The cattle you raise and the beef they produce are the result of two factors – their genetic potential, and the environment they’re raised in (climate, feed, health management, handling practices and everything else you do).
The beef industry adopts genetics more slowly than poultry, swine or dairy. Several things make genetic advancement trickier in beef cattle.
Comparing beef to other industries is like comparing apples to oak trees – our production systems are very different. Pigs, poultry and dairy cows are usually raised in intensive confinement systems that tightly control the physical environment and diet. This means production practices (and productivity) can be reasonably similar across the entire country. When a barn largely eliminates the environmental factors, even the most demanding genetics can be accommodated. In contrast, cow-calf production takes place in the natural environment. Beef cows need all the genetic flexibility they can get to cope with blizzards, drought, bogs, hills, parasites, predators, highly variable feed quality and availability, and everything else nature throws at them. Genetics that can’t cope with those conditions tend to drop out in these situations. The feedlot sector is more intensive and could likely get more out of those genetics.
Our marketing systems are also like apples and tumbleweeds. With pigs, poultry and dairy, the producer who decides (or is instructed) what genetics to use also sells the eggs, milk or slaughter-ready bird or pig. Their customer provides a clear economic incentive for product quality. Cow-calf producers who don’t retain ownership are paid for weaning weight, and are incentivized to maintain fertility and longevity. Focusing too much on better feedlot performance, feed efficiency or carcass merit genetics could lead to a tradeoff in fertility or longevity. Feedlot producers would undoubtedly love to see higher efficiency, growth and carcass quality genetics. But they rarely produce their own calves and only buy a fraction of their calves directly from the farm. So, the feedlot sector works the “environment” side of the equation by sorting weaned calves into finishing, backgrounding, or grass yearling systems based on sex, weight and breed-type, and tailor their diet and management to get the most out of the genetics they think they bought.
But the genetic quality of Canada’s beef cattle is improving behind the scenes. Most cow-calf buyers may not be deliberately seeking improved genetics for growth or carcass quality. But if they’re buying yearling bulls from breeders who are selecting for those traits, then those improved genetics are feeding into the whole system.
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