Dairy Producers Who Market Their Surplus Progeny as Calves Use Germplasm With Slightly Lighter and Less-Conformed Carcasses Than Producers Who Rear Their Surplus Progeny Beyond Weaning

Abstract

Understanding dairy producer mindset in service sire selection can provide useful information for different junctures along the commercial and extension animal breeding chain. It can aid the targeted marketing of bulls based on farm production systems but also provide useful information for delivering bespoke extension services. The objective of the present study was to examine if differences exist among dairy producers in their choice of dairy and beef service sires depending on the life stage at which the surplus progeny generated from such matings exit the dairy farm. This was predominantly based on evaluating the breed of beef sires used but also their genetic merit for calving difficulty and carcass traits, namely, carcass weight, conformation, and fat score; differences in genetic merit among dairy sires as well as among the dairy cows themselves were also considered. The objective was accomplished through the cross-sectional analyses of progeny fate data from 1,092,403 progeny born in 4,117 Irish dairy herds. Herd-years were categorized into one of four systems based on when the surplus progeny exited the dairy farm: (1) calves sold <70 days of age, (2) cattle sold as yearlings between 250 and 450 days of age, (3) prime cattle sold for finishing (slaughtered between 8 and 120 days of exiting the dairy farm), or (4) prime cattle sold for immediate slaughter (i.e., slaughtered within 7 days of exiting the dairy farm). The mean genetic merit of both the cows and service sires used across the four different systems was estimated using linear mixed models. Of the beef service sires used in herds that sold their surplus progeny as calves, their mean predicted transmitting ability for carcass weight and carcass conformation score was just 2.00 kg and 0.11 scores [scale of 1 (poor) to 15 (excellent)] inferior to the beef service sires used in herds that sold their surplus progeny as prime cattle for immediate slaughter. Similar trends, albeit of smaller magnitude, were evident when comparing the genetic merit of the dairy service sires used in those systems. Cows in herds that sold their surplus progeny as calves were genetically less likely to incur dystocia as well as to have lighter, less-conformed, and leaner carcasses than cows in herds that sold their surplus progeny post-weaning. Hence, results from the present study suggest that diversity in herd strategy regarding when surplus progeny exit the herd influences service sire selection choices in respect of genetic merit for dystocia and carcass attributes. That said, the biological difference based on the current pool of available service sires is small relative to the dairy producers that sell their surplus progeny as young calves; when expressed on a per standard deviation in genetic merit of the beef service sires used across all herds, the difference between extreme systems was, nonetheless, approximately half a standard deviation for carcass weight and conformation.

Growth Performance and Feed Intake Assessment of Italian Holstein Calves Fed a Hay-Based Total Mixed Ration: Preliminary Steps towards a Prediction Model

“…All these calves are sold at an early age for different purposes, including for veal or dairy–beef crossbred production [ 61 ]. As reported by Berry and Ring [ 62 ], certain dairy farmers tend to rear their surplus progeny after weaning. Selling these animals can provide a valuable cash injection during periods of financial strain.…”

Differences in the choice of beef artificial insemination sires used by dairy producers versus beef producers

“…It is unlikely that dairy farmers actively select beef sires with poor carcass credentials, so this observation is more likely a function of the dairy producers actively selecting easier calving sires who, because of the genetic correlations between direct calving difficulty and carcass traits are, on average, lighter and less well conformed ( Eriksson et al, 2004 ). Most dairy farmers tend to sell surplus calves soon post-birth ( Berry and Ring, 2021 ) where within-breed differences in genetic merit of the sire for carcass credentials are not often obvious; the value of the calf therefore is often affected by its breed composition ( Mc Hugh et al, 2010 ) as well as other nongenetic features such as age, visual health status, and the prevailing market. Even at that, beef output represents only ca.…”