Net Feed Intake research proves Herefords are the most efficient British breed

Latest industry research reveals that the Herefordbreed is the number one British Breed when itcomes to Feed Efficiency - Net Feed Intake (NFI).

Research conducted by the Cooperative Research Centre for Cattle andBeef Quality (Beef CRC) with collected data analysed by the AnimalGenetics and Breeding Unit (AGBU) at the University of New England, Armidale revealed that Herefords are significantly ahead of their Britishbred counterparts Angus and Shorthorn. In short, Hereford sired progenyconsumed significantly less feed on a daily basis, without comprisinggrowth and weight gain.

The results compared the daily feed intake and live weights of 469 animalsby sires from nine breeds joined to Brahman cows, and their net feedintake (NFI).

The most efficient were the straight Brahman cattle, which had an averageNFI of –0.61 kilograms a day, meaning they ate 0.61kg less than theirweight and growth rate would indicate. They also had the lightest entryweight, at 371kg, and daily gain at 1.12kg/day.

Next most efficient were the Charolais and Limousin calves, at –0.57kg/dayand –0.50kg/day respectively, followed by Hereford (-0.30kg/day) andSanta Gertrudis (-0.27). Belmont Red, Shorthorn and Angus were leastefficient, with NFIs of +0.01, +0.16 and +0.30kg/ day respectively (Seegraph).

Starting from very similar entry weights of about 445kg (live) the Herefordand Angus cattle had the highest daily gains of 1.57kg/day and 1.56kg/dayrespectively, with Shorthorns not far behind at 1.52kg/day. But most important was the fact that Herefords used significantly less feed than either Angus or Shorthorn to achieve the weight gain.

Technical Consultant to the Australian Hereford Society, Bob Freer said, “With this in mind, we need to bring the CRC results back to on-farm relevance.”

What does it mean for the commercial beef producer?

Given that the sires were representative of their breeds and NFI resultsobtained under feedlot conditions carried through to on-pasture (asconfirmed by Trangie results), then pure Angus would consume 1.2kgfeed/day more than purebred Herefords of the same body weight anddaily gain. That is, an extra 61 tonnes of feed per year for a 100 cow unit.

The research also revealed that Herefords had an 8.4 per cent betteradjusted feed conversion ratio and 6 per cent lower actual daily feedintake than Angus. That is, a producer could run 106 Herefords on thesame ground/feed supply as 103 Shorthorn or 100 Angus animals, or ina feedlot Herefords would eat 6 per cent less feed than Angus for thesame weight gain.

NFI has the important benefit of beingindependent of the animal’s weight and rateof gain, which means efficient cattle can beidentified regardless of size. This is not thecase with feed conversion ratios, commonlymeasured in feedlots.

Feed conversion ratios measure a combination of feed intake and growthrate, which generally means selection is primarily for increased growthrate not reduced feed intake. This increases mature cow weight, andhence feed requirements for the breeding herd, without necessarilyreducing feed intake in feedlot steers.

“Low NFI is the equivalent of getting moremiles to the gallon,” said Mr Freer. “Withlower NFI the producer is able to producemore beef from the same feed source,”he said. “It just confirms what a lot ofpractical cattlemen have known for years.”

The trial cattle were fed at the Tullimba Research Feedlot, near Armidale,NSW, as part of Co-operative Research Centre for Cattle and Beef Qualitytrials, which wound up in July 2005.

• All animals were fed a standard ration as determined from an earlierTrangie, NSW, NFI program.

• Individual feed intake was measured for an average of 59 days after asettling period with shy feeders being removed from the trial.

• The data was collected by CRC and analysed by Animal Genetics andBreeding Unit (AGBU) at UNE.

• The paper states that sire-breed differences for NFI were statisticallysignificant.

“WHEN LESS IS BEST”

Net Feed Intake (NFI) is the difference between an animal’s actual feedintake and the expected feed intake of a breed average animal of thesame live-weight and growth rate. At the same level of performance,animals with a low (negative) NFI will eat less than animals with a high(positive) NFI.

FOOTNOTE:Further evidence supporting the Angus/Hereford difference in the CRC trialis provided by a research project carried out in Canada – Genetic ParameterEstimation of Post-weaning Gain, Feed Intake and Feed Efficiency forHereford and Angus Bulls Fed Two Different Diets – LQ Fan et al (J An Sc(73:365).

This was not a breed comparison project, but rather a project to estimategenetic parameters. However, the authors’ conclusion was that, “resultsindicated Angus bulls were less efficient at utilizing energy for growth (after accounting for energy required for maintenance) than Herefordbulls”.