Carcass characteristics of cattle differing in Jersey proportion

Abstract

Comparison of alternative dairy (cross-)breeding programs requires full appraisals of all revenues and costs, including beef merit. Few studies exist on carcass characteristics of crossbred dairy progeny originating from dairy herds as well as their dams. The objective of the present study was to quantify, using a national database, the carcass characteristics of young animals and cows differing in their fraction of Jersey. The data set consisted of 117,593 young animals and 42,799 cows. The associations between a combination of sire and dam breed proportion (just animal breed proportion when the dependent variable was on cows) with age at slaughter (just for young animals), carcass weight, conformation, fat score, price per kilogram, and total carcass value were estimated using mixed models that accounted for covariances among herdmates of the same sex slaughtered in close proximity in time; we also accounted for age at slaughter in young animals (which was substituted with carcass weight and carcass fat score when the dependent variable was age at slaughter), animal sex, parity of the cow or dam (where relevant), and temporal effects represented by a year-by-month 2-way interaction. For young animals, the heaviest of the dairy carcasses were from the mating of a Holstein-Friesian dam and a Holstein-Friesian sire (323.34 kg), whereas the lightest carcasses were from the mating of a purebred Jersey dam to a purebred Jersey sire which were 46.31 kg lighter (standard error of the difference = 1.21 kg). The young animal carcass weight of an F 1 Holstein-Friesian × Jersey cross was 20.4 to 27.0 kg less than that of a purebred Holstein-Friesian animal. The carcass conformation of a Holstein-Friesian young animal was 26% superior to that of a purebred Jersey, translating to a difference of 0.78 conformation units on a scale of 1 to 15. Purebred Holstein-Friesians produced carcasses with less fat than their purebred Jersey counterparts. The difference in carcass price per kilogram among the alternative sire-dam breed combinations investigated was minimal, although large differences existed among the different breed types for overall carcass value; the carcass value of a Holstein-Friesian animal was 20% greater than that of a Jersey animal. Purebred Jersey animals required, on average, 21 d longer to reach a given carcass weight and fat score relative to a purebred Holstein-Friesian. The difference in age at slaughter between a purebred Holstein-Friesian animal and the mating between a Holstein-Friesian sire with a Jersey dam, and vice versa, was between 7.0 and 8.9 d. A 75.8-kg difference in carcass weight existed between the carcass of a purebred Jersey cow and that of a Holstein-Friesian cow; a 50% Holstein-Friesian-50% Jersey cow had a carcass 42.0 kg lighter than that of a purebred Holstein-Friesian cow. Carcass conformation was superior in purebred Holstein-Friesian compared with purebred Jersey cows. Results from this study represent useful input parameters to populate simulation models of alternative breeding pro...

Slaughter body weights of Jersey young bulls finished on feedlot

“…The tenderness of the meat leads to better results than that of several young animal breeds specialized in meat production (Costa et al, 2002;Waritthitham et al, 2010;Bureš and Barton, 2012) and could be used as a marketing factor for the sale of a differentiated product with added value. The good meat quality is in agreement with a previous study by Berry et al (2018).…”

“…In countries with developed dairy farming, dairy male calves are used for meat production and represent a significant portion of the meat consumed by the population. According to Berry et al (2018), the contribution of beef output to the revenue of dairy enterprises is well recognized. Van der Werf et al (1998) suggested that surplus calves and culled cow sales constituted 10 to 20% of the gross income from a dairy herd.…”

“…These authors claimed that Jersey cows had particularly unacceptable commercial traits in terms of carcass shape or muscle size. However, Berry et al (2018) demonstrated that, although inferior carcass characteristics were associated with an increase in the proportion of Jersey in the breed, animals with a Jersey bloodline had superior meat quality and nutritive value compared with that of many other breeds. Albertí et al (2008) showed that Jersey cattle demonstrated the potential to produce a highly marbled product, and according to Arnett et al (2012), this may create an opportunity for a niche market.…”

Choice of artificial insemination beef bulls used to mate with female dairy cattle

“…Once sufficient replacement females are deemed to have been generated, most dairy producers will tend to use beef bulls to maximize the subsequent calf value; in their analysis of calves from dairy herds sold at less than 42 d of age, McHugh et al (2010) clearly demonstrated a superior value of beef × dairy cross male calves relative to dairy × dairy male calves. In their analysis of a national database of slaughtered cattle, Berry et al (2018) also demonstrated a greater carcass value of beef (in this case, Angus) × dairy animals relative to dairy × dairy animals.…”

“…The weighted mean carcass weight PTA of the beef AI bulls used was 15 kg heavier than the dairy AI bulls, and the conformation score, which is measured on a scale of 1 to 15 (Englishby et al, 2016), was 1.71 units superior in the beef bulls. The superior conformation score of progeny from dairy herds sired by beef sires relative to those sired by dairy sires has already been established (Campion et al, 2009;Berry et al, 2018). The raw mean reliability of the beef bulls used was higher than that of the dairy bulls used for all traits, although it was more variable in the former.…”