The Rural Voice, 1990-09, Page 34THE BEEF INDUSTRY:
Charting a Successful Course
Lloyd Mitchell is convinced that
crossbred cattle are the breed of the
future. And he has developed a breed-
ing strategy to improve his cow/calf
herd and create ideal performance -
tested crossbred cattle on his Annan -
area farm, near Owen Sound.
Using cross -breeding to get hybrid
vigor, Mitchell is breeding cattle that
will use home-grown roughages to
produce an A 1 carcass of 700 pounds
at 12 to 15 months of age.
Developing an ideal cross is a
slow process, usually of trial and er-
ror, but Mitchell is pleased with the
results from his Shorthorn/Salers
cross. While nearly all breeds are
represented in his 95 -cow herd, the 45
purebred Shorthorns have a majority.
Several factors drew him to the Short-
horns, including their good milking
ability, fast growth, easy calving, and
consistent calf size. But choosing the
Salers was quite accidental: Mitchell
knew very little about the breed until
he purchased Shorthorn cows which
were bred Salers.
When Mitchell builds his herd up
to 120 cows, he hopes to develop an
F1 heifer market, similar to the hog
industry, from his Shorthorn/Salcrs
cross, based on performance and repu-
tation. Now he keeps the best of the
heifer offspring from the FI cross and
breeds them to Charolais bulls because
he likes the Charolais rate of gain.
The results speak for themselves.
The herd's average weaning
weight has increased by nearly 100
pounds in 4 years, while the average
yearling weight has increased by 150
pounds. In one example, a Shorthorn
heifer born in 1984, with a weaning
weight of 490 and yearling weight of
760, was bred to a Salers bull and
produced a heifer that weighed 640
pounds when weaned and 840 pounds
as a yearling. This heifer then had a
calf with a weaning weight of 676
pounds and yearling weight of 1,112
when bred to a Charolais bull.
Mitchell used Charolais cows in
his initial breeding program but found
they lacked fertility, had calving dif-
ficulty, and weren't good mothers.
Fertility and calving ease are impor-
tant factors in Mitchell's breeding
program. His cows are checked for
pregnancy in the fall and culled if
still open after the 60 -day breeding
season. He also takes the pelvic
measurements of potential breeding
Lloyd Mitchell's
success in the beef
industry is founded
on a sound breeding
strategy and a feeding
program featuring
home-grown roughages.
His results speak for
themselves.
story and photos
by Mary Lou Weiser -Hamilton
heifers each spring to help determine
their calving ease.
When Dr. Alex Strong (Wingham)
measured pelvises in 1989, Mitchell
had him test a Charolais for compar-
ison with the Salcrs heifers. After
examining the results, Mitchell felt he
was making the right breed choices.
A 635 -pound Shorthorn/Salers heifer
had a 189 cm2 pelvis while a 1,075 -
pound Charolais had a 182 cm2 pelvis,
despite the fact that she was 45 days
older and 440 pounds heavier. Both
were on the same feeding program.
In 1989, Mitchell kept 11 Short-
horn/Salers heifers and two Hereford/
Salers heifers which he bred Charo-
lais, and three Shorthorns which he
bred Salers. With the exception of
three "easy pulls," none of which re-
quired a calf puller, the hcifers calved
by themselves with birth weights
ranging from 62 to 103 pounds. "The
Salers seem to have the pelvic opening
to handle big calves," he says.
All heifers are kept from the
time they are weaned in late fall
until spring. Replacements are then
selected to go to pasture and stay with
the bull from May 1 to June 30. The
remainder are either sold or finished.
30 THE RURAL VOICE