahman is composed of three Zebu breeds, while others such as Brangus, Santa Gertrudis, etc., are composites of the American Brahman and either British or European breeds. The advantages and disadvantages of various crossbreeding systems are listed in the following pages and in Table 2. The cattle should have a muscular back and neck with a clean dewlap. 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