Defining Feed Efficiency in Beef Cattle
نویسندگان
چکیده
Most breeding programs have focused on improving economically relevant output traits such as growth, carcass quality and fertility to enhance the economic viability of beef production systems. Generally absent from current breeding programs in the U.S. are avenues for exploiting genetic variation in feed efficiency, even though reductions in feed inputs would substantially improve profitability of beef operations. While the expense of measuring feed intake has no doubt curtailed the implementation of genetic strategies focused on feed efficiency in the past, emerging commercialization of technologies to more cost effectively measure intake has helped to renew interest in this area. The National Beef Cattle Evaluation Consortium recently formed a working group to assess current knowledge regarding genetic and phenotypic variation of various feed efficiency traits, and to consider alternative methods to advance industry adoption of breeding programs that seek to improve genetic merit for efficient utilization of feed resources. The purpose of this paper is to characterize various feed efficiency traits for post-weaning beef cattle, focusing on phenotypic relationships with performance and carcass traits.
منابع مشابه
REVIEW: Life-cycle, total-industry genetic improvement of feed efficiency in beef cattle: Blueprint for the Beef Improvement Federation
On a life-cycle basis, beef animals are able to consume large amounts of low-cost, low-quality forages relative to higher-cost concentrates compared with pigs and chickens. However, of the 3, beef is still more expensive to produce on a cost–per–edible pound basis. Accordingly, there is need for genetic programs and management changes that will improve efficiency, sustainability, and profitabil...
متن کاملGenomic selection for feed efficiency traits
Introduction Feed costs comprise the majority of variable expenses in beef cattle systems making feed efficiency an important economic consideration within the beef industry (Koch et al ., 1963; Dickerson et al ., 1974) . Aside from the direct economic impact of this trait complex at the individual producer level, the projections of global population growth provide extra pressure for efficient ...
متن کاملLimit Feeding Beef Cattle
(allowed to eat according to appetite). Generally, this allows for maximum performance because energy consumed above the maintenance requirement is available for gain. However, recent work suggests that limit-fed animals may have better feed efficiency. This has economic importance in that changes in feed efficiency have three times the impact on cost of gain as an equal change in rate of gain....
متن کاملBringing Feed Efficiency Technologies to the Beef Industry: Challenges and Opportunities
While beef production continues to be the largest agricultural enterprise in the U.S. (20.5% of total farm cash receipts in 2006; ERS, 2008), rising feed costs, global competition, and societal concerns about food safety, energy policy and the environment have created new economic challenges for the industry. Productivity of the U.S. cattle industry has improved substantially over the last 50 y...
متن کاملResidual Feed Intake: Animal Performance, Carcass Quality and Body Composition
Feed efficiency has a major influence on the unit cost of beef cattle production. Gibb and McAllister (1999) have reported that a 5% improvement in feed efficiency has an economic impact four times greater than a 5% improvement in average daily gain. In addition, the cost of feed is second only to fixed costs in importance to the profitability of commercial beef operations (Basarab, 1999). The ...
متن کامل