Breeding Sustainable Beef Cows: Reducing Weight and Increasing Productivity.

ABSTRACT: Programs for sustainable beef production are established, but the specific role of beef cows in these systems is not well defined. This work characterized cows for two traits related to sustainability, cow weight (CW) and cumulative weight weaned (WtW). Cow weight indicates nutrient requirements and enteric methane emissions. Cumulative weight weaned reflects reproductive performance and avoidance of premature culling for characteristics related to animal health, welfare, and worker safety. Both traits were evaluated with random regression models with records from a crossbred population representing 18 breeds that conduct US national cattle evaluations. The genomic REML analyses included additive and dominance components, with relationships among 22,776 animals constructed from genotypes o

SUBMITTER: Snelling WM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9311566 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature