Crossbreeding with a tropically adapted Bos taurus breed (Senepol) to improve meat quality and production from Brahman herds in Northern Australia. 1. Steer performance

2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 487 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Schatz ◽  
S. Thomas ◽  
S. Reed ◽  
M. Hearnden
Keyword(s):  
Meat Quality ◽  
Bos Taurus ◽  
Northern Australia ◽  
Domestic Markets ◽  
Brahman Steers ◽  
Better Than ◽  
Live Export

The performance of four year groups of Brahman and F1 Senepol × Brahman steers was compared grazing buffel pasture at the Douglas-Daly Research Farm, Douglas-Daly, NT, Australia. F1 Senepol × Brahman steers were on average 32 kg heavier at turnoff at ~18 months of age (P < 0.001) as a result of higher average weaning weights (+19 kg, P < 0.001) and higher growth during the post-weaning year (+12 kg, P < 0.001). These results, combined with previous studies that found that F1 Senepol × Brahman steers had more tender meat and performed better than Brahman in an Indonesian feedlot, indicate that crossbreeding with a tropically adapted Bos taurus breed, such as Senepol, could be an effective way for north Australian cattle producers with Brahman herds to produce cattle that perform well under northern conditions, and are suited to both the live export and domestic markets.

A comparison of the growth of Brahman and F1 Senepol × Brahman steers in an Indonesian feedlot

2017 ◽  
Vol 57 (10) ◽  
pp. 2096 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. J. Schatz
Keyword(s):  
Mortality Rate ◽  
Bos Taurus ◽  
Average Daily Gain ◽  
Northern Territory ◽  
Feeding Period ◽  
Crossbred Cattle ◽  
Brahman Steers ◽  
Daily Gain ◽  
Better Than ◽  
Live Export

This study compares the performance of F1 Senepol × Brahman steers (F1 SEN) to Brahman (BRAH) steers in an Indonesian feedlot. The focus was to address concerns that crossbred cattle are discriminated against by live export cattle buyers due to a perception that they do not perform as well as Brahmans in Indonesian feedlots. F1 SEN (n = 54) and BRAH (n = 32) steers that had grazed together since weaning at Douglas Daly Research Farm (Northern Territory) were exported to Indonesia and fed for 121 days in a feedlot near Lampung (Sumatra, Indonesia). The average daily gain of the F1 SEN steers over the feeding period was 0.17 kg/day higher (P < 0.001) than the BRAH steers (1.71 vs 1.54 kg/day). As a result the F1 SEN put on an average of 21.6 kg more over the 121-day feeding period and they did not have a higher mortality rate. Consequently, F1 SEN steers performed better than BRAH in an Indonesian feedlot and these results should encourage live export cattle buyers to purchase this type of cattle (Brahman crossed with a tropically adapted Bos taurus breed) with confidence that they can perform at least as well as Brahmans in Indonesian feedlots, although it should be noted that growth rates are usually higher in F1 crosses than in subsequent generations.

Comparison of the growth and meat tenderness of Brahman and F1 Senepol × Brahman steers

2014 ◽  
Vol 54 (10) ◽  
pp. 1867 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. J. Schatz ◽  
S. Thomas ◽  
G. Geesink
Keyword(s):  
Meat Quality ◽  
Shear Force ◽  
Bos Taurus ◽  
Meat Tenderness ◽  
Feedlot Performance ◽  
Average Growth ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Brahman Steers ◽  
Viable Method

The growth of 116 Brahman (BRAH) and 96 F1 Senepol × Brahman (F1 SEN) steers grazing improved Buffel pasture in the Northern Territory was compared. Average growth was 10 kg higher in F1 SEN during grazing in the 9 months following weaning. Twenty-five steers of each genotype were compared for feedlot performance and meat quality. There was no significant difference in feedlot growth over 73 days in a commercial feedlot. On average F1 SEN carcasses graded two boning groups lower in the Meat Standards Australia (MSA) grading system. While M. longissimus samples from both genotypes were quite tender (shear force <4 kg), F1 SEN samples were found to be significantly more tender than BRAH (−0.44 kg) by shear force testing. These results indicate that crossbreeding with a tropically adapted Bos taurus breed, such as the Senepol, may be a viable method for cattle producers with Brahman herds in northern Australia to improve the meat quality of the cattle they produce.

CRC 'Regional Combinations' project — effects of genetics and growth paths on beef production and meat quality: experimental design, methods and measurements.

2005 ◽  
Vol 45 (8) ◽  
pp. 959 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. A. McKiernan ◽  
J. F. Wilkins ◽  
S. A. Barwick ◽  
G. D. Tudor ◽  
B. L. McIntyre ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Meat Quality ◽  
Bos Taurus ◽  
Experimental Designs ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Eating Quality ◽  
Beef Production ◽  
Cooperative Research ◽  
Beef Quality ◽  
Genetic Potential ◽  
And Storage

As a component of the second term of the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Cattle and Beef Quality, a project to further test and validate the effects of varying nutritional growth paths pre-finishing and slaughter on cattle of varying genetic potential for meat yield and eating quality was designed and implemented. This project, ‘Regional Combinations’, was a multi-site experiment, using Bos taurus cattle generated at 4 locations across southern Australia. The design of imposing different growth paths between weaning and finishing on cattle with specific genetic potential is common across sites. Treatment and interaction effects on beef production and meat quality were examined within and across sites. This paper describes the experimental designs, generation of experimental cattle at the various sites and the measurements, collection and storage of the data for multi-site analyses.

The effects of genotype, age, pregnancy, lactation and rumen characteristics on voluntary intake of roughage diets by cattle

1986 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 549 ◽  
Author(s):  
RA Hunter ◽  
BD Siebert
Keyword(s):  
Bos Taurus ◽  
Bos Indicus ◽  
Late Pregnancy ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
Heteropogon Contortus ◽  
Lactating Cows ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Pregnancy And Lactation ◽  
Rate Of Decline ◽  
Brahman Steers

The effects of genotype, age and liveweight, pregnancy and lactation on the voluntary feed intake by cattle of roughage diets of different qualities were studied in a number of experiments. The diets ranged from poor quality (low-nitrogen, high-fibre) spear grass (Heteropogon contortus) hay on which intakes were low ( 1 1 g DM/kg liveweight (LW)) to good quality lucerne (Medicago sativa) hay (26 g DM/kg LW). On the poorest-quality diet, differences in intake between Bos taurus and Bos indicus were not significant. However, on the higher quality diets Herefords (Bos taurus) ate significantly (P < 0.05) more than Brahmans (Bos indicus). In addition, as the quality of the diet improved from speargrass through to lucerne, the breed difference in favour of the Herefords became progressively greater and the variability between animals progressively smaller as a proportion of intake. Another study showed that with increasing age and liveweight of steers, intake per unit body weight declined, the rate of decline being significantly (P < 0.05) greater on good-quality lucerne compared to a poor-quality speargrass diet. There was no significant difference between Aberdeen Angus (Bos taurus) and Brahman steers in the rate of decline of intake of each diet with increasing age and liveweight of the steers. Another experiment which measured intake of pregnant and lactating heifers showed that the amount of feed eaten by pregnant heifers increased with increasing liveweight in late pregnancy, with intake per unit liveweight remaining constant. Lactating cows ate 35% more on a liveweight basis than their nonpregnant, non-lactating counterparts. These results are discussed in relation to mechanisms which control intake of roughage diets in ruminants, especially those associated with energy metabolism.

Electrolyte supplementation of live export cattle to the Middle East

2007 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 119 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. T. Beatty ◽  
A. Barnes ◽  
R. Taplin ◽  
M. McCarthy ◽  
S. K. Maloney
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Bos Taurus ◽  
Stocking Density ◽  
High Heat ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Acid Base Balance ◽  
Night Time ◽  
Urine Ph ◽  
Live Export

Eighty Bos taurus crossbred steers sourced from southern Western Australia were monitored to assess the efficacy of electrolyte supplementation on board a livestock vessel travelling to the Middle East during the northern hemisphere summer. Electrolytes (1.8 g/L NaHCO3 and 3.5 g/L KCl) were added to the drinking water of treatment steers (n = 39) allocated to three pens on the starboard side of the ship. Control steers (n = 40) were allocated to three pens on the port side of the ship. The combined area of the three treatment and three control pens was 61.1 and 63.6 m2 respectively, giving a stocking density of 1.57 and 1.55 m2 per steer, respectively. Steers were loaded in Fremantle, Western Australia and given 3 days to acclimatise to on-board conditions before being weighed (day 1), after which electrolyte supplementation began while the vessel docked at Port Headland, Western Australia. Feed and water were available ad libitum throughout the experiment. Steers were weighed again on day 18, before discharge in the Middle East. During electrolyte supplementation, wet bulb temperature ranged from 21.3 (day 2) to 31.8°C (day 18). Over the last 3 days of the experiment, wet bulb temperature ranged from 29.0 to 31.8°C with no diurnal variation or night-time cooling. No open-mouth panting was recorded in either group and although animals encountered periods of high heat and humidity (as indicated by increased respiratory rates), the steers were not considered clinically heat stressed during the experiment. After 18 days of electrolyte supplementation, treatment steers had a 2.9 ± 1.7% liveweight advantage compared with control steers (P < 0.001). Urine was collected on days 8 and 16 of the experiment and treatment steers maintained a higher urine pH compared with control steers on both days (day 8; 8.6 v. 8.2 and day 16; 8.2 v. 7.9; P < 0.01). Liveweight advantages and improved regulation of acid–base balance may provide welfare and economic benefits to the live export industry.

Genetic parameters for tropical beef cattle in northern Australia: a review

1993 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 179 ◽  
Author(s):  
GP Davis
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Parameters ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Bos Taurus ◽  
Bos Indicus ◽  
Genetic Correlations ◽  
Environmental Stresses ◽  
Northern Australia ◽  
Weighted Mean ◽  
Weaning Weight ◽  
Reproduction Traits

This paper reviews published estimates of genetic parameters for traits of growth, reproduction and resistance to environmental stresses for Bos indicus and Zebu derived breeds in northern Australia. Most published estimates of heritabilities for growth and reproduction traits were higher for tropically adapted breeds in northern Australia than for Bos taurus breeds in temperate Australia. Weighted mean estimates of heritabilities for the direct component of weaning weight were 39% for the Brahman breed and 30% for Zebu-derived breeds in northern Australia compared with 13% for Bos taurus breeds in temperate areas of Australia. Mean estimates for the maternal component of weaning weight were 5, 24 and 13% respectively. Mean heritabilities for yearling and 550 day weights for Zebu derived breeds in northern Australia (24 and 25%) were similar to those for Bos taurus breeds in temperate areas, though estimates for Brahmans were higher (39 and 39%). Published estimates of heritabilities of later weights (700 and 900 days), which are most relevant to northern Australian production systems, were rare but averaged between 32 and 45% for Zebu-derived breeds and Brahmans. Weighted mean heritability for female calving success was 14% and for realised bull fertility was 5%. Published estimates of heritabilities of scrota1 circumference averaged 31%, and testosterone response to GNRH stimulation was 52%. Heritabilities of resistance to various environmental stresses were all moderate with weighted means between 20 and 34%. Genetic correlations between growth, reproduction and resistance to environmental stresses are also reviewed. There appears to be predictable variation in estimates of parameters between breeds in different environments which is related to level of resistance to environmental stresses, and this is likely to affect the prediction of breeding values for cattle in northern Australia.

scholarly journals Physicochemical properties of meat from Bos taurus and Bos indicus

2011 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 1250-1259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Cristina Bressan ◽  
Erika Cristina Rodrigues ◽  
Lizandra Vercezi Rossato ◽  
Eduardo Mendes Ramos ◽  
Luis Telo da Gama
Keyword(s):  
Physicochemical Properties ◽  
Meat Quality ◽  
Shear Force ◽  
Positive Relationship ◽  
Bos Taurus ◽  
Bos Indicus ◽  
Post Mortem ◽  
Fresh Meat ◽  
Lower Shear ◽  
Before And After

The objective of this study was to characterize meat quality in Bos taurus and Bos indicus and to determine the influence of finishing system and genetic group on the physicochemical properties of the longissimus thoracis at 24 hours and 10 days post mortem (1ºC). The sample included 160 bulls of the B. taurus (n=75) and B. indicus (n=85) groups, finished either on pasture (n=46) or with grain supplementation (n=114), slaughtered at a carcass weight of 270 to 300 kg. Pasture-finished animals had higher pH, lower red content and a fat content 2.5 times lower than those finished with supplementation. Meat from supplement-finished animals had lower shear force in comparison to that from animals finished on pasture, with means of 7.7 and 8.5 kg at 24 hours, and of 5.5 and 5.9 kg at 10 days, respectively. Samples of B. taurus and B. indicus were similar in moisture and protein, but B. taurus presented higher means for ash and lower means for fat. Aged samples of B. indicus finished on pasture showed lower values for lightness and yellowness. Overall, lightness and yellow content increased and red content decreased with 10-day ageing. Means for shear force were lower in B. taurus than in B. indicus, with differences of 1.4 kg in fresh meat and 0.6 kg in aged samples. The reduction in shear force with ageing was more pronounced in samples with higher initial shear force, in spite of the positive relationship between shear force before and after ageing.

scholarly journals Effect of repeated implants of oestradiol-17β on beef palatability in Brahman and Braham cross steers finished to different market end points

2008 ◽  
Vol 48 (11) ◽  
pp. 1434 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Thompson ◽  
R. Polkinghorne ◽  
M. Porter ◽  
H. M. Burrow ◽  
R. A. Hunter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Meat Quality ◽  
Shear Force ◽  
Bos Taurus ◽  
Bos Indicus ◽  
Meat Tenderness ◽  
Sensory Testing ◽  
Anterior Portion ◽  
End Points ◽  
Longissimus Lumborum ◽  
Quality Measurements

The effect of repeated implantation with 20 mg oestradiol-17β (Compudose 100) on carcass and meat quality traits was investigated using 478 Bos indicus and B. indicus × Bos taurus cross steers finished on either pasture or grain to achieve carcass weight for one of three market end points (domestic, 220 kg; Korean, 280 kg; or Japanese, 340 kg). In the oestradiol-17β treatment group, animals were administered implants at ~100-day intervals, with the number of implants administered to any steer ranging from one to eight. Cattle were slaughtered and at boning the anterior portion of the M. longissimus lumborum was removed and frozen after aging for 1 day for later objective meat quality measurements (shear force, compression and cook loss %). The adjoining portion was aged for 14 days before consumer sensory testing using the Meat Standards Australia protocols. Each sample was scored for tenderness, juiciness, like flavour and overall liking by 10 untrained consumers. Implanting increased carcass weights and ossification scores (P < 0.05) and reduced marbling scores in comparison to non-implanted carcasses. For tenderness, like flavour, overall liking and MQ4 scores there was a significant (P < 0.05) interaction between B. indicus content and oestradiol-17β treatment, whereby high B. indicus content cattle that were implanted with oestradiol-17β had the lowest sensory scores. The number of implants administered did not affect carcass weights or marbling scores, whereas ossification scores increased in carcasses as the number of implants increased. The number of implants administered had no effect (P > 0.05) on sensory scores, or objective meat tenderness.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document