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This Article Free Via Open Access Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: jas.2008-1620v1 87/9/3053    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Google Scholar Articles by Dal Zotto, R. Articles by Bittante, G. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Dal Zotto, R. Articles by Bittante, G.

Use of crossbreeding with beef bulls in dairy herds: Effect on age, body weight, price, and market value of calves sold at livestock auctions^1,2

R. Dal Zotto^*, M. Penasa^*, M. De Marchi^*,3, M. Cassandro^*, N. López-Villalobos and G. Bittante^*

^* Department of Animal Science, University of Padova, Viale dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro (PD), Italy; and Institute of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences, Massey University, Private Bag 11-222, Palmerston North, New Zealand

³ Corresponding author: massimo.demarchi{at}unipd.it

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of different breeds and breed crosses on age (AC, d), BW (kg), price (PR, $/kg), and market value (MV, $/calf) of purebred and crossbred calves sold for veal and beef production. The Kovieh wholesale cattle organization (Bolzano, Italy) grouped calves from several dairy herds located in the Trentino-Südtirol region in Italy and sold them by public auctions. Data on AC, BW, PR, and MV from 96,458 calves were recorded from January 2003 to December 2007 and consisted of 4 pure breeds [2 dairy, Brown Swiss (BS) and Holstein-Friesian (HF); and 2 dual-purpose, Simmental (SI) and Alpine Grey (AG)], and 8 crossbreds by crosses of Limousin (LI) and Belgian Blue (BB) with the 4 dam breeds. Least squares means for AC, BW, PR, and MV were calculated for breeds and breed crosses with a model that included fixed effects of herd of birth, age (except for AC), sex, and breed of the calf, year and season of auction, and interactions between the main effects. The coefficients of determination of the models were 0.41, 0.51, 0.84, and 0.82 for AC, BW, PR, and MV, respectively. Sex, age, and breed were the most relevant sources of variation for BW (P < 0.001), whereas breed and sex were the most important sources of variation for AC, PR, and MV (P < 0.001). Also, PR and MV were significantly influenced (P < 0.01) by all the effects included in the model, except for season x age interaction in the case of MV. Market value of male was greater (P < 0.001) than that of female calves, with the exception of BS (–$28.76/calf) and HF (–$20.70/calf) purebred males. Dual-purpose purebred calves presented greater (P < 0.001) PR and MV than dairy purebreds (MV of $426.97/calf and $307.96/calf for SI and AG, and $256.24/calf and $275.65/calf for BS and HF, respectively). Calves from SI and AG dams had greater (P < 0.001) BW, PR, and MV than calves from BS and HF dams. Calves from SI cows had greater (P < 0.001) BW, PR, and MV than calves from AG cows. Crossbreeding with beef bulls increased (P < 0.001) BW, PR, and MV of calves from dairy and dual-purpose dams. Crossbreeding with BB bulls increased PR (+$2.58 ± 0.04/kg; P < 0.001) and MV (+$190.84 ± 3.62/calf; P < 0.001) of calves much more than LI. The use of beef bull semen on dairy herds resulted in an economic revenue from selling crossbred calves.

Key Words: beef and dairy breed • Belgian Blue • body weight • calf • crossbreeding • market value