Crossbreeding and Heterosis
It has been said that crossbreeding and heterosis provide the only "free lunch" in the cattle industry and we believe that to be true. Crossbreeding offers a wealth of value for virtually every cattleman in the country who plans a crossbreeding system that helps him take the best possible advantage of his available resources. It is important to understand that the value in crossbreeding lies in both heterosis and in breed complementarity and in how those features can be used to fit into your own environment.
Because they provide a balance of positive traits for beef cattle production, Salers genetics are an ideal fit for a variety of crossbreeding systems. Their calving ease, maternal strength, reproductive efficiency and positive carcass traits are welcome components to just about any crossbreeding system and make Salers an ideal cross on many of today's Angus and Red Angus based cowherds. We have designed our Salers and Optimizer composite genetics to work into a variety of crossbreeding systems. We would be glad to help you take a look at your own breeding program and help you harness the value of heterosis and breed complementarity in your cowherd.
The National Beef Cattle Evaluation Consortium (NBCEC) has put together a very comprehensive manual on beef cattle breeding including crossbreeding systems, heterosis and breed complementarity. The following two articles by Bob Weaber of the University of Missouri include an in-depth scientific description of crossbreeding systems and how to select breeds and composites for your own crossbreeding system. Its not light reading, but it does provide plenty of information on the science of crossbreeding.
About the Author...
Bob Weaber
Assitant Professor
University of Missouri