Minnesota Cattle

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Crossbreeding offers two primary advantages: heterosis (also called hybrid vigor) and the opportunity for breed complementarity. When the performance of crossbred offspring exceeds the performance of the purebred parents, the difference is called heterosis. In other words, the whole can be greater than the sum of the parts. For instance, if straightbred Hereford and Angus calves average 500 pounds at weaning and Hereford x Angus calves average 525 pounds, the heterosis realized is (525-500)/500, or 5 percent. Maximizing Heterosis Realization of heterosis is the closest thing to a free lunch that can be found in the cattle business. Thus, all commercial beef cattle producers should seek to maximize heterosis in their herds. Some crossbreeding systems offer a greater degree of heterosis than others, and some traits respond more to crossbreeding than others. Heterosis is realized in inverse proportion to heritability for a given trait. In other words, lowly heritable traits offer the most heterosis, highly heritable traits the least. Table 1 lists beef cattle traits of economic importance and their heritability estimates. In general, reproductive traits are lowly heritable, growth traits are moderate and carcass traits are highly heritable. Thus, differences in reproductive performance between herds are virtually all due to environment and management, while differences in growth or carcass traits are due primarily to genetics. Also, reproductive traits will respond the most to crossbreeding, carcass traits the least. Read more...

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INDUSTRY COUNTS ON STOCKERS TO ENSURE CATTLE QUALITY
Genetics were selected years ago; calving and weaning are complete, so the next place that really matters in the beef production chain is the feedlot. Right?
GELDINGS ARE A HAPPIER WORKING PARTNER
Horse owners often decide early in the colt's life whether he shows the promise of being a quality stallion or will be a happier and more willing work partner as a gelding.
FREEZE BRANDING OFFERS PRODUCERS AN ALTERNATIVE
Hot iron branding of livestock is the oldest form of permanent identification, practiced on other continents for hundreds of years, and was adopted very early in the American West as proof of ownership. Freeze branding is a relatively new innovation, developed at Washington State University in 1966 by Dr. Keith Farrell.
MONITOR FEEDING REQUIREMENTS OF EARLY WEANED CALVES
Meeting the nutritional needs of a young calf might sound familiar to parents of young children: feed well, feed often and prepare for pickiness.
LARGE CROWD GATHERS FOR SALACOA VALLEY FEMALE SALE
A large crowd gathered on a beautiful Georgia afternoon for Salacoa Valley Farms Brangus female sale.
NEMAHA VALLEY ANGUS PARTNERS WITH CERTIFIED ANGUS BEEF LLC
A northeast Kansas diversified farm became the first in that corner of the state to license with Certified Angus Beef LLC in the Feedlot Licensing Program.
IT'S THE PITTS - TERMS OF ENDEARMENT
I hate it when people I don't even know call me terms of endearment such as honey, darling, pet, precious, sugar or angel.
USE OF SEXED SEMEN IN BEEF CATTLE CAN BE BENEFICIAL
The first sex-selected calf conceived from frozen sexed semen was born in the early 1990's, and in 2004 this technology became commercially available.
BLACK INK - SORTING
Low-stress cattle handling is becoming a mainstream practice, but have you ever thought about the ultimate low-stress sorting system—right from your computer?
PUREBRED VS. COMMERCIAL NUTRITIONAL NEEDS MAY DIFFER
In the beef cattle industry there has been discussion in many shapes and forms concerning feeding and nutrition of purebred cattle. In many cases, the perception of purebred breeders is that purebred cattle have significantly different nutrient requirements than commercial cattle. This may be true in some respects but possible not for the reasons the producer suspects. This article will discuss some of these perceptions.
NEW FENCING TECHNOLOGY ADDS LIFE TO OPERATION
Cattlemen value longevity, whether it's the genetics that roam the pastures or the equipment needed to get the job done. Many operations have a dinosaur like pick-up that drinks fuel way too fast and can be cantankerous on certain mornings, but owners are quick to defend by saying it will last another year. Fences are the same way.
HUNTIN' DAYLIGHT - - FIGURE OUT WHERE YOU STAND
Look at any chart depicting average cow-calf profitability through the years and a thinking person has to ask the obvious questions: Why on earth would anyone be in the cattle business and how could anyone remain in the business over the long haul if they wanted to?
PLAN EARLY TO INSURE REPRODUCTIVE EFFICIENCY IN THE BREEDING HERD
It is never too early to be looking ahead; in fact it is a necessary management skill. For the cow/calf operation, calving season means looking ahead to the breeding season.
DON'T OVERLOOK WATER AS AN ESSENTIAL NUTRIENT
It's July and those sweltering summer temperatures continue to creep higher and higher. As the sweat beads trickle down and clothes stick to the body like glue, one of the first things a person wants to reach for – besides the air conditioner knob – is a tall glass of ice cold water. Water is essential to our survival, whether it's helping us cool down or providing essential nutrients needed to sustain life.

Minnesota Cattle Links

Ag Universities

University of Minnesota
We are a landgrant college whose mission is to teach, conduct research, and share our findings through outreach efforts.
http://www.coafes.umn.edu/
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