Cattle Breeds and Breeding Practices Quiz

Unit 4. Beef Cattle Production

• Beef cattle production in the Philippines had an inventory of 2.59 million heads as of July 1, 2021.
• This was a 0.5% increase in backyard farms, but a 11.1% decrease in commercial farms compared to 2020.
• Central Visayas had the highest cattle population (310.90 thousand heads) followed by Ilocos Region and CALABARZON, which together account for 32.2% of the total.
• Cattle production volume in April-June 2021 was 60.99 thousand metric tons (liveweight).
• This was 32.6% higher than the 2020 output of 46.00 TMT (liveweight).
• CALABARZON was the leading cattle producing region at 9.68 thousand metric tons.
• Northern Mindanao (8.89 TMT) and Ilocos Region (7.40 TMT) followed.
• The average farmgate price for cattle slaughter in 2021 (April-June) was PhP146.57 per kilogram (liveweight).
• This was 14.5% higher than PhP128.01 per kg (liveweight) in 2020.
• The highest average farmgate price during the 2nd quarter of 2021 was PhP147.28 per kg (liveweight) in May.
• The lowest price was PhP145.48 per kg (liveweight) in April.

Chapter 1. Overview of the Beef Cattle Industry

• The Philippines beef cattle industry has 3 major systems: Ranching, Feedlot and Backyard.

Inventory

• 2019: Backyard = 6.0% , Commercial = 94.0%, Total =6.0m heads
• 2020: Backyard = 6.0% , Commercial = 94.0%, Total =6.0m heads
• 2021: Backyard = 5.3% , Commercial = 94.7%, Total =2.59m heads
• 2021 Growth Rate: Backyard = 0.5%, Commercial = -11.1%, Total = -0.2%

Population

• The factors contributing to the accomplishment of the goal are:

  • Early sexual maturity of females
  • High conception rate
  • High calf crop
  • Early rebreeding after calving
  • Excellent milk production of the cows
  • Availability of year-round feed supply
  • High quality of management, profile of nutrition, and farm infrastructures

  There are 5 major regions by population:

  • Ilocos
  • Southern Tagalog
  • Central Visayas
  • Northern Mindanao
  • Davao Region

Production

• The total volume of cattle production from April to June in 2021 was 60.99 thousand metric tons(liveweight)
• The production was higher by 32.6% compared to the 2020 output of 46.00 TMT (liveweight)
• CALABARZON had the highest production for the period, followed by Northern Mindanao(8.89 TMT, lw) and Ilocos Region (7.40 TMT, lw)

Competitive Advantages

• Increasing demand for beef with a higher income elasticity than other meats.
• Ability to convert low-quality, fibrous feed materials (grasses, crop residues) into high-value protein.
• Abundant availability of crop residues, especially in small farms.
• Favorable climate for fodder production.
• Availability of cattle production and meat processing technologies for increased productivity.

Constraints

• Low breeding base.
• High financing costs for breeder operations.
• High cost of inputs.
• Lack of infrastructure.
• Competition for land use.
• Changing policy guidelines (e.g. pasture lease, tariffs)
• Import substitutes (e.g., carabeef).
• Policy to unify and integrate the beef industry.

Interventions (Needed)

• Build up population base through well-defined breeding programs.
• Increase animal productivity through improved husbandry practices and biotechnology application.
• Promote appropriate feeding and encourage utilization of non-conventional feedstuffs.
• Implement strict quarantine procedures and efficient disease control/eradication programs.
• Improve marketing and pricing systems.
• Review policies on importation and credit systems.

Chapter 2. Beef Production Systems in the Philippines

Beef Production Systems

• Ranching or extensive system.
• Feedlot fattening.
• Backyard/small-holder/semi-subsistence.

Ranching or Extensive System

Cow-calf operation

• Uses grade or Philippine cows and purebred bulls.
• Involves selling calves at weaning as stockers; feeder stocks after grazing; fat slaughter cattle after feeding; or selling heifers for breeding.
• Relies heavily on native pastures with minimal supplemental feeds (concentrates).
• Can be integrated with orchards or coconut plantations.

Breeder farm operation

• Highly specialized using purebred cows and bulls.
• Requires large capital for animals and equipment.
• Requires skilled managers with experience in feeding and salesmanship.
• Aims for highest quality cattle for the open market.

Feedlot Fattening Operation

• Important for farmers to generate extra income.
• Allows year-round work using cheap, plentiful farm by-products (e.g. corn stovers, hay, silage, rice straw, copra meal, rice bran, sugarcane tops)
• Helps meet demand for high-protein foods.
• Properly fattened cattle is in great demand; but feedlot cattle operations popular only in Batangas, Tarlac, and Pangasinan, few ops in other parts.
• Majority of operations are small-scale, fattening 2-3 heads at a time.

Backyard Cattle Raising

• 92% of the total cattle population is from backyard.
• The aggregate share of top five regions (Ilocos, Southern Tagalog, Central Visayas, Northern Mindanao, and Davao Region) account for 56.9% of the total population.
• The aim is to produce livestock that can be sold to augment farm income.
• Typically, 1-2 heads of either fattening or breeding cattle is raised in spare time.
• Farmers usually tether animals to graze and supplement the diet with farm wastes (e.g. rice straw, corn stovers/stalks).
• Some practice soiling and supplementing (e.g. ipil-ipil, rice bran, corn bran, copra meal) at 1-2 kg/animal.
• In Batangas, force feeding (supa or supak) of mixed feed is common practice among backyard cattle raisers.

Chapter 3. Beef Cattle Breeds, Breeding, and Reproduction

Breeds from Great Britain

• Hereford: one of the first breeds developed in England, distinguished by its white face, white flanks, white tails and white neck crest. The body color ranges from cherry to mahogany red. A popular choice for polled trait.
• Angus: naturally polled and solid black or red; noted for high quality meat, increased weight gains. An abdominal spot of white is common.
  • Aberdeen Angus: a popular solid black Angus with an abdominal white spot.
  • Red Angus: a solid red Angus.
• Shorthorn: dual-purpose breed suitable for both dairy and beef production. Colors are red, white or roan; completely white is uncommon.
• Galloway: among the oldest breeds in the world, noted for its long, thick coats, common for regions with cold climates. Colors include white/red/roan.
• Belted Gallorvay: Similar to the Galloway, but recognized by a black belted coat.

Breed from India (Brahman or Zebu)

• 30 or more strains; most preferred strains are Guzerat, Nellore, Gir and Krisma Valley.
• Characterized by a pronounced hump, excessive skin on the dewlap and underline, large droopy ears, and horns which tend to curve downward and outward.
• Colors range from near white, to brown and brownish-red to near black.
• Known for heat tolerance, drought resistance, and resistance to ticks and other parasites.
• Widely popular in Central and South America, gulf coast regions of the US(especially Texas and Florida), regions of Asia (especially Philippines and Thailand)

Breed from France (Charolais & Limousin)

• Charolais: a French breed of taurine beef cattle, second most numerous after Holstein. Popular for meat production. Large, muscular bulls up to 1,100 kg, and cows up to 900 kg. Very high-strung. Predominantly white with a pink nose.
  • Limousin: from the Limousin and Marche regions of France, used mainly as draft animals in the past. Known for its large muscled body and meat production. Commonly reddish-brown.

Breed from Switzerland (Simmental)

• Is a Swiss breed of dual-purpose cattle.
• Named after the Simme River Valley in the Bernese Oberland.
• Usually reddish in color with white markings.
• Has a large within-breed variation of dairy and beef types.

Breed from Africa (Afrikaner)

• Indigenous to South Africa
• Known as Africander.
• Herded by the Khoikhoi (Hottentots) when Dutch established Cape Colony in 1652.
• Commendably used for beef production, often crossbred to improve meat quality and tenderness, especially in feeding on poor forage.
• South African breed society promotes Afrikaners as dam line for crossbreeding.

Chapter 6. General Management Practices

Cattle Identification

• Branding with hot irons
• Putting ear tags or ear notches

Dehorning

• Dehorning irons
• Caustic soda
• Dehorning paste
• Mental spoons
• Barnes dehorner
• Clippers
• Electric saws

Castration

• Slit and cap methods for surgical removal of testicles.
• Bloodless castration using Burdizzo pinchers or emasculators.

Record Keeping

• Records used for breeding to track genetically superior cattle.
• Important for culling slow-gaining heifers/bulls with undesirable hereditary traits.

Selection and Culling

• Cull animals with poor performance (e.g. cows that calf infrequently, producers low amounts of milk, weak or susceptible to disease).
• Cull heifers that don't come into heat on time, don't meet standard breeding herd.
• Cull bulls and cows with undesirable hereditary traits(inverted teats, hernia, dwarfism)

Chapter 7: Animal Health Program

Herd Health Management

• Responsibility and care for disease control for veterinarians and livestock raisers.
• Requires due consideration to local conditions and resources.
• Disease rates and production may be a result of low conception rate,high pre- & post-weaning mortality, and annual deaths in mature cattle.

Disease Prevention Measures

1. Start with healthy stocks. Purchase healthy animals from trustworthy sources and isolate for 30 days.
2. Deworm, detick, and immunize during isolation.
3. For unconfined herds: maintain proper application of preventative health measures consistently. In areas with high liverfluke incidence, de-worm with flukecide ever 3-4 months to control this disease.
4. Provide adequate nutritive rations to improve livestock resistance and health.
5. Maintain clean, safe housing for animals with clean water supplies to mitigate environmental stress.
6. Practice proper sanitation to minimize waste and pest build up and prevent disease spread.
7. Graze animals in pastures free from internal parasites like liverfluke; use flukecide as control.
8. Deworm often with effective parasite treatments, especially in areas with a high risk for parasites transmission.
9. Control ticks with correct amount of chemical treatment.
10. Cull breeding stocks that are unproductive, replace with tested breeders.
11. Conduct frequent fecal examination to check parasitic presence and increase monitoring of incidence.
12. During disease outbreaks, isolate the sick/ill animal immediately and allow immediate veterinary treatment. Strengthen environmental control measures(i.e., sanitation and disinfection)
13. Arrange community vaccination programs with local authorities when needed. 14.Segregate from other animals (carabaos, goats, sheep) to reduce possible infection transmission.

Herd Health Program

• Before breeding: select breeders with good genetic makeup, blood test for diseases like brucellosis and leptospirosis; deworm with wide-spectrum anthelmintics; inject with vitamin ADE; vaccinate against diseases in the area (FMD, hemorrhagic septicemia, blackleg, brucellosis, anthrax) before breeding.
• During pregnancy: provide adequate nutrition (minerals, vitamins), possibly inject vitamin ADE in the second/third trimester; immunize against bacterial diseases (Salmonella, Pasteurella, Leptospira) at 7-8 months; deworm against intestinal roundworms in the last couple of weeks.
• During calving and post-calving: separate expectant cows from herd a week before calving; prepare clean calving areas; apply iodine on umbilical stumps of calves; treat dames with antibiotics to prevent uterine infections; repeat deworming to prevent gastro-intestinal parasites at 2-3 months, and again before weaning; move calves to pasture areas or corrals suitable for their separation from dams.
• During yearling and growing period: repeat vaccinations when immunity from previous vaccinations have waned; repeat tick control frequently; treat against liverflukes in areas where prevalent; consult a veterinarian for treatment if disease outbreaks occur.