March 29, 2024

Using beef genetics to increase value of Holstein steers

MADISON, Wis. — The Holstein steer production system begins with the bull calf.

“We recommend the Holstein bull calves receive colostrum similar to the program for replacement heifer calves,” said Dan Schaefer, emeritus professor in the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“Castration is important because stags suffer deep carcass discounts and dehorn the calves to prevent bruising of the pen mates,” said Schaefer during a webinar hosted by Hoard’s Dairyman.

Respiratory health can be a challenge for some Holstein steers.

“I think this is partly due to the fact they’re receiving milk replacer and because they’re in artificial environments so they don’t have the same air quality as beef calves,” Schaefer said.

Holstein steer calves don’t need a growing phase in the feedlot, he said.

“After a short transition they can go on a finishing diet,” he said. “The diet for calves should be reasonably high energy at 62 megacalories of net energy for gain per hundredweight of dry matter and 18% crude protein.”

There is great consistency within the Holstein steer population.

“This is due to the fact the breed has an inbreeding coefficient of 6% to 7% and the implications are both positive and negative for Holstein beef production,” Schaefer said.

Schaefer talked about 25 closeouts of Holstein steers from an Iowa feedlot. The average group size was 350 head and the cattle were started on feed at 480 pounds and finished just over 1,400 pounds.

“The steers were on feed for 321 days, dry matter intake was 21 pounds per day, they were at about 3 pounds average daily gain, the feed conversion efficiency was close to 7 and 80-plus percent graded Choice and Prime,” Schaefer said.

“The percent of Holstein steers lost to death or culled is around 3.6%, which is a fairly high number relative to the non-dairy cattle feedlot production,” he said. “This is probably due to early calfhood management and the inbreeding that exists.”

Interpreting Carcass Data

Holstein steers have a lower dressing percentage than beef carcasses, Schaefer said, due to the increased proportion of gut, the reduced muscling score and less subcutaneous fat.

“However, the hide is less, which is an offset to the decline of dressing percent, and Holsteins have a lower muscle to bone ratio,” Schaefer said.

“Holsteins have higher marbling scores than U.S. native fed cattle, but in recent years there’s been an improvement in the proportion of native cattle that grade Choice and Prime, so the advantage held by Holstein steers is not as large now as it use to be,” he said.

“Sexed semen has changed the landscape,” he said. “The technology of sexed semen enables more rapid genetic progress and the goal is to add value to the surplus calves.”

One option is to crossbreed beef and dairy to produce F1 steers that qualify for the Certified Angus Beef program.

“The sire conception rate, which is a measure of bull fertility, has been measured in the Holstein breed, but not typically measured for beef bulls,” Schaefer said. “Holstein bulls mated to Holstein cows had a sire conception rate of 34% and Angus bulls mated to Holstein cows had a sire conception rate nearly the same at 33.8%.”

In addition, Schaefer said, the Angus bulls produced about the same number of sperm as the Holstein bulls, but there was a notable difference in the sperm quality.

“Angus sperm motility was 10% less than Holstein sperm,” he said. “Angus bulls have not been selected for semen quality with the same intensity that has been applied to Holstein bulls.”

The goal of a crossbreeding program is to produce F1 steers that are more than simply a black calf.

“If the calf won’t qualify for CAB, it’s just a black Holstein and there is no reason to value it greater than a Holstein bull calf,” Schaefer said. “Therefore, the challenge is to produce F1 progeny that meet the CAB standards, which is a huge challenge in one generation.”

Schaefer identified several criteria for beef sire selection for Holstein matings.

“I recommend homozygous black, homozygous polled, frame score of 5 to 5.5, ribeye area in the top 20% EPD of its breed, marbling EPD in the top 20% of the breed and calving ease direct EPD in the top 50% of the breed,” he said.

The American Simmental Association has created a Hol-Sim index to help cattlemen choose sires for mating with Holstein cows. In addition, the American Angus Association has developed $H index, which includes selection principles of Angus sires that are suitable to breed to Holstein females.

Martha Blum

Martha Blum

Field Editor