[inline_image file=”2356ef8396219ccd91c16a94b2ba4f5f.jpg” caption=”Cattle in a feedlot”]
Kansas State University researchers recently published the results of their analysis of video auction data. This involved a study of the sire breed of lots between 2010 and 2018, as well as breed type (English-English cross, English-Continental cross, and Brahman cross) from 1995 to 2018. A robust database was used with information on 93,081 lots marketed through 189 summer video auctions from 1995 to 2018.
The magnitude of these changes is striking.
The percentage of lots with Brahman influence significantly decreased from 22 percent in 1995 to 10 percent in 2018. When the data are studied by region, it reveals that this phenomenon of decreased Brahman influence was regional, with the largest decline observed in the West Coast, Rocky Mountain/North Central, South Central, and Texas regions. Meanwhile, no change occurred in the percentage of lots with Brahman influence in Coastal and Subcoastal regions. This is logical since heat and parasite control in coastal regions is greatly improved with Brahman influence. However, in other regions emphasis has often been put more on improving carcass traits at the expense of Brahman influence.
Over the course of this study Brahman-influence feeder calves sold at a $4.49 cwt discount compared to English-English crossed steers, and a $3.65 cwt discount compared to English-Continental crosses. However, in 2018 the discount increased to $7.61 cwt and $6.74 cwt, respectively. In addition, the number of lots identified as English and English crosses has been trending upwards while English-Continental crosses has remained stagnant or declining depending on the region.
The second part of the study explored the impact of single breed sire(s), and how that is changing over time. The specific sire breed of a lot of calves was first recorded in the database starting in 2010. It was found that sire breed class could not be determined for approximately 9.5 percent of the lots of beef calves in this study. This meant the database analyzed for the single-breed analysis was made up of 35,483 lots of beef calves marketed via 211 video auctions from 2010 through 2018.
The American Angus Association is the largest beef breed association in the world, so it is logical that the largest number of calves are identified as Angus sired. This hit an amazingly high market share of 82.2 percent in 2000 but has been significantly declining since that time with market share in 2018 being 71.2 percent (see table).
Much of the market share lost by Angus has been absorbed by SimAngus and Red Angus. SimAngus rose from an insignificant influence of 0.7 percent of the lots in 2010 to the current 5.2 percent. The other fast-growing breed is Red Angus, which grew 7.6 to 11.9 percent of the lots. The other single sire breeds, which grew were Brangus and Charolais lots, while there was no significant change in Hereford-sired lots.
The authors postulated: “The decrease in the percentage of lots sired by Angus bulls is likely due to the Angus influence in the cow herd. Commercial beef producers may be using other sire breeds on a predominantly Angus-based cow herd, which is indicated by the increase of lots sired by Brangus, Charolais, Red Angus, and SimAngus.”
Holsteins completely dominate the dairy industry, and Angus had been on a course of becoming the “Holstein” of the beef industry. However, that trend in the beef industry appears to have peaked and is now slowly retracting. With the reemergence of the value of heterosis and breed complementarity, this trend could accelerate in the future.
Producers are also minimizing the amount of Brahman influence in their cow herd, which in some cases would eliminate the Brahman discount. However, in certain regions of the country, Brahman is a needed component of beef production. Their tolerance of heat, humidity, and parasites make them a valuable genetic input where these conditions exist. — Dr. Bob Hough,WLJ correspondent
