Maternal Effects on Growth in Beef Cattle

A basic principle of animal production is that individual performance is determined by genetic makeup and environmental conditions. Accordingly, individuals with above average phenotypes can result from superior genotypes, favourable environments, or both. Prior to weaning, it is the prenatal and then milking and mothering ability of the dam that provides an important component of a young animal’s environment. Although the milking and mothering ability of the dam is an environmental effect from the viewpoint of the young animal, it is affected by the genotype of the dam for milking and mothering ability. Thus, weaning weight is determined by individual genotype for preweaning growth (direct effect D), genotype of the dam for milking and mothering ability (maternal effect M) and effects of the environment (E).