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Selecting Beef Cattle for Economical Gain^1,2,

United States Department of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Department, University of Nebraska, Lincoln

Abstract

Indexes were derived predicting the genic values for the cost of producing a 1000-lb. beef animal using weaning weight, post-weaning average daily gain and estimated feed consumption from weaning to 1000 lb. The cost of producing a 1000-lb. animal was defined in terms of days from weaning to 1000 lb. and feed consumed (TDN) from weaning to 1000 lb. Feed consumption was extrapolated to 1000 lb. by fitting the exponential relationship of feed efficiency on weight using individual feeding data. Selecting for a combination of weaning weight and post-weaning average daily gain is expected to result in 0.73 as much genetic change in net merit as when the individual's feed consumption is also included in the index. Most breeders are likely to be satisfied with the reduced genetic gain in the economical production of beef in order to avoid the expense and effort required for individual feeding. Perhaps sufficient increased genetic gain would accrue to the industry to stimulate some primary seed stock herds to use individual feeding to increase accuracy of selection.

¹ Published with approval of the Director as Paper No. 1200, Journal Series, Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station. Contribution from the North Central Regional Project NC-1, Improvement of Beef Cattle through Breeding Methods.

² The authors express their appreciation to R. L. Davis and E. W. Schleicher for assistance in collecting the data.

³ Beef Cattle Research Branch, Animal Husbandry Research Division, Agricultural Research Service, Lincoln, Nebraska.

⁴ Animal Husbandry Department, University of Nebraska.