Shorthorns meet feedlot demand

Shorthorn Beef business and promotions manager Graham Winnell said being a British breed Shorthorns are suited to more than one market.

Mr Winnell (pictured inset) said many Shorthorn progeny traditionally sold into the heavy JapOx market with a 400 kilogram-plus carcase weight.

"Now we are seeing Short- horn cattle being bred which are suited to a far greater range of markets anywhere from 260kg to 400kg carcase weights," Mr Winnell said.

Steers at about 13-months-old have been delivering a 260kg carcase weight and heavy grown steers at 18- to 19-months-old on the heavy end were reaching the 400kg carcase weight - off both grainfed or grassfed systems - according to Mr Winnell.

"Shorthorns have always been known as a maternal and carcase breed, and going back far enough some saw them as over-dependent on the JapOx market, but what we are seeing now is a lot of Shorthorn cattle with shape and more of a medium maturity type," Mr Winnell said.

Mr Winnell said there was a shift in the industry towards independently accredited grass-fed programs such as Pasturefed Certified Assurance System (PCAS).

"We are seeing a lot of data out of the United States showing feed conversion ratios for the breed of between 5.2 to 5.8kg of feed to one kilogram of weight gain," he said.

"This shows Short- horns, by comparison to the industry average, are extremely efficient on feed and extremely efficient on grass in terms of feed conversion to weight gain."

From 100-day feed programs the Shorthorn breed was achieving compliance rates of 74 per cent and higher for marble score two or better.

"Shorthorns are able to satisfy those premium markets," Mr Winnell said.

He said the major concern in the beef industry for cow-calf operators was production costs increased every year, nearly in line with the consumer price index (CPI), however, returns at the other end didn't necessarily increase.

"So the variation to maintain margins for producers has to come through efficient production, but if you have been doing the same thing for several years you reach a point where growth in production starts to diminish as you get to the top end of the curve genetically, this then allows for an opportunity to discover new ways to drive effective and efficient production," he said.

"Shorthorns, from a crossbreeding point of view, allow you to do that without any risk to your production model, as they don't affect your capital value in terms of the Shorthorn-cross cows. The mother is still a valuable item, and producers are conscious of how much capital they own in terms of cows.

Mr Winnell said when producers used heifers from a Shorthorn crossbreeding system they had the capacity to retain all their genetic process.

"For producers who utilise cross breeding programs, when they use a Shorthorn bull, they have the ability to retain the genetic gain from that sire through the females they keep. In terminal cross breeding programs, you are dependent on the quality of the replacements you buy in. The Shorthorn cross female allows you to fully unlock both maternal heterosis and genetic gain," he said.