Crossbreeding has been used for years across the state. But how do you know if you’re selecting the right breeds for your operation?
Dr. Bob Judd, host of Texas Vet News on the Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) Radio Network, explains that many factors should go into choosing which cattle you breed into your herd.
“Crossbreeding has been used for years because it was shown long ago that crossbred cattle grow faster, produce more milk and live longer,” Dr. Judd said.
Heterosis, or hybrid vigor, is only one of the advantages of crossbreeding.
“The largest advantage is you get to choose the breeds you want in your herd. Different breeds have different advantages for different marketing systems and different environments. So this needs to be considered when you choose the breeds you want in your herd,” Dr. Judd said.
Ranchers should have a plan to guide them in selecting the makeup of their herd–especially when some may use three to four different breeds.
Characteristics that should be considered when crossbreeding include: milking ability, mature size of the cow, the amount of land available and stress tolerance.
“You don’t necessarily want to pick the breeds you like. Pick the breeds that perform the best in your environment, which should increase your profit margin,” Dr. Judd said.
Click here to listen to Dr. Judd’s full report: http://bit.ly/1UVY4rk.