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ARS Home » Plains Area » Clay Center, Nebraska » U.S. Meat Animal Research Center » Genetics and Animal Breeding » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #147035
Title: COMPARSIONS OF ANGUS, CHAROLAIS, GALLOWAY, HEREFORD, LONGHORN, PIEDMONTESE, SALERS, AND SHORTHORN BREEDS FOR WEIGHT, WEIGHT ADJUSTED FOR CONDITION SCORE, HEIGHT, AND CONDITION SCORE OF COWS

Author
item ARANGO, JESUS - UNIV. OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN
item Cundiff, Larry
item Van Vleck, Lloyd

Submitted to: Journal of Animal Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/27/2003
Publication Date: 1/5/2004
Citation: ARANGO, J.A., CUNDIFF, L.V., VAN VLECK, L.D. COMPARSIONS OF ANGUS, CHAROLAIS, GALLOWAY, HEREFORD, LONGHORN, PIEDMONTESE, SALERS, AND SHORTHORN BREEDS FOR WEIGHT, WEIGHT ADJUSTED FOR CONDITION SCORE, HEIGHT, AND CONDITION SCORE OF COWS. JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE. 2004. v. 82. p. 74-84.

Interpretive Summary: Breed differences for weight, height and condition score were estimated from records of 2 through 6 yr-old cows (n = 12,188) from Cycle IV of the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center¿s Germplasm Evaluation Program. Cows were produced from mating Angus and Hereford dams to Angus, Hereford, Charolais, Shorthorn, Galloway, Longhorn, Nellore, Piedmontese and Salers sires. Samples of Angus and Hereford sires were: 1) reference sires born from 1963 through 1971 and 2) 1980s sires born in 1982 through 1985. Estimates of breed-group differences were significant between HA reciprocal crosses and topcrosses with Charolais, Shorthorn, Salers, Nellore, Galloway, Piedmontese, and Longhorn sires for weight, height, and condition score of cows. Such differences can be used to match with production systems and market requirements to optimize beef production. The advantage of greater heterosis found for crosses with Zebu cattle also could be exploited under particular environmental conditions to improve productivity of beef production. Cows with Angus and Hereford sires from different samples (old reference and more current 1980s bulls) differed importantly for all traits. This result indicates that care should be taken to account for within breed trends for traits being considered in crossbreeding or purebreeding management systems.

Technical Abstract: Breed differences for weight (CW), height (CH) and condition score (CS) were estimated from records of 2 through 6 yr-old cows (n = 12,188) from Cycle IV of the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center's Germplasm Evaluation (GPE) Program. Cows were produced from mating Angus and Hereford dams to Angus, Hereford, Charolais, Shorthorn, Galloway, Longhorn, Nellore, Piedmontese and Salers sires. Samples of Angus and Hereford sires were: 1) reference sires born from 1963 through 1971 and 2) 1980s sires born in 1982 through 1985. The mixed model included cow age, season of measurement and their interactions, year of birth, pregnancy-lactation code (PL) and breed-group as fixed effects for CW and CS. Analyses of weight adjusted for condition score included CS as a linear covariate. Model for CH excluded PL. Random effects were additive genetic and permanent environmental effects associated with the cow. Differences among breed-groups were significant for all traits and were maintained through maturity with few interchanges in ranking. Order of F1 cows for weight was: Charolais (506 to 635 kg for different ages), Shorthorn and Salers, reciprocal Hereford-Angus (HA) with 1980s sires, Nellore, HA with reference sires, Piedmontese, Galloway and Longhorn (412 to 525 kg for different ages). Order for height was: Nellore (136 to 140 cm), Charolais, Shorthorn, Salers, HA with 1980s sires, Piedmontese, Longhorn, Galloway and HA with reference sires (126 to 128 cm). Hereford and Angus cows with reference sires were generally lighter than those with 1980s sires. In general, breed differences for height followed those for weight except that F1 Nellore cows were tallest, which may in part be due to important Bos taurus-Bos indicus heterosis for size.