Farm: Cattle genetics
may mean lower feed costs
By Mike Surbrugg
The
September 26, 2008
Two speakers at the University of
Missouri Southwest Center’s annual Field Day on Sept. 12 said it is known that
some animals put on more weight than others in the same herd. They want to
unlock the genetics that cause this trait and breed it into other cattle.
Scientists compare it to those people who eat desserts all
day and do not gain weight while others pack on pounds with a lot less food.
Forage agronomist Rob Kallenbach
said breeding those genetics into cattle to make more efficient use of forages
could lower winter feed costs by 10 to 30 percent when combined with good
pasture management.
The study is not tied to any particular cattle breed.
“There is as much or more variation between animals within a
breed as there is between breeds,” he said.
On pastures, feed-efficient animals need 15 to 20 percent
less forage, he said.
Kallenbach also warned producers
not to focus all of their attention on any one trait; feed efficiency, for
example, has little value if that cow produces little milk.
At the
The study started with heifers purchased from the same herd.
The animals have been divided into two groups, one that needs more feed to get
a pound of gain and the other, which needs less. Both groups look identical but
one just needs less food.
The feed bunks that animals use are tied to a scale that
continuously records the weight of feed in the bunk.
Mike Surbrugg is The Joplin
Globe’s farm editor.
joplinglobe.com