Conservation of a native dairy cattle breed through terminal crossbreeding with commercial dairy breeds

Farmers play a key role in conserving native livestock breeds, but without economic support, farms with breeds may not be viable. We hypothesized that terminal crossbreeding can improve herd economy and decrease the support needed from society. Three scenarios were simulated using SimHerd Crossbred: of purebred Swedish Polled Cattle, Red, 75% Cattle 25% F1 crossbreds. The results showed annual contribution margin per cow increased by €181 compared pure-breeding breed, giving 13.6% growth margin. However, cost subsidies paid government will remain unchanged if population size breed is to maintained. Combining strategy marketing niche products facilitate conservation cattle.