CHARACTERIZATION OF SMALL-BREED CATTLE FOR SMALL-SCALE BEEF PRODUCTION

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: EVANS-ALLEN
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1006417
• Project Start Date: Jun 1, 2015
• Project End Date: May 31, 2020
• Program Code: [(N/A)]- (N/A)

Project Director
Browning, RI.

Recipient Organization
TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY
3500 JOHN A. MERRITT BLVD
NASHVILLE,TN 37209

Performing Department
Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

Non Technical Summary
Most beef cow-calf enterprises are small-scale operations with just under 25 head of cattle on average. Economic estimates range from 200 to 500 cows as the inventory needed to have an economically viable beef cattle enterprise. Herds under 50 are the least economically sustainable. Typical of other states in the region, most TN beef cattle operations are small in scale. The average farm size in TN is 65 ha. It would take 243 to 362 ha to run 300 typical commercial beef cows. The average weight of the US beef cow has increased in the last 30 years. Cows tend to become less efficient with increasing mature size. Larger mature cow weights also result in increased carcass weights. Portion sizes for beef within the USDA guidelines are limited with the total daily recommendations for meat and protein alternatives to be 142 to 198 g. Increasing carcass sizes can pose issues with fabrication to produce acceptable whole muscle retail cuts that meet USDA dietary recommendations. A non-traditional animal industry that has emerged among limited-resource, small-scale operators is meat goat production. Advantages include animal carrying capacity per unit of land, ease of management because of small mature size, and high efficiency of female reproductive output. However, many commercial meat goat operations struggle to realize profits because of unstructured marketing and the scarcity of FDA-approved goat pharmaceuticals for effective health management.Initiatives to incentivize new farms among the young, the retired, and veterans will create increased interests to explore and enter livestock production in small-scale systems. It is possible that a smaller breed of beef cattle could contribute to animal production by addressing the issues addressed above. The Dexter is an established, unique breed with small stature. Dexter cattle originated on the British Isles in the early 1800s and were first imported to the US in the early 1900s. The mature weight of Dexter cows is less than 340 kg. The small size would seem to make Dexter cattle suited for the small acreage, part-time farms. More cows could be carried per unit of land with more calves to sell. Smaller cows may be more efficient performers and easier to manage within a well-supported, traditional industry.The aim of the project is to determine if small-breed cattle could provide some advantages to low acreage managers interested in raising grazing livestock in general or beef cattle specifically. Dexter cows will be managed in a low-input grazing system with planned pure breeding and crossbreeding to characterize this breed for cow-calf production values from breeding to weaning. The Dexter management system will run parallel to an established meat goat breeding system to compare efficiencies of female production. With increased interest in grass-finish cattle in the South, Dexter will be crossed with a small heat-tolerant Sanga beef breed (Mashona) to assess benefits gained from crossbreeding. Tall fescue is the predominant southern grass, so heat tolerance would be beneficial in grass finishing systems where heat intolerance because of fescue toxicosis would be a problem. Findings of this project will be shared with both the academic community at professional meetings and current and potential ruminant livestock managers at industry events. If Dexter cattle can improve the scaling problems associated traditional small-scale beef cattle systems, the economic outlook for this major segment of the beef industry and southern agriculture would be enhanced. Grass-finished beef is an emerging niche segment of the beef sector. Dexter cattle may provide a unique contribution to this market because of their small size and likely early maturity.

Animal Health Component

100%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

(N/A)

Applied

100%

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
307	3310	1081	50%
301	3310	1081	50%

Knowledge Area
307 - Animal Management Systems; 301 - Reproductive Performance of Animals;

Subject Of Investigation
3310 - Beef cattle, live animal;

Field Of Science
1081 - Breeding;

Keywords

beef cattle

small farm

small breed

cow-calf

dexter

production

efficiency

Goals / Objectives
The general goal of this project is determining the value of a small-stature beef breed for cow-calf production in a small farm environment. Three specific objectives are to characterize Dexter cattle, an unstudied beef breed, assess the efficiency of small beef cows compared to meat goat does, and measure the effects of crossbreeding for heat tolerance in a small beef breed.

Project Methods
Thirty young Dexter cows will be acquired for this study. Heifers will be acquired from various source herds to ensure a diverse representation of breed genetics. Cattle will be managed on mixed grass pasture at a stocking rate of 2 cows per ha. Study animals will receive orchardgrass hay, water and minerals for ad libitum consumption along with a concentrate supplement when necessary for maintenance. The supplemental program will be similar to that used in the meat goat herd. The goat herd is supplemented with whole cottonseed during winter management. Over three years, cows will be bred by artificial insemination (AI) to Dexter and Mashona bulls to produce purebred and F1 calves. Mashona is a small, heat tolerant, Sanga beef breed. Cow will be inseminated following estrus synchronization by progestin therapy. Nulliparous heifers will be bred by natural service to a single Dexter bull. Breeding by a clean-up bull will follow the AI period. The experiment is set up in a simple cross-over design. All cows will calve to each service sire breed once over the three years. The meat goat herd that will be managed parallel to the cow herd. The meat goat breeding program consists primarily of Kiko straightbred, Spanish straightbred, and Savannah F1 does. Both the cow and goat herds will be bred for spring parturition. During the early stages of heifer development, onset of puberty will be characterized by following ovarian activity with the aid of a heat check teaser animal. Ovarian function will be assessed via blood samples collected weekly to assess concentrations of progesterone. Collections will extend from 9 mo of age until first estrus is detected. Plasma progesterone concentrations will be determined using commercial ELISA kits and used to verify estrus dates and monitor luteal function. Cows will be weighed and scored for body condition at breeding, calving, and weaning. Calves will be weighed at calving, at 3 mo of age, and at weaning when the median age of the contemporary is 6 mo of age. These measurement times follow the protocol used in the meat goat herd. Calves produced on this project will be developed as replacement heifers or slaughter steers to further assess small breed performance in subsequent phases of a forage-based beef production system. Data that compare cow-calf performance by calf breed or relative to doe-kid performance will be tested using MIXED model procedures. Binary responses such as parturition rates will also be analyzed using GLIMMIX models. Cow and doe efficiency will be estimated using the Kleiber equation for metabolic dam weight. Probability levels (P-value) less than 0.05 for the F statistic will indicate that significant differences exist. For significant interactions, Tukey tests will be used to separate least squares means.

Progress 06/01/15 to 05/31/20

Outputs
Target Audience:Small-scale livestock operators such as those that manage most meat goat operations, limited-resource cattle managers, and new producers with an interest in satisfying local niche markets are the primary target audience. Producers haveaccess to project updates and progress reports through industry seminars and postings to the program web site (http://www.tnstate.edu/faculty/rbrowning/). Changes/Problems:The primary problem was locating small frame Mashona Sanga bulls to safely breed the dual-purpose heritage Dexter cows. Most Mashona bulls in the US are somewhat larger than those described in their country of origin. Small frame bulls were found towards the later part of this project. For the 2020 breeding season (2021 calving season), five small frame Mashona bulls (under frame score 3) were used to service half of the TSU Dexter cow herd. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Introductions and updates on the project were made to Dexter breeders and interested small-scale and heritage livestock operators. The project was presented and discussed at Tennessee Extension training programs and the regional Dexter producers meetings. An undergraduate student poster of the benchmark data for the Dexter herd was presented at a minority student conference. Indivdiual producer visits during the projectwere also settings of information dissemenation about this project. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The foundation herd of Dexter cattle produced fourcalf crops on study. Birth-to-weaning data were collected to help establish a baseline set of records for cow evaluations. Unadjustedherd means over fouryears include 77% calf crop weaned, 54-lb birth wts on 136calves, 312-lb7-mo weaning wtsand a 46% calf wt:cow wt ratio at weaning. During a concurrent period of meat goat management at this research station, does weaned an average69% kid crop at 3-mo and approximately 53% of their body weight . The first calf crop born(2020) to 65 Dexter cows that included Mashona sires averaged 83% calving rate (61-lb mean calf birth weight) for a pair of Mashona bulls vs. 73% calving rate (53-lb mean calf birth weight) for seven Dexter service sires. The benchmarks established during the formative stages of herd development will be used for future cow-calf performance investigations.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Browning, R. Jr., E. Hayes, and A. Lear. 2020. Spontaneous appearance and transmission of polydactyly in Dexter cattle. Case Reports in Veterinary Medicine Vol. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/6407847
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Gaddes, E. G. Hayes, K. Hurt, S. Thomas, M. Byars, and R. Browning, Jr. 2019. Assessment of Heritage Dexter Cattle for Cow-Calf Performance Traits. 16TH Annual TLSAMP Minority Student Research Conference. Poster presentation. Feb. 14-15, 2019. University of Memphis.

Progress 10/01/18 to 09/30/19

Outputs
Target Audience:Small-scale livestock operators such as those that manage most meat goat operations, limited-resource cattle managers, and new producers with an interest in satisfying local niche markets are the primary target audience. Producers will have access to project updates and progress reports through industry seminars and postings to the program web site (http://www.tnstate.edu/faculty/rbrowning/). Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Introductions and updates on the project were made to Dexter breeders and interested small-scale and heritage livestock operators. The project was presented and discussed at Tennessee Extension training programs andthe regional Dexter producers meeting held on campus. An undergraduate student posterof the benchmark data for the Dexter herd was presentedat a minority student conference.Indivdiual producer visits during the year were also settings of information dissemenation about this project. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Data for the 2020calving season will be collected from a herd of 90exposed Dexter cows and heifers. The 2020 calf crop will be the first with Mashona x Dextercalves for assessment. Two additional Mashona bulls of suitably small size have been securedfor the 2020breeding season to bring the total to four with the possibility of one or two additional AI sires. Formal data analyses will be conducted with data adjustments developed and applied to better interpret the cow-herd data collected to date in the context of what is in the literature for general cow herd perfomance and how the research meat goat herd has performed for female fitness.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The foundation herd of Dexter cattle continued expanded in 2019and the 4thinternal calf crop was produced. Birth-to-weaning data for the fourthyear were collected to help establish a baseline set of records for preliminary cow evaluations. Unadjusted (raw) herd means over three years include 74% calf crop weaned, 54-lb birth wts on 167calves, 321-lbweaning wts, and a 45.25% calf wt:cow wt ratio at weaning. During a concurrent period of meat goat management at this research station, does weaned approximately 53% of their body weight in preliminary asssessments. Facility development continued to support herd management and data collection. The first pregnancy rates that included Mashona sires averaged 75.6% for a pair of Mashona bulls vs. 68.6% for seven Dexter bulls breeding for the 2020 spring calf crop.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2020 Citation: Browning, R., E. Hayes, A. Lear. 2020. Spontaneous Appearance and Transmission of Polydactyly in Dexter Cattle. Case Reports in Veterinary Medicine. Article ID 6407847. 5 p. (in press)

Progress 10/01/17 to 09/30/18

Outputs
Target Audience:Small-scale livestock operators such as those that manage most meat goat operations, limited-resource cattle managers, and new producers with an interest in satisfying local niche markets are the primary target audience. Producers will have access to project updates and progress reports through industry seminars and postings to the program web site (http://www.tnstate.edu/faculty/rbrowning/). Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Introductions and updates on the project were made to Dexter breeders and interested small-scale and heritage livestock operators. The projectwaspresented and discussedat TennesseeExtension training programs, the national Dexter producersmeeting, and theregional Dexter producers meeting heldon campus. Indivdiual producer visits during the year were also settingsofinformation dissemenation aboutthis project. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Data for the 2019 calving season will be collected from a herd of 74exposed cows. Mashona bulls of suitably small size have finally been located and will be introduced in the program for the 2019 breeding season. Formal data analyses will be conducted with data adjustments developed and applied to better interpret the cow-herd data collected to date in the context of what is in the literature for general cow herd perfomance and how the research meat goat herd has performed for female fitness.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The foundation herd of Dexter cattle continued expanded in 2018and the thirdinternal calf crop was produced. Birth-to-weaning data for the thirdyear were collected to help establish a baseline set of records for preliminary cow evaluations. Unadjusted(raw) herd meansover three years include 81% calf crop weaned,54-lb birth wts on 122 calves, 320-lb weaning wts, and a 44% calf wt:cow wt ratio at weaning. During a concurrent period of meat goat management at this research station, does weanedapproximately 53% of their body weight in preliminary asssessments.Facility development continued to support herd management and data collection.

Publications

Progress 10/01/16 to 09/30/17

Outputs
Target Audience:Small-scale livestock operators such as those that manage most meat goat operations, limited-resource cattle managers, and new producers with an interest in satisfying local niche markets are the primary target audience. Producers will have access to project updates and progress reports through industry seminars and postings to the program web site (http://www.tnstate.edu/faculty/rbrowning/). Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Initial introductions of the project were made to regional Dexter breeders and interested small-scale and heritage livestock operators. Two meetings of Dexter producers at the state and regional level were hosted on campus. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The first assessments of the research herd for basic cow-calf performance and performance relaive to the co-managed meat goat herd will be performed. Options for crossbreedingcontinue to be pursued.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The foundation herd of Dexter cattle was expanded in 2017 and thesecond internal calf crop was produced. Birth-to-weaning data for a second year were collected to help establish a baseline set of records for preliminary cow evaluations. Facility development continuedto support herd management and data collection.

Publications

Progress 10/01/15 to 09/30/16

Outputs
Target Audience:Small-scale livestock operators such as those that manage most meat goat operations, limited-resource cattle managers, and newproducers with an interest in satisfying localniche markets are the primary target audience. Producers will have access to project updates and progress reports through industry seminars and postings to the program web site (http://www.tnstate.edu/faculty/rbrowning/). Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The early progress ofherd developmentwas shared with the national Dexter cattle association and local producers. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Thefirst preliminary data will beanalysed and initial update reports prepared for dissemination. Additional components of infrastructure will be developed to completion to further support animal management and research data collection.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The foundation herd of Dexter cattle was expandedin 2016 and the first internalcalf crop was produced. Initial birth-to-weaning datawere collectedto help establish a baseline set of records for preliminary cow evaluations. Important aspects of facility development were completed to support herd management and data collection.

Publications

Progress 06/01/15 to 09/30/15

Outputs
Target Audience:Small-scale livestock operators such as those that manage most meat goat operations and limited-resource cattle managers are the primary target audience. Producers will have access to project updates and progress reports through industry seminars and postings to the program web site (http://www.tnstate.edu/faculty/rbrowning/). Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Project initiation was shared with the national Dexter cattle association and local producers. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The acquisition of a Mashona bull and semen from a sapling of available Dexter and Mashona bulls will allow expansion of the breeding plan to fulfill the complete set of project objectives.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The foundation herd of Dexter cows (most bought with calves at side) was established in the summer of 2015 with the initial breeding session conducted in the fall or 2015. Initial data has been collected on the cows and calves at side to establish a baseline set of records for preliminary cow evaluation.

Publications