20
Harvest
Date
# of
Head
Carcass
Weight
Fat
Thick.
Ribeye
Area
% Yield
Grade 1
& 2
%
Choice/
Better
Jul-12
109
834
0.52
14.3
52
89
Feb-12
30
916
0.58
14.56
37
100
Dec–11
33
890
0.46
14.08
48
94
Jul–11
67
834
0.44
14.04
72
96
Feb-11
60
877
0.4
14.19
70
97
Nov-10
47
852
0.6
14.29
49
91
Jun-10
64
792
0.58
13.3
48
98
Jun-09
47
842
0.51
13.3
15
92
Jun-08
103
845
0.53
13.5
27
91
Nov-07
63
820
0.53
14.8
84
65
Jul-07
104
800
0.45
14.4
90
71
Jun-06
135
813
0.5
14.2
73
70
Jan-06
45
764
0.47
13
62
87
Dec-05
40
849
0.37
14.7
93
65
Dec-05
39
822
0.34
14.2
95
49
Average
66
837
0.49
14.06
61
84
Some Crossbreeding Thoughts:
The University of Nebraska Teaching Herd has been producing Composite seedstock since
1987 and offering them in a student managed Bull Sale since 1994. The advantages in sim-
plicity of using Composite bulls is important since most producers struggle to manage the
number of breeds, breeding pastures and replacement females necessary for success in a
rotational crossbreeding program based on purebred bulls. Further, the blended genetics of
using British breeds and Continental breeds offers powerful complementary advantages in
striking a balance between the several antagonisms between traits of economic importance.
Time and time again the hybrid vigor advantage of cross bred cows has been documented in
research and verified in commercial cowherds. The result is clear: either spend 20 years rein-
venting the wheel or get serious about identifying seedstock producers that are producing op-
timum genetics that allow you to use crossbreeding in a convenient package.
The University of Nebraska Teaching Herd produces bulls used in the University of Nebraska
system, including the Gudmundsen Sandhills Lab (GSL) at Whitman, the Dalbey-Halleck
Farm at Virginia, the Physiology Research herd at ARDC, Mead and some of the natural ser-
vice bulls used in the Teaching Herd at ARDC, Mead. The herd size at GSL affords the op-
portunity to do carcass evaluation of steer progeny of the Husker Red bulls used there for the
last 15 years. The following table presents carcass data of recently harvested steers from
GLS.
This data clearly demonstrates the advantages of using a blend of British and Continental
cattle to strike a balance of marbling and muscling. Composite breeds and bulls offer the
best solution for dealing with antagonistic traits. Composites are often demanding to build
but are easy to use by commercial cattle producers.
1...,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19 20