Crossbred cattle carry out properly in opposition to Brahmans in NT trial

A Senepol bull, Brahman cow and F1 Senepol x Brahman cross calves at Victoria River Analysis Station (Kidman Springs), NT.

NORTHERN Territory Division of Business, Tourism and Commerce has lately launched the outcomes of a nine-year examine evaluating the reproductive efficiency of Senepol-Brahman crossbred females with industrial Brahman females.

“Throughout this examine, we noticed the primary cross Senepol-Brahman heifers outperform Brahman heifers,” mentioned Principal Livestock Analysis Officer, Tim Schatz. “Throughout 4 12 months teams, the common being pregnant charge of crossbred maiden heifers was 19 p.c larger than Brahmans. That is more likely to have been due to hybrid vigour, as they have been heavier at their first mating, so had larger being pregnant charges.”

“After the primary calf crop, the efficiency of the 2 breeds have been related, exhibiting that the crossbreds might address the robust surroundings in addition to the Brahmans,” Mr Schatz continued. 

Mitigating market threat

The Senepol-Brahman crossbreeding analysis started in 2009 after the division recognized the northern beef trade’s sturdy reliance on the dwell export market.  Whereas Bos indicus cattle thrive underneath each North Australian and Southeast Asian circumstances, they aren’t favoured by the home market. On the time, it was decided that if dwell export markets have been to shut, the trade could be significantly susceptible.

Lo and behold the dwell export ban of 2011 occurred solely two years later.

“Brahmans are perceived to have poorer meat high quality than Bos taurus breeds,” Mr Schatz mentioned.

“With this in thoughts, we got down to breed an animal that may be appropriate to each worldwide and home markets, in only one technology. We might have used choice stress to breed Brahmans with higher meat tenderness, however we knew that technique would take too lengthy if the trade wanted to alter route quickly.”

“As an alternative, we determined to utilise crossbreeding, utilizing Bos taurus bulls over our Brahman breeders. Our expectation was that the offspring would have good meat high quality and excessive resistance to environmental stressors,” Mr Schatz mentioned. “Such an animal would give northern producers extra advertising and marketing choices and be much less susceptible to dwell export market fluctuations.”

Crossbreeding has been performed by many within the north, nonetheless ranges of success have various.

“There are a lot of tales of properties importing southern Bos taurus bulls to the north, solely to have them battle and be productive,” Mr Schatz mentioned.

“Subsequently, we determined to make use of a tropically tailored Bos taurus breed recognized to have good meat high quality. Senepols have been a superb match. It’s probably we might have had related outcomes if we’d used one other tropically tailored Bos taurus breed, like Belmont Reds for instance. However we solely had sufficient breeders for one crossbreeding comparability,” he mentioned.

The analysis

Senepol and Brahman bulls have been bred to Brahman cows in NT DITT herds on the Victoria River Analysis Station (Kidman Springs) and leased paddocks on Manbulloo Station close to Katherine. Fourteen Senepol and 21 Brahman bulls have been used to breed 4 year-groups of calves for the examine.

The 317 F1 Senepol-Brahman feminine progeny and 499 Brahman feminine progeny then ran collectively at Manbulloo.  Their efficiency was in contrast utilizing measures for progress, copy and survival. Heifers have been first mated as two-year-olds and the examine concluded when the oldest year-group was nine-and-a-half years previous. The cattle have been mustered twice a 12 months for information assortment and calf weaning.

Extra outcomes of crossbred feminine research

• Calf loss was larger for Brahman heifers calving for the primary time (Brahman = 14pc, F1 Senepol-Brahman = 6pc), however there have been no important variations in calf loss between breeds at another age.
• The typical annual weaning charges for the breeds have been related (F1 Senepol-Brahmans = 59pc, Brahman = 57pc).
• The typical annual liveweight manufacturing (change within the feminine’s liveweight plus weight of calf weaned) between breeds was related
• Common weight of calves weaned have been barely heavier from F1 Senepol-Brahmans.
• Mortality charges have been related between breeds.

“There have been two findings of explicit curiosity from this trial. The primary was that F1 Senepol-Brahman heifers outperformed Brahman heifers,” Mr Schatz mentioned. “And the second, was that at maturity, their efficiency when it comes to breeding and being pregnant was on-par with Brahmans. These findings ought to reassure north Australian cattle producers that the efficiency of a tropically tailored Bos taurus crossbred breeder herd is more likely to be nearly as good as that of their Brahman herd,” Mr Schatz mentioned.

The outcomes of this examine have been lately revealed within the Animal Manufacturing Science journal.

 

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Extra info

Supply: FutureBeef