Chinese scientists have developed a new breed of cattle to reduce the country’s reliance on importing breeding cattle and to bolster domestic production.
The Huaxi cattle breed was led by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences’ Institute of Animal Science research team, which bred the new variety in the Wulagai area of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.
The breed was 43 years in the making, and there are currently 41 Huaxi cattle farms nationwide in Inner Mongolia and the Henan and Hubei provinces. Currently, 70 percent of cattle for breeding are imported, and scientists hope to have 400 Huaxi bulls available for breeding each year by 2025.
“Adult bulls weigh up to 900 kilograms (1,900 pounds) and adult cows over 550 kg (1,200 lbs.). The slaughter rate is 62.39 percent while the net meat rate is 53.95 percent,” Li Junya, the research team’s chief scientist, told China Daily.
The National Livestock and Poultry Genetic Resources Committee approved the new variety in December.
