The Rural Voice, 1985-09, Page 27i
Experience with poultry
gives cattle breeder
unique perspective
by Phyllis Coulter
Chickens and cows — their dif-
ferences are many. But Don
Shaver of R.R. 1, Newton,
son of Canada's leading poultry
breeder, Dr. Donald Shaver, senior,
has drawn a great deal of his perspec-
tive on cattle breeding from his ex-
perience growing up in an environ-
ment dominated by poultry research.
As a youth, he travelled interna-
tionally with his father, followed
poultry research and development
through the years, and consequently
developed a unique, forward -
thinking approach to cattle breeding.
The broiler industry adjusted to
changing consumer desires by
creating a 54 -day product with good
marketing potential. Similarly, the
beef industry must adapt by breeding
cattle more suited to modern
markets, and so more profitable to
farmers. To that end, the Shavers
started with eleven breeds, and are
working towards attaining a breed for
the future. Although the Shavers
started raising cattle 15 years ago, it
has only been in the past few years
that the development of a new breed
has top priority, and the effort has
progressed dramatically. The new
"synthetic" breed, as Shaver calls it,
is a sturdy, red -coloured animal.
Shaver purposely excluded the
three British breeds, Hereford,
Angus, and Shorthorn, from his in-
itial breeding stock. The ultimate
cross will be the new breed, "Shaver
Beefplan" (he originally named it
"Shaver Eleven") with Hereford.
This cross will have maximum hybrid
vigour. Because the Shaver breed has
been developed in Ontario, the
Beefplan cattle will thrive under
Canadian conditions. Shaver also
sees potential for his new breed in
South America. Shaver Beefplans can
be crossed with native South
American breeds, Zebu or Brahmin,
to create a superior animal suited to
that climate.
From his experience in the chicken
business, Shaver has observed that
a•
The Shaver Beefplan was bred with the intention of creating a
breed for tomorrow.
the best chicken is neither completely
masculine or feminine. Likewise, he
believes good cattle must have both
strong maternal and strong paternal
qualities. Maternal traits including
fertility, mothering ability, and
respectable calving intervals, combin-
ed with paternal traits such as docile
temperament, good feed conversion,
early maturity, and high carcass
yields are characteristics of the cattle
of tomorrow. Shaver expects a
Beefplan carcass to yield between 60
and 62 per cent cutability. He points
out that research at the University of
Guelph on 20 randomly selected Al
steers showed that Al carcasses
varied from 62 to as low as 48 per
cent cutability. Shaver would like the
denotation of Al to be more consis-
tent than it is now. He compliments
the pork industry for its more consis-
tent indexing policies.
The Shaver Beefplan was bred with
an understanding of both the beef in-
dustry and consumer -purchasing
trends, with an eye on the export
market, with consideration of the
merits and shortcomings in other
aspects of agriculture, and most im-
portantly, with the intention of
creating a breed for tomorrow.
Shaver has solid ideas about what
qualities the utility cattle of the future
should have. Many of his ideas are
oriented towards marketing.
Working with genetics in cattle
forces a person to think at least 5 to
10 years ahead of the industry.
Shaver isn't guided by show -ring cat-
tle as much as he is by other con-
siderations. For example, he notes
that a higher percentage of carcasses
are being used for ground beef today
than in the past. The cattle of tomor-
row may be raised in less time and
perhaps be ready for market at eleven
months. All but the rib eye of such
animals could be used for ground
beef. This suits two demands, ex-
pediting time to market and creating
more ground beef (which is predicted
to remain popular with consumers).
There is an acknowledged bell curve
of efficiency in feeding cattle. If cat-
tle didn't have to be finished to the
SEPTEMBER 1985 25