Abstract
The objective of this study was to determine beef production traits of purebred Nordic Red (NR), Holstein-Friesian (Hol), Eastern Finncattle (EF), Northern Finncattle (NF) and Western Finncattle (WF) bulls. The data collected from slaughterhouses included observations of 164 862 NR, 87 323 Hol, 283 EF, 523 NF and 1 728 WF bulls. For estimating valuable cuttings also a separate dataset was collected including observations of 16 036 NR, 8 806 Hol, 18 EF, 126 NF, and 133 WF bulls. NR and Hol had the highest carcass gain (532 and 542 g d-1, respectively). Overall, the data showed poorer gain of the Finnish native breeds compared to NR and Hol. Among the native breeds, WF (427 g d-1) showed better growth compared to EF (356 g d-1) and NF (385 g d-1). Less differences were observed in valuable cuttings as might be inferred based on the differences in carcass conformation scores.
Highlights
The majority of beef in Finland is produced by dairy breeds, and Nordic Red (NR) and Holstein-Friesian (Hol) are the two most frequently used breeds
According to Kantanen and Ojala (1994) Eastern Finncattle (EF), Northern Finncattle (NF) and Western Finncattle (WF) could be regarded as three different native breeds
All purebred NR, Hol, EF, NF and WF bulls slaughtered by above-mentioned slaughterhouses in 2009–2011 were selected for the study but the bulls slaughtered under 365 or above 730 days of age were excluded
Summary
The majority of beef in Finland is produced by dairy breeds, and Nordic Red (NR) and Holstein-Friesian (Hol) are the two most frequently used breeds. The population structure of the NR dairy cattle is an admixture of Finnish. Danish Red and Swedish Red populations (Makgahlela et al 2013). The gene pool of each of these three populations constitutes fractions from other breeds. The Finnish native cattle populations were named on the basis of their geographic breeding areas (Kantanen and Ojala 1994). Eastern Finncattle (EF) are usually brown-sided, Northern Finncattle (NF) are white with brown or black spots, and Western Finncattle (WF) are brown. According to Kantanen and Ojala (1994) EF, NF and WF could be regarded as three different native breeds
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