More meat on the bone when selecting beef bulls to cross with dairy cows

An increased use of beef bull semen for insemination of dairy cows is a climate-efficient way to increase beef production from Swedish herds, and thereby contribute to a higher degree of food self-sufficiency in Sweden. It can also benefit the profitability of beef and milk producers, but it requires that the crossbred calves function well in production, both at birth and later during the growth period. How easily the crossbred calves are born and their production characteristics are influenced, among other things, by sex, breed combination and the sire's breeding value.

The selection of bulls for artificial insemination is made largely at the Nordic level today, but the production systems for beef production differ substantially between the Nordic countries. In the project "More meat on the bone when selecting beef bulls to cross with dairy cows", interviews with farmers as well as data analyzes will further map different production systems and the need for beef x dairy crossbreed calves of different sexes and breed combinations in Sweden. We will also make economic calculations to investigate how today's breeding index for beef bulls for use on dairy cows should be updated to suit different production systems. To answer that, we will compare how well the bulls' ranking matches the performance of their offspring.

The project, which is financed by the Swedish Farmers’ Foundation for Agricultural Research and linked to the knowledge center SustAinimal, will be run in close collaboration between SLU, Växa and VikingGenetics. It is expected to give a clearer picture of current and future demand for different types of calves from dairy herds intended for beef production, and further describe the added value of these calves. This information is important for developing a strategy on which beef breeding bulls should be offered for insemination of dairy cows, as well as to determine which type of semen is needed from these bulls (X-sorted, Y-sorted or unsorted). Furthermore, the project's results are expected to provide answers to how the current Nordic breeding index NBDI (Nordic Beef on Dairy Index) needs to be developed to suit different Swedish production systems. The results will also show the extent to which breeding programs for pure beef breeds also produce good individuals for crossing with dairy cows.