On Dec. 14, 2022, I presented a keynote lecture at an International Symposium in Hyderabad, India, on the topic of novel technologies and policy interventions for a sustainable meat value chain. During this presentation to the 11th Conference of the Indian Meat Science Association, I discussed components of a roadmap to sustainable beef cattle production in the U.S. As an invited speaker to this symposium, our charge was to “develop novel technologies for sustainable meat production” to produce an adequate supply of meat animal protein to feed the world population in the year 2050 and beyond. This is a huge task and one that will require using the very best in animal genetics, growth-promoting technologies and the latest in scientific techniques.
At the current time in the U.S., a large portion of the land we use to produce grass and grain to feed our cattle is in the severe drought category, according to the National Weather Service. These severe drought conditions exist in the western half of the country where a large portion of our beef cattle are raised and fed to market weight. There were 17,800 news stories in the U.S. reporting on the impact of drought on cattle and beef from July to September 2022. This is an increase of 56% from the previous quarter. The severe drought conditions are now entering the second year in some regions of the U.S. The lack of rain has led to the shortage of forages (grass and hay) and the liquidation of cows in some states like Texas, where nearly half of the beef cattle herd has been sold in the past six months. Liquidation of beef cows has also been prevalent in other western states. It is only a matter of time before the reduction in beef cows will result in a shortage of feeder cattle and eventually a shortage of market cattle to produce the meat needed to feed a growing population.
As we think about a roadmap for sustainable beef cattle production in the U.S., we must first discuss what it means to be sustainable. The most often-quoted definition comes from the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development: “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” The University of California, Los Angeles defines sustainability as “the balance between the environment, equity and economy.” Sustainability presumes resources are finite and should be used conservatively and wisely with a view to long-term priorities and consequences of the ways in which resources are used.
In simplest terms, sustainability is about our children and our grandchildren, and the world we will leave them. In an article written on June 23, 2022, Daniel Mollenlkamp says, “In the broadest sense, sustainability refers to the ability to maintain or support a process continuously over time. In business and policy contexts, sustainability seeks to prevent the depletion of natural or physical resources, so they will remain available for the long term.” When asked about the meaning of “sustainable,” I think about the cattle ranchers who have been managing their operations for 40-70 years in such a way that their management practices ensure the survivability of the ranch for future generations to be successful and their cowherds to be profitable.
Now that we have discussed what it means for a practice to be sustainable, let’s discuss the changes we anticipate between now and 2050 that will affect the way we raise beef cattle.
Experts say the world population will continue to increase at an exponential rate. These same experts predict we will have a world population of approximately 9.7 billion people by 2050. The acres of land needed to raise forage for ruminant animals is decreasing daily. Thus, the number of beef cows available to breed in 2050 will be less than the number we currently have in the U.S. To feed the world in 2050 with fewer cows, we will need to utilize all the technologies available to us, including the latest advancements in beef cattle breeding, genetics, nutrition and reproduction.
Because of their rapid growth from birth to harvest weight, their feed efficiency (the ability to produce a pound of meat from fewer pounds of grain than other breeds) and their inherent muscling, Continental breeds of cattle like Charolais will play a significant role globally as governments prepare to feed the world in 2050 and beyond. With increasing populations and decreasing land for cattle production, we will be forced to produce more meat from fewer cattle. At the end of the day, cattle producers will naturally look to those breeds of cattle that are the most efficient at converting grass and other feedstuffs into red meat, breeds that are known to grow rapidly to their ideal harvest weight and breeds that produce a high percentage of carcasses that grade Choice or higher with minimal percentages of Yield Grade 4s and 5s.
As we start laying out a roadmap for sustainable beef production in the U.S., let’s start with an animal breeding technique that has been around for many years. This simple breeding scheme is called crossbreeding and it results from mating two or more breeds that are complementary to one another. One significant benefit from crossbreeding is heterosis, where the resulting offspring are superior in some traits to both their sire and their dam. Another word for heterosis is hybrid vigor, which results in an increase in such characteristics as size, growth rate, fertility and yield of a hybrid organism over those of its parents. Animal breeders exploit heterosis by mating two different purebred lines that have certain desirable traits. Crossbred offspring will often demonstrate an increase in health and hardiness at birth, an increase in growth and performance prior to weaning, as well as additional growth postweaning and on through the finishing phase as cattle reach their ideal market weight.
Crossbred cattle tend to be more efficient in the pasture and in the feedyard. Crossbred cattle also have a reproductive advantage over their purebred counterparts. A simple two-breed crossbreeding system will allow cattle breeders to produce more units of beef per acre than is typically possible on a purebred cattle operation.
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An example of a crossbreeding scheme described above has been used in a research setting in recent years in the U.S. With the improvement in fertility of sexed semen, a commercial cattle producer in South Dakota chose to breed 80% of his black commercial cows to sexed male semen from Charolais bulls. The reason for this decision was twofold: The cattle producer decided to continue breeding 20% of his cows to Angus sires who excelled in maternal traits to produce his own replacement females, and he chose to breed 80% of his black cowherd to male Charolais semen because Charolais X Angus cross calves have a positive reputation for vigorous health, rapid growth, improved muscularity and very good efficiency. In addition, these “smokey” colored steer calves traditionally sell for more dollars per pound at weaning than heifer calves of similar breeding. The first year of this experiment went very well. The cattle producer’s goals were met.
However, the following year, the same cattle producer did the math and decided to breed all his black cows to sexed male Charolais semen to maximize the income from his calf crop. The cattle producer then took a portion of the profit from his mostly male calf crop and purchased black heifer calves from a reputable source known for producing heifer calves who excel at maternal traits, including good udder quality, good milking ability and excellent fertility. Two years later, this cattle producer is still breeding his entire herd of black cows to sexed male Charolais semen and buying black replacement females. He now has the data to show the increase in profit over the days when he bred his black cows to black bulls.
Because of the extra carcass merit (marbling and muscling) found in crossbred calves from Charolais sires, these animals are excellent candidates for premiums offered by carcass-based grids such as GeneNet and Sterling Silver. During the past year, I learned that one of the major U.S. packers is now offering a premium for market cattle weighing over 1,600 pounds. In my opinion, this is good news for cattle breeders who utilize Charolais sires on English-bred cows. The crossbred calves from these matings tend to be leaner at heavier market weights than crossbred calves resulting from mating two English breeds together. In addition, crossbred calves from Charolais sires should produce a lower percentage of Yield Grade 4 and 5 carcasses at 1,600 lbs., making them an excellent choice for packers seeking heavier market cattle.
As we plan our roadmap to produce cattle in a sustainable manner, some consumers prefer to purchase beef raised in an environmentally-friendly manner. Additional research is needed to document various breeds of cattle and their ability to produce sustainable beef in a manner that consistently leaves a smaller carbon footprint than other breeds. When the research is complete and the reports are released, we look forward to sharing the results and making a compelling argument with consumers that some breeds of U.S. cattle are excellent choices for producing sustainable and environmentally-friendly beef.
The other management technique that added value to U.S. feeder cattle is a combination of backgrounding and preconditioning treatments intended to increase the price feeder calf buyers are willing to spend to purchase the calves they want to raise. To start with, the feeder calf buyers asked the cattle producers to give their calves pre-weaning shots while the calves are still nursing their mothers. These shots for blackleg, respiratory disease and shipping fever greatly increased the health status of the calves during and after weaning. Next, the calf buyers asked the cattle producers to wean their calves a minimum of 45 days prior to offering them for sale.
Whether they used abrupt separation of the calves from their mothers or practiced a technique called “fenceline weaning” where the cows and calves could still hear, see, smell and touch each other, weaning the calves prior to selling resulted in healthier, heavier calves who presented less “risk” to the calf buyers. Some cattle producers further increased the value of their calves by “bunk training” them so the calves are accustomed to eating out of feed bunks for at least seven days prior to being sold to a new owner and being moved to a new home.
A successful value-added program in Oklahoma is called the Oklahoma Quality Beef Network (OQBN). This program has been in existence since 2011. OQBN is a joint project of the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service and the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association. OQBN is a network of beef producers, Extension educators, veterinarians and industry professionals committed to increasing producers’ access to value-added marketing opportunities and improving the quality of cattle produced in Oklahoma by increasing communication between all segments of the beef industry.
The weighted average premium for preconditioned calves relative to non-preconditioned calves at the same sale has ranged from a low of $8.35/cwt in 2020, to a high of $19.35/cwt in 2014. For example, 600 lb. calves would have received a premium of $50.10 per head in 2020 and $116.10 per head in 2014.
During my lifetime, there have been amazing advancements in the technology used to produce livestock. AI has been around for more than 60 years. Synchronization protocols have improved to the point a cattle producer can use timed AI to get over half of their herd bred in one day. The benefits of this technology are numerous. For instance, most replacement heifers can be produced from cows who become pregnant in the first month of the breeding season. The length of the breeding season can be controlled by the producer which could result in shorter calving seasons and a more uniform set of replacement heifers and sale bulls. The use of AI, coupled with synchronization protocols, sexed semen (both male and female) and crossbreeding have increased the profitability of beef and dairy operations across the U.S.
As I said in the opening paragraph, producing enough animal protein to feed the world in 2050 is a daunting task that will require using the very best in animal genetics, growth-promoting technologies and the latest in scientific techniques. I have tremendous confidence in the ability of future generations to develop novel ideas and labor-saving devices that will allow future cattle raisers to produce more beef from fewer cows to do their part to help feed the world in 2050 and beyond!
If any of our field staff or other American-International Charolais Association (AICA) employees can be of service to you in the coming months as you seek your next herd bull or replacement females, please let us know. You can find our contact information on our website at www.charolaisusa.com/headquarters.php. — Dr. Clint Rusk, AICA executive vice president
