Abstract

Historically, the breeding cow has established its place on New Zealand sheep and beef farms as a 'hardy' animal, able to withstand the vagaries of climate and feed supply, and for 'cleaning-up' rough pastures generally assisting output from the ewe flock - the main enterprise. The cow has been particularly useful where contour or cost prevented cropping or conservation. In this context, pure breeds such as Angus or Hereford have served well. The traditional role of the beef cow needs to be reviewed as farmers: - move to cross-breeding and use more 'productive' breeds - have much higher expectations of beef income relative to sheep - increase their proportion of beef to sheep - develop their properties Data from the 'Limestone Downs' property near Port Waikato is presented to show that this 'new' cow in the 'new' environment presents challenges and opportunities not earlier foreseen. At Limestone Downs, three-way cross- breeding of the Angus herd started in 1984, with Hereford and Friesian bulls introduced. At that time, average calf weaning weight was 180 kg. In 1992 the last of the pure Angus cows weaned calves of 205 kg, with the 3-way cross cows weaning calves at 250 kg. Mean cow liveweight of about 420 kg has not changed since 1984. However, the liveweight of the cross-bred cows drops 34- 40 kg between calving and weaning, whereas the Angus tended to stay constant. Additional calf weaning weight has cost the cow liveweight which must be replaced before the following spring. With increased subdivision, pasture development and greater cattle numbers there is no longer the rough feed for cows to 'survive' on. This, coupled with a cow now bred to produce a heavy calf at weaning at the expense of her own body condition if necessary, can lead to re-breeding problems and high cow losses. What of the future? We need to be clear about our expectations of the breeding cow, and perhaps accept that in the traditional role, the traditional cow needs only minor modifications. At the other end of the spectrum however, in a situation where the cow is a direct competitor for feed, we need to consider a whole spectrum of options such as twinning, as these are developed and proven.

KI, Lowe

Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production, Volume 54, , 315-318, 1994