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Best linear unbiased predictor solutions as % for service sire age groups effect, 1 (1 to <4 yr), 2 (4 to <7 yr), and 3 (≥7 yr) of Angus bulls mated to Holstein cows
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The widespread use of sexed semen on US dairy cows and heifers has led to an excess of replacement heifers' calves, and the sale prices for those calves are much lower than in the past. Females not selected to produce the next generation of replacement heifers are increasingly being bred to beef bulls to produce crossbred calves for beef production...
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... to Norman et al. (2008), excluding the service sire residual component, service sire age had the largest influence on SCR of dairy bulls, whereas service-sire inbreeding and expected inbreeding of resulting embryo had a very small impact, and omitting those 2 effects did not considerably affect sire rankings. The SCR in Angus decreased from 0.4 to 0.1 and to −0.5% when bull age changed from 1 to <4, 4 to <7, and ≥7 yr, as shown in Table 5. Norman et al. (2015) found similar results when evaluating dairy bulls; bull age had a positive effect on SCR from 1.3 to 5.5 yr of age but decreased thereafter. ...Citations
... In general, crossbreeding (beef-cross-dairy) seems to improve fertility compared with pure breeding (Clasen et al., 2020;Bittante et al., 2021). However, the conception rate of Holstein cows and heifers mated to Angus bulls was slightly lower compared to those mated with Holstein bulls, probably because beef sires were used on females with sub-fertility problems that led to increased AI services (McWhorter et al., 2020). ...
Crossbreeding between beef sires and dairy dams is not a new concept; it is one of the first practices used on dairy herds. However, the need to raise the milk yield from dairy cows leads to strict selection of dairy genetics and, therefore to a drop in fertility of the cows and to the profit from selling calves. Generally, in dairy farms calves produced, that are not used for replacement animals, are usually sold to fattening units. Due to growth restriction and poor carcass quality of these purebred dairy calves, it is important to reintroduce the beef x dairy crossbreeding to dairy farms for producing more valuable calves. To accomplish the most economic gain from the breeding strategy for crossbreeding, reproductive indices such as conception rate, gestation length, calving difficulty and calf mortality of the beef x dairy crossbreeding animals should be taken into consideration, as well as beef sire’s genetics transmitted ability. Moreover, important factors for beef-cross-dairy calf production are the feed intake and the quality of the carcass as well as some visual characteristics containing weight at birth, coat color, polledness and docility. Lastly, understanding the dairy farmers’ attitude to sire selection and the consumers’ meat preferences could provide valuable information about improving the efficiency of this breeding strategy. In conclusion, beef x dairy crossbreeding could increase meat production especially in countries in need, although more research is needed about synchronization protocols for Artificial Insemination with beef or sexed beef semen to dairy cows.
... Dairy cows serve a dual purpose of providing milk and beef via offspring that are not kept as breeding animals. In recent years, dairy farms have started breeding dairy cows to beef bulls, creating a genetic cross referred to as "beef-on-dairy" (McWhorter et al., 2020). Livestock managers increasingly utilize this strategy to optimize the value of the calf for beef, which helps reduce the environmental impact of meat production by reducing the number of beef cows needed to meet demand and produce a more efficient calf for beef production. ...
The goals of this article are to outline meat science research priorities, examine the current state of funding, and bring attention to the need for science-based solutions and innovation that maintains competitiveness for meat products while also addressing the talent pipeline of scientists and development of a workforce. It is the product of a meeting of meat scientists across disciplines and species. The meat industry is a cornerstone to modern society and has significant economic importance, with a global worth exceeding 239 billion in income, supports 1.7 million jobs, and contributes $41 billion in taxes, while benefitting developed and developing nations through robust global trade. Central to the meat industry’s success is the quality of meat products since consumers must have a desire to purchase and consume meat. Livestock and meat production face many challenges. Research efforts must continually increase efficiency, enhance sustainability, reduce climate impacts, address food security, and embrace artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics, and talent development. However, efforts to impact these areas must also consider downstream impacts on meat quality or risk erosion of consumer satisfaction and demand for meat products. Thus, meat quality should be a fundamental component of all research concerning livestock and meat production, including poultry, small ruminants, and fish/seafood. Despite its significance, there is a troubling trend of decreased public funding for meat quality research in the U.S., posing risks to this essential food source and the development of future scientists. This article provides an overview of meat quality research funding priorities aimed at supporting a sustainable future for meat production, emphasizing the potential implications if funding does not align with these priorities. Furthermore, it highlights the risks to the talent pipeline and global competitiveness if adequate attention is not directed towards these critical areas.
... Field research would indicate that, while individual bull variability exists, beef semen from Angus bulls has similar fertility when used on Holstein cows to that of Holstein bulls. 5 Older beef bulls (based on birth date) were associated with having lower field fertility than younger bulls, however, the authors did suggest this observation could be an artifact of older semen that had been in storage longer rather than a direct causal effect of age on semen fertility. ...
The use of sexed dairy semen and beef semen on dairies as tools to generate genetic progress and expand revenue has evolved tremendously over the past decade to the point these tools have become integrated as part of a finely managed process often referred to as the “sexed and beef” model. Continued improvements in gender-sorting techniques and increased fertility of resulting products have enabled this model to evolve to become standard operating procedure for the bulk of commercial dairies. Planned use of gender-sorted semen allows for controlled and targeted creation of an ideal number of heifers from a specific genetic source. Reproductive programs that improve fertility of these matings in conjunction with gender sorted product that leads to high dairy heifer ratios leads to the opportunity to utilize beef semen to expand revenue potential of crossbred beef x dairy calves above that of a dairy counterpart. This talk will cover programmatic considerations to drive success of “sexed and beef” programs on dairies utilizing these tools to a) accurately calculate and plan to create heifer needs; b) optimize genetic progress and revenue generation; and c) enlarge the value of beef x dairy crossbred sire selection..
... Survey results and evaluations of dairy herd management records suggest that Angus is the primary sire breed used in U.S. beef × dairy inseminations (McWhorter et al. 2020;Pereira et al., 2022;Felix et al., 2023;Lauber et al., 2023). This is reflected by the shift away from fed Holstein steers to black-hided beef × dairy animals reported in the most recent National Beef Quality Audit (NBQA, 2016(NBQA, , 2023. ...
Dairy herds are mating a portion of cows to beef cattle semen to create a value-added calf. Objectives of this study were to compare the feedlot performance and carcass characteristics of beef × Holstein steers by breed when sires represented bulls with commercially available semen. Three groups of single-born, male calves (n = 262) born to Holstein dams on 10 Pennsylvania dairies were sourced during 3 yr. Steers were sired by seven beef breeds: Angus, Charolais, Limousin, Hereford, Red Angus, Simmental, and Wagyu. Steers were picked up within a week of age and raised at two preweaned calf facilities until weaning (8 ± 1 wk of age) under similar health and management protocols. Steers were then transported to a commercial calf growing facility where they were managed as a single group until 10 ± 2 mo of age when they were moved to be finished at the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture's Livestock Evaluation Center feedlot. Groups of steers were selected for slaughter based on body weight. Carcass characteristics were evaluated by trained personnel and a three-rib section of the longissimus muscle (LM) was collected from each carcass for Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF) evaluation and intramuscular fat determination. Steers sired by all sire breeds except for Limousin had greater average daily gain (ADG; 1.62 to 1.76 kg/d) than Wagyu × Holstein steers (1.39 kg/d; P < 0.05). Angus-sired steers had an 8.6% greater ADG than Red Angus-sired steers (P < 0.05). Angus, Charolais (1.73 kg/d), and Simmental-sired steers (1.68 kg/d) also had greater ADG than Limousin-sired steers (1.55 kg/d; P < 0.05). Wagyu × Holstein steers spent 5 to 26 more days on feed (P < 0.05) than Limousin × Holstein, Simmental × Holstein, Angus × Holstein, and Charolais × Holstein steers. Angus and Charolais-sired steers were also on feed for 19 and 21 d fewer, respectively, than Limousin-sired steers (P < 0.05). Red Angus-sired steers had greater marbling scores than Simmental and Limousin-sired steers and Angus and Charolais-sired steers had greater marbling scores than Limousin-sired steers (P < 0.05). Angus, Limousin, and Hereford-sired steers produced the most tender LM as evaluated by WBSF; Angus-sired carcasses (3.82 kg) were more tender than Charolais (4.30 kg) and Simmental-sired carcasses (4.51 kg; P < 0.05). Limousin and Hereford-sired steers (3.70 and 3.83 kg, respectively) also had more tender steaks than Simmental-sired steers. Lay Summary An increasing portion of the national dairy herd is being mated to beef cattle semen to increase the value of surplus calves. This trial used calves born to Holstein dams sired by seven beef cattle breeds: Angus, Charolais, Limousin, Hereford, Red Angus, Simmental, and Wagyu. Steers were fed and managed similarly throughout life. Angus, Charolais, and Simmental-sired steers had 8% to 26% greater average daily gain than Wagyu and Limousin-sired steers. Wagyu and Limousin-sired steers were on feed for 19 to 26 d longer than Charolais and Simmental-sired steers. Carcasses were similar by sire breed, but Red Angus, Angus, and Charolais-sired steers had the greatest marbling scores (5.03, 4.82, and 4.71, respectively) while Simmental and Limousin-sired steers had the least marbling (4.50 and 4.14, respectively). Angus, Hereford, and Limousin-sired steers produced the most tender beef (3.82, 3.83, and 3.70 kg of force, respectively) and Simmental-sired steers produced the least tender beef (4.51 kg of force).
... According to [9], to know the value can be used from the percentage value of pregnancy in female livestock in the implementation of IB so that it can be made into a tool to measure the success of IB itself. In this case, the fertility rate of Torgamba District is very good, around 60-75%. ...
... This incident can be caused by delays for breeders and officers in recognizing lambing and delays in IB, causing failure in pregnancy. Research conducted by [9] found an S/C of 1.92. One of the causes is that the pregnancy rate is the experience of the inseminator itself. ...
Artificial insemination is one way to accelerate ruminants’ production and genetic quality. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the success rate of artificial insemination in Labuhan batu Selatan Regency based on Service Per Conception (S/C), Conception Rate (C/R) and Calving Interval (CI). This research is quantitative descriptive research, namely by taking data in the field and analyzing it to achieve conclusions. Determination of the villages that became the research location included the villages of Sumberjo, Pengarungan, Karya maju, Cikampak, Konsensi, Sidodadi and other villages. Determination of the research sample by purposive sampling. Observation had been done on 80 samples from 392 farmers. Each sample had given birth once.The data were recorded and analyzed using the SPSS 16 program. The results revealed that the average S/C value was 1-2 times, while the average C/R value was 60-70%, indicating a considerable result; nevertheless, the CI results were not as promising, reaching an average of 14 months.
... The concept of crossing beef and dairy breeds has been evident for more than 100 years (Haecker, 1920;Berg and Butterfield, 1968;Ziegler et al., 1971;Cartwright, 1983;Perry et al., 1991). However, recent advances in genomic technologies (Crowe et al., 2021), reproductive efficiency (Cardoso Consentini et al., 2021), and sex-selected semen (Hutchison et al., 2016) have enabled more precise dairy replacement heifer production and widespread use of beef semen on commercial dairies (McWhorter et al., 2020). Recent reviews by Berry et al. (2021), Crowe et al. (2021), Basiel and Felix (2022), Foraker et al. (2022), Poock and Beckett (2022), and Jaborek et al. (2023) emphasize academic interest in beef × dairy crossbred calves. ...
Improved reproductive management has allowed dairy cow pregnancies to be optimized for beef production. The objective of this sire-controlled study was to characterize the effects of beef or dairy maternal genetics and the dairy management system on calf growth. Pregnancies were created with a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of dam breed (Holstein or Jersey) and mating type (artificial insemination or implantation of an in vitro produced embryo from a commercial beef cow oocyte). Resulting calves were reared in a calf ranch. Additionally, commercial beef cows were inseminated and reared resulting calves on range. Therefore, the five treatments were Angus × Holstein (A×H; n = 19), Angus × Jersey (A×J; n = 22), Angus × beef gestated by Holstein (H-ET; n = 18), Angus × beef gestated by Jersey (J-ET; n = 8), and Angus × beef raised by beef (A×B; n = 20). Beginning at birth, calf body weight, cannon circumference, forearm circumference, top width, hip width, and hip height were measured approximately every 28 days until approximately 196 days of age. At birth, A×J calves weighed the least (P < 0.01). At 150 days of age, body weight was greatest (P < 0.05) among A×B calves, intermediate among H-ET and A×H calves, and least among J-ET and A×J calves (P < 0.05). Morphometric differences were detected between treatments (MANOVA P < 0.01). Primary discriminant function scores identified A×B calves having lesser values than A×J or A×H calves (ANOVA P < 0.01); A×B calves had greater cannon circumference, greater top width, and less hip height (standardized loadings of -0.47, -0.48, and 0.63, respectively). Secondary discriminant function scores identified J ET and H ET to have greater forearm circumference—a key indicator of muscling—than A×J or A×H (ANOVA P < 0.01; standardized loading of 0.99). The dairy management system limited growth rate of beef genetics compared to the beef management system. In addition, Holstein dams transmitted greater growth potential than Jersey dams. Replacing maternal dairy genetics with beef genetics moderated frame size and created a more muscular phenotype.
... A measure of eld fertility by arti cial insemination in bulls (also referred to as sires) in the USA is Sire Conception Rate (SCR) (Kuhn et al., 2008;McWhorter et al., 2020;Norman et al., 2011). It is an outcome predictor based on more than 300 inseminations, sometimes from 10,000s of inseminations. ...
The mechanisms underlying male infertility are poorly understood. Most mammalian spermatozoa have two centrioles: the typical barrel-shaped proximal centriole (PC) and the atypical fan-like distal centriole (DC) connected to the axoneme (Ax). These structures are essential for fertility. However, the relationship between centriole quality and subfertility (reduced fertility) is not well established. Here, we tested the hypothesis that assessing sperm centriole quality can identify cattle subfertility. By comparing sperm from 25 fertile and 6 subfertile bulls, all with normal semen analyses, we found that unexplained subfertility and lower sire conception rates (pregnancy rate from artificial insemination in cattle) corelate with abnormal centriolar biomarker distribution. Fluorescence-based Ratiometric Analysis of Sperm Centrioles (FRAC) found only four fertile bulls (4/25, 16%) had positive FRAC tests (having one or more mean FRAC ratios outside of the distribution range in a group’s high-quality sperm population), whereas all of the subfertile bulls (6/6 , 100%) had positive FRAC tests (P=0.00008). The most sensitive biomarker was Acetylated Tubulin, which had a novel labeling pattern between the DC and Ax. These data suggest that FRAC and Acetylated Tubulin labeling can identify bull subfertility that remains undetected by current methods and may provide insight into a novel mechanism of subfertility.
... Beef semen use has increased as dairy semen use has decreased in the United States, largely from beef semen being used more frequently on dairies (McWhorter et al., 2020;National Association of Animal Breeders, 2022). Increased emphasis is placed on optimizing calves that originate from dairies for beef production because using beef genetics on dairies consistently improves feeder calf value (Cabrera, 2022;McCabe et al., 2022). ...
Improved reproductive management has allowed dairy cow pregnancies to be optimized for beef production. The objective of this sire-controlled study was to test the feedlot performance of straightbred beef calves raised on a calf ranch and to compare finishing growth performance, carcass characteristics, and mechanistic responses relative to beef × dairy crossbreds and straightbred beef cattle raised in a traditional beef cow/calf system. Tested treatment groups included straightbred beef steers and heifers reared on range (A×B; n = 14), straightbred beef steers and heifers born to Holstein (H ET; n = 15) and Jersey dams (J ET; n = 16), Angus × Holstein crossbreds (A×H; n = 15), and Angus × Jersey crossbreds (A×J; n = 16). The finishing trial began when cattle weighed 301 ± 32.0 kg and concluded after 195 ± 1.4 d. Individual intake was recorded from d 28 until shipment for slaughter. All cattle were weighed every 28 days; serum was collected from a subset of steers every 56 days. Cattle of straightbred beef genetics (A×B, H ET and J ET) and A×H were similar in final shrunk BW, dry matter intake (DMI), and carcass weight (P > 0.05 for each variable). Compared with A×J cattle, J ET were 42 days younger at slaughter with 42 kg more carcass weight (P < 0.05 for both variables). No difference was observed in longissimus muscle area between all treatments (P = 0.40). Fat thickness was greatest for straightbred beef cattle, least for A×J cattle, and intermediate for A×H cattle (P < 0.05). When adjusted for percentage of adjusted final body weight, feed efficiency was greater for straightbred beef cattle compared with beef × dairy crossbred cattle (P = 0.04). A treatment × day interaction was observed for circulating insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I; P < 0.01); 112 d after being implanted, beef × dairy crossbred cattle had greater circulating IGF-I concentration than cattle of straightbred beef genetics (P < 0.05). Straightbred beef calves born to Jersey cows had more efficient feedlot and carcass performance than A×J crossbreds. Calves of straightbred beef genetics raised traditionally or in a calf ranch performed similarly in the feedlot.
... The insemination data reported from the United States depicts a similar picture, where beef semen counted for almost 20% of inseminations in 2019 [6]. This increase in the sale of beef semen in the US market, accompanied by a decline in the sale of dairy breed semen from 23.2 million doses in 2017 to 18.3 million doses in 2020, indicates a significant increase in the utilization of beef semen in dairy herds [7,8]. Similar results have been shown by a study from the United States [9] where an eight percent increase (18.2 vs. 26.1%) in the use of beef semen on Holstein dairy herds from 2019 to 2021 was reported. ...
... Regarding the difference between the conception rate of beef and dairy semen, different studies have found contradictory results. A US study on 268,174 insemination records by McWhorter et al. [8] found that the conception rate was slightly lower for Angus sires as compared to Holstein sires (33.77 vs. 34.29)% for heifers and (52.96 vs. 55.34)% for multiparous animals [8]. ...
... A US study on 268,174 insemination records by McWhorter et al. [8] found that the conception rate was slightly lower for Angus sires as compared to Holstein sires (33.77 vs. 34.29)% for heifers and (52.96 vs. 55.34)% for multiparous animals [8]. These findings are different from a study by Berry et al. [52], who reported higher fertility for Belgian Blue bulls compared to Angus and Holstein breeds. ...
Simple Summary
Multiple factors including decreasing milk prices and rising demand for high-quality beef have resulted in augmented utilization of beef sires in dairy herds. This breeding strategy, which is commonly referred to as Beef-on-dairy (BoD), is aimed to improve the economic performance of the farm by producing higher-valued crossbred calves with better carcass traits. Along with the positive aspects of economics, BoD can result in unwanted negative consequences including increased gestation length, dystocia and stillbirth rates resulting in compromised animal welfare. Modern breeding tools including genomic selection for the selection of beef sires with favorable calving traits and the development of specialized breeding indexes can help in overcoming the potential negative aspects associated with the BoD strategy.
Abstract
The decline in farm revenue due to volatile milk prices has led to an increase in the use of beef semen in dairy herds. While this strategy (“Beef-on-dairy” (BoD)) can have economic benefits, it can also lead to unintended consequences affecting animal welfare. Semen sale trends from breeding organizations depict increasing sales of beef semen across the globe. Calves born from such breeding strategies can perform better when compared to purebred dairy calves, especially in terms of meat quality and growth traits. The Beef-on-dairy strategy can lead to unintentional negative impacts including an increase in gestation length, and increased dystocia and stillbirth rates. Studies in this regard have found the highest gestation length for Limousin crossbred calves followed by calves from the Angus breed. This increase in gestation length can lead to economic losses ranging from 3 to 5 US$ per animal for each additional day. In terms of the growth performance of crossbred animals, literature studies are inconclusive due to the vast differences in farming structure across the regions. But almost all the studies agree regarding improvement in the meat quality in terms of color, fiber type, and intra-muscular fat content for crossbred animals. Utilization of genomic selection, and development of specialized Beef-on-dairy indexes for the sires, can be a viable strategy to make selection easier for the farmers.
... in dairy cows increased 2.5 times in the United States, compared to the previous four years (McWhorter et al., 2020). Such a high growth rate in the use of beef semen on dairy cows was mainly due to the adoption of sexed semen, which reduced the number of rearing dairy heifers (Overton and Dhuyvetter, 2020). ...
... Usually, such a decision is made considering characteristics such as easy calving, gestation time (Berry et al., 2019;Berry and Ring, 2020), and price. In the United States, Angus (AN) is the main sire breed used for beef on dairy, representing 95.4% of the crosses (McWhorter et al., 2020). However, other breeds such as Simmental (SI), Limousin (LI), and SimAngus (Simmental/ Angus; SA) are also being used due to their good market valuation and incentives from breeding associations (Basiel and Felix, 2022;Pereira et al., 2022). ...
Sire selection for beef on dairy crosses plays an important role in livestock systems as it may affect future performance and carcass traits of growing and finishing crossbred cattle. The phenotypic variation found in beef on dairy crosses has raised concerns from meat packers due to animals with dairy-type carcass characteristics. The use of morphometric measurements may help to understand the phenotypic structures of sire progeny for selecting animals with greater performance. In addition, due to the relationship with growth, these measurements could be used to early predict the performance until the transition from dairy farms to sales. The objectives of this study were 1) to evaluate the effect of different beef sires and breeds on the morphometric measurements of crossbred calves including cannon bone (CB), forearm (FA), hip height (HH), face length (FL), face width (FW) and growth performance; and (2) to predict the weight gain from birth to transition from dairy farms to sale (WG) and the body weight at sale (BW) using such morphometric measurements obtained at first days of animals’ life. CB, FA, HH, FL, FW, and weight at 7 ± 5 d (BW7) (Table 1) were measured on 206 calves, from four different sire breeds [Angus (AN), SimAngus (SA), Simmental (SI), and Limousin (LI)], from five farms. To evaluate the morphometric measurements at the transition from dairy farms to sale and animal performance 91 out of 206 calves sourced from four farms, and offspring of two different sires (AN and SA) were used. To predict the WG and BW, 97 calves, and offspring of three different sires (AN, SA, and LI) were used. The data were analyzed using a mixed model, considering farm and sire as random effects. To predict WG and BW, two linear models (including or not the morphometric measurements) were used, and a leave-one-out cross-validation strategy was used to evaluate their predictive quality. The HH and BW7 were 7.67% and 10.7% higher (P < 0.05) in SA crossbred calves compared to AN, respectively. However, the ADG and adjusted body weight to 120 d were 14.3% and 9.46% greater (P < 0.05) in AN compared to SA. The morphometric measurements improved the model’s predictive performance for WG and BW. In conclusion, morphometric measurements at the first days of calves’ life can be used to predict animals’ performance in beef on dairy. Such a strategy could lead to optimized management decisions and greater profitability in dairy farms.
