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THE COW OF THE FUTURE
The Vet's Bag, November/December 1997
by Stuart J. Burns, D.V.M.

Now and then we all "jump the reservation" and stray off into the brush into pastures that are not rightfully ours to graze. This month's column may be one of those situations, and I hope that you will forgive me my transgressions. Reverting back to my teaching days, I will warn you now that there is a pop quiz at the conclusion of this article.

I was reading a publication called the Integrated Resource Management News (Vol.7, Issue 1, Spring 1997, p.3) that is sponsored by Merck Ag Vet, MoorMan's, Dow Elanco, Pfizer and Elanco and published by the National Integrated Research Management Coordinating Committee from the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. It is clear from the parties involved that this is about as "main stream" in the cattle business as one can get. This source reported the comments of Jim Gosey, a Nebraska scientist, in a column titled "The Cow of the Future-What Will She Look Like". He identified the traits that a cow should have to make her a profit- contributing member of the ranch. This is what he said:

• She has hybrid vigor - (Heterosis is very valuable for nearly all economically significant traits in beef production for it improves performance at nearly every level.)
• She conceives at 13-15 months of age and breeds annually thereafter. (Reproductive efficiency has a positive correlation with herd profitability; heavy weaning weights do not!)
• She calves, suckles and raises her own calf to weaning unassisted and recoups body condition lost during lactation. (You can't afford calf losses due to difficult births.)
• She produces healthy calves that gain fast and efficiently resulting in high cutability carcasses of appropriate weight, marbling and tenderness to fit the market targets. (The calf must live, gain weight, and have a mid-range hanging weight...not too big, not too small, like Goldilocks said!)
• She eats the minimum of native forages and requires little or no supplemental purchased feed stuffs. (This means a medium-sized cow, not a large body mass, that is structurally sound to travel and is willing to do so!)
• She has excellent longevity with no decline in productivity through 12 years of age. (Most commercial cows are considered old by the time they are 8-10 and must be considered for replacement, which is a significant expense.)

The author went on to stress the importance of temperament and the ability to adapt to specific environments. He concluded that through the use of differences in biological types, breeds, and BPD's of bulls in the same breed, the opportunity exists to build "future cows" to better suit our needs. He observed that the bulls of the future may be much more specialized to produce calves that fit a target, a given market or trait. The cow must be primarily targeted to deliver the beef carcass desired while adapting to her environment.

Now, go back and review the six things identified that make a brood cow productive. These are the traits sought out by the serious beef producer of the future that is in the "main stream" of the cattle industry. Any genetic source that does, or through crossbreeding will, produce the above described cow means value, it means broad market appeal because there are lots of folks who would like to make money with their commercial cattle. It means opportunity for whoever has the product or the genetic base to produce the product that the market seeks. In this case, a profit-making beef cow. Now go back and look at those six traits one more time.

YOUR POP QUIZ QUESTION IS...

Do you know of a breed of cattle that can provide all six of the traits so important to the cow of the future? I'll give you a hint. "Look not to the future, but to the past, to find the cow you seek at last."

ANSWER:

Any of you who did not recognize the description of a Texas Longhorn cow, unknowingly provided by Jim Gosey, will be held back a grade to study your notes for another year. I do not suggest that it is realistic to expect Texas Longhorn cows to replace the national cow herd, but it is certain that a 3/4 or more Texas Longhorn commercial cow (dehorned, of course) will put these fellows right over the target they seek. The cattle industry wants our cows, but they don't know that they want our cows. How do we get there from here?

THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH:

A simple problem can be made unsolveable if enough committee meetings are held to discuss it.

If you have questions you would like to have Dr. Burns answer please let us know at the Trails office or write him at P0. Box 41, Paris, KY 40362.