Breeding of beef cattle is changing, with more emphasis on efficiency of production. Feed cost is the highest expense, and reducing it has the potential to increase profitability. Common measures of efficiency are ratio traits such as feed conversion (feed…
Feed efficiency is of major economic importance in beef production. The objective of this work was to evaluate alternative measures of feed efficiency for use in genetic evaluation. To meet this objective, genetic parameters were estimated for the components of…
The FAO publication, Livestock’s Long Shadow, indicated that livestock is responsible for 18% of the world’s greenhouse gas production thereby creating the perception that livestock is a major cause of global warming. Methane (CH4) makes up 16% of total world…
Feeding costs of animals is a major determinant of profitability in livestock production enterprises. Genetic selection to improve feed efficiency aims to reduce feeding cost in beef cattle and thereby improve profitability. This study estimated genetic (co)variances between weaning weight…
Genetic selection to improve feed efficiency aims to reduce the cost of feeding costs in beef cattle production and thereby improve profitability. The aim of this study was to estimate genetic (co)variances to compare residual feed intake (RFI) and feed…
