Breed Improvement of Murray Grey Beef Cattle in New Zealand

Many beef cattle producers point to low current International prices and dependence on trading commodity products as a major cause of our current beef price downturn. Examination of beef prices from 1970 to their projected values in the year 2000 show that real beef prices in 1997 dollars have fallen from an estimated $3.70 per kg in 1970 to around $1.80 per kg in 1997 suggesting a gradual decline in real returns from beef production over a thirty year period (Figure One). In the face of declining incomes, some beef cattle producers will retrench and decrease expenditure and also lower productivity. However other producers offset this decrease in price by increasing the economies of scale through purchasing more land or by increasing efficiency of production, thus making greater use of existing resources. One method of increasing the efficiency of production is through seeking and exploiting genetically more profitable animals for your beef cattle production system.

Figure One: Trends in Real Beef Prices (1970-2000 est.)

Some industry commentators compare the beef industry with the dairy industry and note that higher incomes from dairy production result from either higher prices or improved management. Figure Two shows the inflation adjusted milksolids price from 1950 to its projected level in 2000. Real milksolids prices have declined at approximately eight cents per year over this fifty year period. The dairy industry has been able to offset this decrease in price somewhat by increasing production through changes in management. One area of management change within the dairy industry has been an accelerated rate of genetic improvement accomplished by using modern genetic and reproductive technologies such widespread AI.

Figure Two: Changes in real milksolids prices (1950 to 2000 est.)

Genetic improvement of any livestock species should focus on selection for economically important traits. The relative importance of such traits will differ depending on which perspective we take, traits of importance should meet the requirements of:

• Bull buyers
• Beef processors
• Beef consumers (both domestic & international)

Using cow weaning rate as an example of traits differing in importance between sectors of the beef industry, his trait is of considerable importance to beef cattle producers but of no importance to processors or beef consumers. Saleable meat yield is of primary importance to processors but little interest to consumers. Traits such as meat tenderness, taste, juiciness and flavour are all important to consumers but are of little importance to beef cattle producers when they are not financially rewarded for improving such traits.

Objectives of a Beef Cattle Breed Society

A beef cattle Breed Society often has a range of objectives, some of which relate to improvement of the cattle and others of which concern the well-being of the Society and its members. Three objectives frequently quoted by many Breed Societies include:

• Breed promotion - marketing of animals and superior genes
• Breed improvement - selecting genetically superior animals
• Maintaining breed purity

Often the major goal of Breed Societies tends to focus on promotion and marketing related activities such as showing cattle and publication of articles for magazines. It has been recently estimated that in United States beef cattle Breed Societies as much as 70% of total expenditure has been on promotion related activities. In contrast, a relatively small portion of funds are spent on breed improvement which includes developing a performance recording package and obtaining Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) on cattle. However, performance recording and genetic evaluation (the process where EBVs are obtained) can contribute to sustainable improvement of a breed provided these measures are used to improve traits of economic importance. Maintaining breed purity does not directly contribute to Breed Improvement unless a requirement of reaching a purity status is that animals are performance recorded and breeders base their selection decisions on these records.

Ingredients for Successful Breed Improvement

A number of key elements are required to ensure the success of any breed improvement programme. Firstly breeders should be motivated to select cattle which are genetically superior for traits of economic importance.

Figure Three - Elements of a Beef Cattle Improvement Programme

To drive this genetic improvement requires committed bull-buyers who will purchase bulls if they will increase profit for their own farming conditions. The other end of the spectrum comprises a database with pedigree and performance information such as birth weights and weaning weights. BV processing is the process which uses pedigree and performance information to calculate a series of Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs). Research may be focused on determining what customer requirements are (what bull-buyers want) and how EBVs can help meet these customer requirements. Finally, extension should focus on ensuring that breeders are comfortable with using EBVs for making selection decisions and that bull-buyers are able to use this information to improve profitability of their herds.

Figure Four Beef Cattle Improvement - Early New Zealand Model

In the late 1970's and early 1980's the New Zealand National Beef Recording Scheme offered New Zealand beef cattle breeders BeefPlan. The components of BeefPlan are shown inside the boxed area in Figure Four.

BeefPlan comprised a performance and pedigree database from which EBVs were calculated in the BV processing section of the box. Research was applied directly to BeefPlan to fund further developments in the programme. Funding was also provided for specialist extension officers to communicate regularly with breeders and commercial producers to encourage the uptake of performance recording and use of objective measurements when purchasing bulls.

Figure Five - Current New Zealand Model

A decline in Government funding and a lack of industry support saw the BeefPlan evaluation supplanted by the Australian developed Group Breedplan genetic evaluation. Group Breedplan provides breeders with BLUP-based EBVs and in doing so allows breeders to compare the genetic merit of animals across herds and evaluate genetic progress over a number of years.

Diagramatically, the service provided by the Group Breedplan genetic evaluation is an integrated pedigree and performance recording database which os also linked to financial and membership databases. The genetic evaluation is accomplished using the data contained in the pedigree and performance database. The research and development component of Breedplan is funded by Australia's beef cattle industry, a large portion of this research is applicable to New Zealand circumstances such as evaluation of new traits, development in the genetic evaluation model. New Zealand-specific Breedplan research and extension support is not included within the Group Breedplan genetic evaluation and must be provided separately from local sources. Similarly, Breedplan extension support is provided by New Zealand sources.

Figure Six Beef Cattle Improvement - Ideal Model


The ideal model for any improvement programme is where a number of partners work together to deliver an improvement programme. An example is shown where research providers help to deliver a genetic evaluation, provide research support and manage a database according to the needs to the Breed Society and commercial beef cattle producers.

Industry partners such as Breed Societies together with commercial producers should be motivated to provide extension support to both bull-breeders and bull-buyers. Efficient communication channels need to be well established between these participants to ensure that research providers are focussed on the needs of New Zealand's beef industry and that the results from research efforts are readily interpretable.

Some larger Breed Societies overseas operate a system that is very close to the ideal model by employing specialist research and technical staff to generate breed specific research and liaise between Breed Societies Research Institutes and Universities. These technical staff report the results of recent research findings and invite input from motivated breeders and committed bull-buyers to direct future research proposals.

Three essential ingredients are required for successful Breed Improvement, these are:

• Improvement in registered herds
• Transfer of bulls to commercial herds
• Cash flows back to registered breeders

In New Zealand we have some 64,000 cows (all breeds) within registered herds and 1.3 million cows within commercial herds. Improvement in registered herds relies on selection for traits of economic importance. However, for our beef industry to obtain maximum benefit from this improvement, superior genes (in the form of bull sales or semen) need to be transferred from registered to commercial herds. This can be accomplished through selling bulls and semen. Breeders can be motivated to sell more bulls if they receive a higher price per bull sold. Likewise bull buyers will be encouraged to purchase bulls for higher prices if they are convinced these bulls will increase profit for their farm.

It is important to determine which of these ingredients (improvement, transfer of bulls or cash-flows back to breeders) is limiting progress for a particular breed. If improvement within registered herds is limiting progress for your breed a greater uptake of performance recording and genetic evaluation will be required. If a low numbers of bull sales result in sub-optimal cash-flows then market research is required to determine the needs of your bull-buying customers and then meeting or exceeding these customer requirements.

• Currently within the Murray Grey breed in New Zealand, few (nine) herds are enrolled on Group Breedplan. The size of our recorded population is thus extremely small. Three steps can be taken to increase the effective size of our recorded Murray Grey population in New Zealand
  
  Increase the number of performance recorded cattle in New Zealand
• Merge the New Zealand Murray Grey database with overseas Murray Grey databases
• Increase the number of performance recorded commercial Murray Grey cattle

Any increase in performance recording and genetic evaluation of cattle (that process where EBVs are calculated) should focus on the needs of the Murray Grey breed in New Zealand.

What are the needs of the Murray Grey breed ? Responses obtained from the 1997 New Zealand Murray Grey AGM would indicate the needs of this breed are:

• An increase in number of bull-buyers
• An increased level of performance recording
• Increased numbers of commercial Murray Grey cattle
• Benchmarking the progress of the Breed Society to date
• Improvement in meat quality traits
• The ability to consistently meet market requirements
• Increase promotion and marketing of cattle

How does an evaluation meet these needs ? Responses from the 1997 New Zealand Murray Grey AGM would indicate an evaluation would help meet these needs through:

• The ability to locate and identify superior genes within the breed
• Identification of superior genes for specific markets
• Development of a genetic evaluation having a wide scope, - both in terms of traits included and cattle evaluated
• The evaluation needs to be easily used and understood by both motivated breeders and committed bull-buyers
• EBVs need to accurately reflect farm profit and not be reported for traits of little or no economic importance
• EBVs will need to provide a basis for comparing the genetic merit of Murray Grey cattle and both within the breed and across other breeds

Any genetic evaluation should focus on the needs of the Murray Grey breed.

In conclusion, breeding Murray Grey cattle which meet requirements of commercial cattle farmers and modern beef markets requires prudent use of all possible sources of genetic improvement. Introduction of outside genes will only be successful if coupled with increased adoption of a genetic evaluation by New Zealand Murray Grey breeders.

Paul Charteris and Dorian Garrick
Department of Animal Science
Massey University