ECONOMICS OF CALF PRODUCTION WITH FOREIGN CATTLE BREED CROSSES IN THE PARKLAND REGION OF WESTERN CANADA

Abstract

The economics of calf production in the parkland region of western Canada was evaluated for calves of 31 three-breed crosses of foreign and British breeding. The data were derived from progeny produced at Brandon, Manitoba by mating heifers to Beefmaster or Red Angus bulls and cows to Charolais (C), Simmental (S), Limousin (L) and Chianina (Chi) bulls. There were 10 different first-cross dams including Hereford (H) × Angus (A) as the control (HA) and nine dam cross combinations produced by mating C, S and L sires with H, A and Shorthorn (N) dams. The performance data were for 572 F1 female crosses, with 2006 calves born and 1930 calves weaned during a production period of six consecutive years. Net farm income per HA unit dam (NFIPD) or receipts less expenses plus inventory value changes on a HA dam basis, was evaluated for each three-breed cross. The SN and CA dams produced the highest NFIPD. Overall, the CA dams bred to L sires returned the highest NFIPD with SN dams bred to C sires returning only $0.16 less. The NFIPD was approximately $20 higher for these two F1 female crosses than the next most profitable F1 female crosses. Limousin-cross dams produced the lowest NFIPD, up to $116 less than the CA or SN dams. The NFIPD ranking for the breed of dam's dam was A > N > H and for the breed of sire of dam was S = C > L. The terminal sires ranked L = C > Chi = S. Breed of sire of dam and breed of dam of dam interactions were present. The primary determinants of NFIPD differences among breed crosses were the weaning weight of calves, the percent of dams weaning a calf, calving difficulty, and daily digestible energy requirements for the dam. Key words: Economic, foreign, cattle, crossbreds, cow-calf