Progress 05/15/22 to 05/14/23
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience included beef cattle producers, dairy cattle producers, and beef and dairy cattle scientists. Changes/Problems:Health continues to appear to challenge these beef x dairy crossbred calves. In addition, double muscled semen was unable to be procured for the study. Therefore, Red Angus and Hereford sires were added to the evaluation. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We continued to provide outreach to both beef and dairy meetings. Both the PHD student on the project and the PI were engaged in education and outreach efforts. Once again, series of tours were offered at our summer Ag Progress Days at Penn State. Four tours total over the course of the 3 day event yielded ~200 participants in discussions of beef x dairy crossbreeding programs. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Extension publications this year included: Felix, T.L. and B.L. Basiel. 2022. 2022 Beef-sired progeny from dairy cows. PennState Extension. extension.psu.edu/2022-beef-sired-progeny-from-dairy-cows. Felix, T.L. and B.L. Basiel. 2022. 2021 Beef-sired progeny from dairy cows. PennState Extension. extension.psu.edu/2021-beef-sired-progeny-from-dairy-cows. Extension presentations included: Basiel, BL. "Beef x Dairy: What dairy producers need to know." December 7, 2022. Homestead Nutrition Dairy Nutrition Seminar. New Holland, PA. Felix, TL. Using beef semen to crossbreed dairy cows. Penn State Dairy Nutrition Conference, External to Penn State, Penn State Extension, Hershey, PA 6 participants (November 3, 2022) Felix, T. L. (March 28, 2023). Attitudes about beef on dairy breeding and raising/marketing calves. I-MOO University. South Dakota (WEB) Felix, T. L. (February 20, 2023). What every dairy producer should know about beef x dairy. Carver County Ag Days. Minnesota Felix, T. L. (February 20, 2023). What every beef producer should know about beef x dairy. Carver County Ag Days. Minnesota Felix, T.L. (July 23, 2022). Feeding beef cattle for meat quality. PA Cattlemens Summer Field day. Nottingham, PA. Felix, T.L. (May 26, 2022). Feeding Beef x Dairy Crossbred Cattle. 24th Annual Mid-Atlantic Consortium Extension In-Service. Wilkes-Barre, PA The scientific research has been presented via abstracts only to date, as we are still gathering data. An oral presenation was accepted at the midwest ASAS meetings for March 2023 to summarize the current data. Basiel, B.L. and T.L. Felix. 2023. Growth performance and carcass characteristics of beef-sired steers born to Holstein dams. ASAS Midwest Section Annual Meeting. Madison, WI. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We have requested and been approved for a no cost extension to finish out the last year of the project. Penn State will continue researching the impacts of sire selection of beef × dairy growth and carcass performance. Thanks to the generous support of Premier Select Sires and participating dairy farms throughout the state, 125 crossbred steers resulting from planned matings were born in the summer of 2022 and are being commercially grown in anticipation of their arrival at the LEC in April 2023. Researchers plan to showcase and discuss steers from planned mating at the 2023 Ag Progress Days hosted at the Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center. These cattle will be slaughtered in September of 2023 to complete the final year of the project. Data will be collated and summarized to publish in 2023 and 2024.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Research animals were finished at the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture's Livestock Evaluation Center (LEC) feedlot in Pennsylvania Furnace.Beef × Holstein bull calves sired by Angus, Charolais, SimAngus, and Wagyu bulls and born on PA dairy farms from May to August 2021 were transported to one of two commercial calf growing facilities within 1 week of birth. Calves were fed milk replacer and free choice starter grain until weaning at 7 ± 2 weeks of age. Following weaning, calves were consolidated to one facility and fed a growing ration (~56 Mcal NEg). Calves were implanted with Synovex-C in November and implanted with Synovex-S in February. Following the initial grow out, 19 Angus × Holstein, 79 Charolais × Holstein, 16 SimAngus × Holstein, and 10 Wagyu × Holstein steers were brought to the LEC. Steers were fed a common corn and corn silage-based diet (~63 Mcal NEg) and slaughtered after 90, 118, or 153 days on feed at the LEC. Groups were selected for slaughter based on a combination of visual appraisal and body weight. Daily feed intakeof individual steers wasrecorded using theGrowSafeFeed Intake Monitoring System. Initial and final weights are reported as a 2-day average body weight at the beginning and end of the LEC feeding period, respectively. Average daily gain was calculated as the difference between initial and final average body weight divided by the total days on feed. Growth performance of the steers by sire breed are reported in Table 1. Angus-sired steers were heaviest at feedlot entry (966 lbs) and were fed at the LEC for the fewest (112) days. SimAngus and Wagyu-sired steers were the lightest at feedlot entry (783 and 738 lbs, respectively) and on feed for the most days (144 and 161 days, respectively). Charolais-sired steers outperformed the Wagyu and SimAngus-sired steers but were still inferior to Angus. Angus × Holsten steers were heavier at slaughter than SimAngus and Wagyu-sired steers. The disadvantage Wagyu-sired steers had in feedlot growth performance was due in part to their reduced dry matter intake (DMI) and average daily gain (ADG) when compared to progeny of other sire breeds. Because the cattle that consumed less feed grew slower, no breed differences existed in feed conversion to gain (~8 lbs of feed were required for 1 lb of gain). Additionally, there were no differences between sire breeds in hip height at harvest. Yearling height is included in the $AxH index. Table 1: Feedlot performance of beef x Holstein steers by sire breed Trait Sire breed SEM P-Value Angus Charolais SimAngus Wagyu n steers (n sires) 19 (7) 79 (3) 16 (3) 10 (2) - - Initial body weight, lbs 966a 855b 783c 738c 38 <0.01 Final body weight1, lbs 1425a 1369ab 1335b 1260c 31 <0.01 Average daily gain, lbs/day 4.18a 4.03ab 3.82b 3.20c 0.15 <0.01 Dry matter intake, lbs/day 33.9a 32.4ab 31.0b 26.7c 1.1 <0.01 Feed:gain, lb/lb 8.16 8.06 8.15 8.42 0.29 0.70 NEg, Mcal/cwt 45.5 42.4 40.2 43.0 5.0 0.70 Days on feed, days 112c 129b 144a 161a 8 <0.01 Hip height, in 55.2 54.6 53.9 54.4 0.5 0.14 1Final body weights are shrunk by 2.5% a,b,c Values within row with different superscript are significantly different at P < 0.05. Despite the growing popularity of Wagyu genetics in the United States, carcasses from Wagyu × Holstein steers were the lightest and had the least amount of backfat of any sire breed used (Table 2). Dressing percentage tended to be least in carcasses from Charolais × Holstein steers (60.5%) and greatest in carcasses from SimAngus × Holstein steers (61.7%); carcasses from Angus and Wagyu-sired steers were intermediate and not different. About 84% of carcasses from Angus × Holstein steers graded Choice while only 31% of carcasses from SimAngus × Holstein steers graded Choice. However, there were no differences in marbling scores between sire breeds. The majority of carcasses from beef x Holstein steers were Yield Grade 2. Table 2: Carcass performance of beef x Holstein steers by sire breed. Trait Sire breed SEM P-Value Angus Charolais SimAngus Wagyu n steers (n sires) 19 (7) 78 (3) 16 (3) 10 (2) - - Hot carcass weight1, lbs 873a 828b 824ab 766c 22 <0.01 Dressing percentage, % 61.2 60.5 61.7 60.8 0.006 0.10 Ribeye area, in2 13.3 12.7 13.2 12.5 0.4 0.13 Backfat, in 0.28a 0.28a 0.29a 0.17b 0.03 0.01 Marbling score 461 422 393 415 26 0.15 Quality Grade Prime 0 0 0 0 - Choice 84.2a 65.4a 31.3b 70.0ab 0.1 0.03 Select 15.8 28.2 50.0 20.0 0.1 0.17 No roll 0 6.4 18.8 10.0 0.1 0.50 Yield Grade2 1 0 3.8 18.8 30.0 0.2 0.06 2 73.7 75.6 56.3 60.0 0.2 0.38 3 26.3 19.2 25.0 10.0 0.1 0.73 4 0 0 0 0 - 5 0 0 0 0 - 1A 2.5% KPH was added to hot carcass weight because KPH was removed prior to weighing 2USDA Yield Grade calculation was used where KPH was assumed to be 2.5% a,b,c Values within row with different superscript are significantly different at P < 0.05. Economics were evaluated by sire breed (Table 3); however, it is important to recognize that this research system represents a snapshot in time, rather than a continuous production system. Because death loss represent a treamendous expense that is highly variable between farms, economics are presented in two ways: 1) with the costs associated with calves that died accounted for (deads in), and 2) with the costs associated with calves that died removed (deads out). Input costs included wet calf price, which ranged from $200 to $250, calf grower costs, and feedlot feed and yardage expenses. Gross profit was calculated using Quality and Yield Grade grid pricing at time of harvest, based off of the distribution presented in Table 2. Net profit was calculated as the difference between gross profit and inputs. In both analyses, net profit was negative for all sire breeds and Wagyu x Holstein steers resulted in the greatest economic losses. Despite the majority of Wagyu x Holstein carcasses avoiding Quality Grade discounts and achieving Yield Grade premiums, reduced carcass weight compared with other beef x Holstein breeds significantly impacted gross profit. Conversely, despite the majority of SimAngus x Holstein carcasses receiving Quality Grade discounts their gross profit did not differ from that of Charolais x Holstein carcasses or Angus x Holstein carcasses. While statistically, losses were not different across cattle sired by Angus, Charolais, or SimAngus, Angus x Holstein steers numerically lost the least amount of money. It should be iterated that because this was a research project, some input costs may be artificially inflated. The lack of profit among all groups of steers suggests that the profit margin for beef x Holstein calves was slim in 2022. Table 3: Economics of beef x dairy crossbred steers by sire breed Trait, US $ Sire breed SEM P-Value Angus Charolais SimAngus Wagyu Deads in n, steers 25 82 19 15 - - Wet calf cost 206.25 206.25 206.25 206.25 0 1 Calf grower costs 1,457.02ab 1,562.86b 1,382.52a 1,306.11a 79.33 <0.01 Feedlot costs 369.53 408.52 352.64 330.93 44.65 0.26 Total inputs 2032.8ab 2177.63b 1941.41a 1843.29a 119.29 0.02 Gross profit 1,756.29a 1,857.54a 1,529.75ab 1,187.54b 179.99 <0.01 Net profit -276.51a -320.09a -411.66a -655.75b 89.75 <0.01 Deads out n, steers 21 79 16 11 - - Wet calf cost 207.14 207.14 207.14 207.14 0 1 Calf grower costs 1,497.73 1,509.89 1,506.37 1,512.7 6.66 0.21 Feedlot costs 381.51a 384.07a 411.50ab 434.59b 20.05 0.07 Total inputs 2,086.38a 2,101.10a 2,125.01ab 2,154.43b 20.88 0.04 Gross profit 1,874.56a 1,804.11a 1,778.76ab 1,647.52b 57.89 0.02 Net profit -211.82a -297.00a -346.25a -506.91b 60.13 <0.01 a,b Values within row with different superscript are significantly different at P < 0.05.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Felix, T.L. and B.L. Basiel. 2022. 2021 Beef-sired progeny from dairy cows. PennState Extension. extension.psu.edu/2021-beef-sired-progeny-from-dairy-cows.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Felix, T.L. and B.L. Basiel. 2022. 2022 Beef-sired progeny from dairy cows. PennState Extension. extension.psu.edu/2022-beef-sired-progeny-from-dairy-cows.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Basiel, B.L. and T.L. Felix. 2023. Growth performance and carcass characteristics of beef-sired steers born to Holstein dams. ASAS Midwest Section Annual Meeting. Madison, WI.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Basiel, B.L., T.L. Felix, and C.D. Dechow. 2022. Gestation length and dystocia of Holsteins mated to Holstein and beef breed service sires. J. Dairy Sci. (Suppl. 1) 105:47.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Felix, T.L. 2022. Does the Growing Beef x Dairy Trend Work for the Feeders. Penn State Extension. https://extension.psu.edu/does-the-growing-beef-x-dairy-trend-work-for-the-feeders
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Progress 05/15/21 to 05/14/22
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for this project is mainly beef and dairy produces. However, the trainings provided in this report also provided education to national audiences of academicians and extension educators. Changes/Problems:Health challenges precluded finishing a larger group of calves in 2021. Due to ~20% death loss, only 70 calves completed the study. This was not too atypical for the region, January in Pennsylvania can be a harsh environment for calves. However, we did bring in a veterinarian to consult with the calf grower and, as a result, health protocols and managment protocols for future calf groups were updated. In addition, due to the challenges with shipping internationally and procurement in general, we were unable to breed with any Belgian Blue or Piedmontese sires. Therefore, we were unable to get double-muscled genetics to evaluate. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We reached out to both dairy and beef producers to attempt to bring the industries together. We gathered these industry groups in such a way that they could talk and interact with one another. These meetings included 2 full day workshops (held February 10 (14 participants) and March 2, 2022 (20 participants)) to discuss the process of raising beef x dairy calves from breeding of the dairy cow to slaughter of the cattle for beef. In addition, a series of tours were offered at our summer Ag Progress Days at Penn State. four tours total over the course of the 3 day event yielded 136 participants in discussions of beef x dairy crossbreeding programs. Other extension and industry 1 hour presentations given included: Evolution of beef in the dairy herd, External to Penn State, Center for Dairy Excellence, PA Dairy Summit, Lancaster, PA 56 participants (February 2) Contributions of beef x dairy to the feedlot. External to Penn State, Penn State Extension, 53rd annual Lancaster Cattle Feeders Day, Lancaster, PA 148 participants (January 25) Optimizing dairy-beef production. Internal to Penn State, Penn State Extension, Martinsburg, PA (August 20), farm visit, 3 participants. Beef x dairy crossbreeding, External to Penn State, Penn State Extension/Ag Progress Days Research Tours, (August 11). Presentation in the Family Learning Center, 12 participants Research with beef and dairy crossbreds. External to Penn State, UC Davis Cattle Call, PODCAST INTERVIEW. (May 2021) Felix, T. (January 11, 2022). Best practices for making beef from the dairy herd. External to Penn State, University of Delaware Extension. ONLINE. Felix, T. (January 11, 2022). What we think we "know" about beef x dairy. External to Penn State, University of Delaware Extension. ONLINE. Felix, T. (January 8, 2022). Penn State Research Update. External to Penn State, Stockmens Club Annual Banquet. Harrisburg, PA. Felix, T. (September 25, 2021). Considerations for the Crossbred Beef x Dairy. External to Penn State, Berks County PCA, Annville, PA. Felix, T. (August 26, 2021). Beef x dairy research updates. External to Penn State, Premier Select Sires, PA Furnace, PA. The scientific research has been presented via abstracts only to date, as we are still gathering data. However, an oral presenation was presented at the national ASAS meeting in Kentucky in July to summarize the current understanding of the topic. Felix, T. (July 15, 2021). What we think we "know" about beef x dairy crossbreds cattle in the feedlot. External to Penn State, 2021 ASAS-CSAS-SSASAS Annual Meeting and Trade Show, Louisville, KY How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results this year have largely been disseminated through in-person and online presentations. However, 1 conference abstract, 1 extension article and 1 board invited journal review have also summarized the challenges and opportunities this grant is faced with addressing. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Penn State will continue researching the impacts of sire selection of beef × dairy growth and carcass performance.Thanks to the generous support of Premier Select Sires and participating dairy farms throughout the state, 130 crossbred steers resulting from planned matings were born in the summer of 2021 and are being commercially grown in anticipation of their arrival at the LEC in April 2022. Researchers plan to showcase and discuss steers from planned mating at the 2022 Ag Progress Days hosted at the Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center. An additional 900 units of beef semen were used to inseminate Holstein cows this summer to generate the final group of steers for this study to be finished at the LEC feedlot in 2023.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Penn State is conducting an ongoing feedlot study to evaluate beef-sired progeny born to Holstein dams- heretofore referred as beef × Holstein. Domestic beef semen sales have nearly tripled from 2017 to 2020, characterizing the growing prevalence of beef × dairy matings. In 2020, calf-fed beef × Holstein crossbred steers were compared to calf-fed Holstein steers. In an effort to provide beef sire selection recommendations to dairy producers, Penn State researchers continued evaluating beef × Holstein steers in 2021. The results of these efforts are detailed below. PennStatehascompleted the second year of the 4-year trialinvestigating the optimalgeneticsand nutrition forF1beef × Holsteincrossbreds. Thisresearch is being conductedat the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture's Livestock Evaluation Center (LEC) in Pennsylvania Furnace with additionalsupport fromJBS andPremierSelect Sires.Beef × Holstein bull calves born on PA dairy farms from May to October 2020 were gathered within 1 week of birth and housed at a commercial calf grower. Calves were fed milk replacer until weaning at 6 weeks of age. Following weaning calves were grown on 56 Mcal NEg (~50:50 corn silage to concentrate mix on a dry matter basis). About 90 days prior to arrival at the LEC, steers were vaccinated and implanted withRevalor-G and grownon a grain-based dietat a commercial farm. After the initial grow out, 70beef × Holsteincrossbred steers werebrought to the LEC and fed for151days, from April to September 2021.Ages of the steersvaried due to the range in birthdates.The average weight of the crossbred steersentering the LEC 745 ±146 lbs and ranged from 434lbsto 1,020 lbs. Daily feed intakeof individual steers wasrecorded using theGrowSafeFeed Intake Monitoring System. Thedietcontainedcorn silage, drieddistillersgrains, soybean meal, and cracked cornand wasformulated to a 63McalNEgto meet or exceed the requirements of beef cattle.Initial and final weights are reported as a 2-day average body weight at the beginning and end of the LEC feeding period, respectively. Average daily gain was calculated as the difference between final and initial average body weight divided by the total days on feed, 151 days. Average growth and carcass traits of the steers are reported in Table 1. There was a substantial range among final body weights, 958 to 1,643 lbs, and hot carcass weights, 519 to 967 lbs. Average daily gain for the group was 3.75 lbs per day, which exceeded the 2020 Elanco fed Holstein steer benchmark (2.80 lbs/day) by nearly 1 lb per day. Crossbred steers consumed 6.59 lbs of feed per lb of gain while the 2020 Holstein benchmark was 7.65 lbs of feed per lb of gain. In fact, feed conversion was similar to the 2020 native cattle benchmark of 6.54 lbs of feed per lb of gain. The crossbred carcasses had an average ribeye area of 12.3 in2 and 0.32 in of backfat. Distribution of USDA Quality and Yield Grades are reported in Table 2. About half of the carcasses graded Choice while 44% graded Select and the remaining 7% graded Standard. All carcasses were Yield Grades of 3 or below. A total of 4 carcasses received a Yield Grade 1, 3 of which also graded Standard. While the crossbred steers were more efficient than the Elanco benchmark average for fed Holstein steers, both Holstein and crossbred steers, grown under similar management conditions at the LEC, have performed better than the 2021 beef × Holstein steers. While the impact of the reduced performance is unclear, authors surmise that health conditions may have suppressed the growth and carcass performance of the steers finished in 2021. In future work, the pedigrees of steers over all 4 years of the study will be compared to determine if genetic potential impacted the performance of this particular group of steers. Table 1: Growth and carcass performance of beef × Holstein steers finished on the LEC feedlot in 2021. Trait Mean ± Standard Deviation Minimum Maximum Initial body weight,lbs 745 ± 146 434 1,020 Final body weight,lbs 1,311 ± 152 958 1,643 Average daily gain,lbs 3.75 ± 0.44 2.55 4.76 Dry matter intake,lbs/day 24.5 ± 2.63 19.1 32.9 Feed efficiency, feed/ gain 6.59 ± 0.79 5.11 9.36 Hot carcass weight,lbs 751 ± 94.4 519 967 Dressing percentage 57.2 ± 1.41 54.2 60.1 Back fat, in 0.32 ± 0.11 0.10 0.60 Ribeye area, in2 12.3 ± 1.37 9.40 17.3 Table 2: USDA Quality and Yield Grades of carcasses from beef × Holstein steers finished on the LEC feedlot in 2021. USDA Quality Grade, % Prime 0 Choice 49 Select 44 Standard 7 Commercial 0 USDA Yield Grade, % 1 6 2 60 3 34 4 0 5 0
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Felix, T. What we think we know about beef x dairy crossbreds cattle in the feedlot. Abstract at 2021 ASAS-CSAS-SSASAS Annual Meeting and Trade Show. doi:10.1093/jas/skab235.095
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Basiel, B.L., and T.L. Felix (Supervised Student Author; 50% contribution). 2022. Board Invited Review: Crossbreeding beef � dairy cattle for the modern beef production system. Trans. Anim. Sci. doi:10.1093/tas/txac025 (no support acknowledged because simply a review)
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Progress 05/15/20 to 05/14/21
Outputs
Target Audience:Due to COVID limiting interactions, we produced an extension video to provide the outreach component of the grant this year. The video can be viewed at https://extension.psu.edu/crossbreeding-dairy-cattle-with-beef-semen. In addition, several extension articles were developed during these unprecedented times to distribute the information more broadly. These articles include: https://extension.psu.edu/crossbreeding-dairy-cattle-to-fit-the-beef-market https://extension.psu.edu/no-bull-crossbreeding-holsteins-with-beef https://extension.psu.edu/2020-beef-sired-progeny-from-dairy-cows In addition, several webinar programs were presented to target industry professionals and farmers. One of these recordings has been made available online at https://extension.psu.edu/to-cross-or-not-to-cross-a-tale-of-beef-x-dairy. Changes/Problems:COVID was a major challenge to our annual Extension activities. We overcame these challenges by developing more online materials. An additional unanticipated challenge was the sourcing of the preliminary group of calves fed in 2020. Finding calves of known sire backgrounds was difficult. Many dairies were not tagging these bull calves at birth and, thus, we had a limited pool of calves to choose from. Thus, we ended up having only 27 crossbred calves and 20 purebred Holsteins for comparison this first year. We pulled in the Holsteins as a comparison to increase the value of the data to farmers we were sharing the data with. When sourcing the calf crop to be fed in the feedlot in 2021, we were again relying on known matings. While we were able to source 95 calves initially, health challenges at the grower farm and age spread will limit our data output again in 2021. Therefore, when breeding in 2020, we focused on adequate matings and increased farm communication in an effort to attempt to place at least 150 calves with the grower in May-June 2021 with less age variation and tighter genetics. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We have hired a graduate student who has taken on the leadership and engagment role with the farms. It has provided her an extensive education at the nexus of research and extension. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results have been diseeminated through webinars, extension articles, and videos. In addition, Dr. Felix has been called upon to consult with many industry organization to discuss the ongoing research. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We need to bring in more calves. We have 74 claves coming in to the feedlot for feed intake and genetics testing in April 2021. In addition, we have put in over 900 units of semen for calves to begin being born in May 2021 for the genetic and feed intake evaluation in 2022.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Penn State has completed the first year of the 3-year trial investigating the optimal genetics and nutrition for F1 beef x Holstein crossbreds. This research is being conducted at the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture's Livestock Evaluation Center (LEC) in Pennsylvania Furnace with additional support from JBS and Premier Select Sires. In 2020, about 90 days prior to arrival at the LEC, steers were vaccinated and implanted with Revalor-G and grown on a grain-based diet at a commercial farm. After the initial grow out, the 27 beef x Holstein crossbred steers and 20 Holstein steers were brought to the LEC and fed for 111 days, from April to August. Ages of the steers varied - crossbreds were born between January and June of 2019 while Holsteins were born between March and June of the same year - due to the purchase of commercially available cattle. The initial weight of the crossbred steers entering the LEC ranged from 743 to 1129 lbs with an average of 960 ± 96 lbs while Holsteins ranged from 729 to 1082 lbs for an average of 881 ± 86 lbs. Daily feed intake was recorded using the GrowSafe Feed Intake Monitoring System for the individuals in both groups. The diet contained corn silage, dried distillers grains, soybean meal, and cracked corn and was formulated to a 63 Mcal NEg to meet or exceed the requirements of beef cattle. Initial and final weights are reported as a 2-day average body weight at the beginning and end of the LEC feeding period, respectively. Average daily gain was calculated as the difference between final and initial average body weight divided by the total days on feed, 111 days. Growth and carcass performance Regardless of breed, steers gained an average of 4.3 lbs per day (Table 1). However, crossbreds consumed more feed than the Holsteins, with an average intake of 25.4 lbs of dry matter (40 lbs as-fed) compared to 24 lbs of dry matter (38 lbs as-fed) by the Holsteins. Despite this difference, feed efficiency was not different at about 6 lbs of feed intake for each lb gained in both groups. Average backfat thickness for the crossbred steers was 0.34 inches while Holsteins averaged 0.25 inches. Crossbreds also had a greater rib eye area, at 14.2 in, when compared to the Holsteins, at 11.8 in. Table 1: Growth and performance of crossbreed and Holstein steers. Crossbred Holstein Significance1 Initial body weight, lbs 960 881 * Final body weight, lbs 1,437 1,355 * Average daily gain, lbs 4.30 4.27 Dry matter intake, lbs/day 25.4 24.0 * Feed efficiency, lbs feed/lbs gain 5.95 5.64 Hot carcass weight, lbs 840 756 * Back fat, in 0.34 0.25 * Rib eye area, in2 14.2 11.8 * 1 * denotes a statistically significant (p < 0.05) difference between breeds for the given trait. While the group represents only a small sample size, the crossbreds graded more consistently than the Holstein steers (Table 2). While 75% of the beef x dairy crossbreds graded choice or above, only 35% of the purebred Holsteins graded choice or above. While there are several factors that may have influenced these differences, chief among them may be age. On average, the Holsteins were 5 to 6 months younger than the crossbred steers. More data are necessary to validate these observations in USDA Quality Grade between the crossbred and Holstein cattle. Table 2: USDA Quality and Yield Grade assigned as proportion of breed groups. Crossbred Holstein USDA Quality Grade, % Prime 0 10 Choice 74 25 Select 19 50 Standard 7 15 Commercial 0 0 USDA Yield Grade, % 1 4 0 2 41 75 3 48 20 4 7 5 5 0 0 Despite the increased consistency in quality grade, crossbred steers had more yield variation than the Holsteins (Table 2). While most of the beef x dairy crossbreds had a USDA Yield Grade of 2 or 3, the majority (75%) of the Holstein carcasses achieved USDA Yield Grade 2. The difference in yield grades between the two groups was consistent with the thicker backfat observed in the crossbred carcasses. Again, part of the variability in crossbred yield scores may be due to the wider age range than that of the Holsteins. The older crossbreds may have had more time to deposit fat.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Felix, T. (Author, 100%). No bull: Crossbreeding Holsteins with Beef. . Penn State Extension. https://extension.psu.edu/no-bull-crossbreeding-holsteins-with-beef
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Felix, T. (Co-Author, 50%), and Fairbairn, C. A. 2020. Crossbreeding dairy cattle to fit the beef market. Penn State Extension. https://extension.psu.edu/crossbreeding-dairy-cattle-to-fit-the-beef-market
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Basiel, B. and Felix, T. (Co-Author, 50%). 2020. 2020 Beef Sired Progeny From Dairy Cows. https://extension.psu.edu/2020-beef-sired-progeny-from-dairy-cows
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