J. Anim Sci.
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J. Anim Sci. 1979. 48:966-973.
© 1979 American Society of Animal Science
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Size as a Component of Beef Production Efficiency: Feedlot Production and Integrated Efficiency1

Gerald M. Smith2

U. S. Department of Agriculture, Clay Center, NE 68933

Abstract

Large, late-maturing breeds gain more rapidly postweaning and are leaner at constant age or weight end points than are smaller breeds. This increased growth rate and leaner composition of gain makes them more efficient over either age- or weight-constant intervals of evaluation; the efficiency advantage of increased growth rate is maximal over weight-constant intervals because of the reduced number of days of maintenance. Breed size has little effect on either grade-constant efficiency or meat palatability. Because there is little reason to take small cattle to heavy weights where they lose efficiency and become too fat or to slaughter large cattle before their increased production costs are amortized over more weight and they reach the desired grade, market requirements for slaughter weight and composition are the primary determinants of optimal size.

In purebred production systems or in crossing systems in which breeds of similar size are used, breed size has little effect on integrated biological efficiency if slaughter animals are marketed at optimal weights. Economic efficiency in these systems usually favors large cows because of fixed per head costs; however, small cows may be favored under high postweaning to cow-herd nutrient cost ratios. The use of terminal-sire breeds of larger size than the cow herd more than offsets the advantage of large cows and is the most effective way to use size to increase biological and economic efficiency, especially if replacement heifers are produced from young cows and only older cows are mated to the large sires. Breed size should be exploited in a terminal-crossing system by selecting sire and dam lines with the greatest tolerable divergence in size to produce slaughter cattle of the heaviest acceptable market weight.

Footnotes

1 Invitational paper presented at the Beef Cattle Session of the 69th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Animal Science, University of Wisconsin, July 25, 1977.

2 U. S. Meat Animal Research Center, Agricultural Research, Science and Education Administration.






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