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Item Viability of dairy-origin calves for a new beef production enterprise in New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Agricultural Science at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand(Massey University, 2019) Hunt, Joshua JamesThe New Zealand dairy industry produces approximately 4.2 million calves annually, of which about 30% are retained within the dairy industry, while a further 20% are utilised in the beef industry. The remainder are surplus to requirements, and the majority (1.7 million per annum) are processed in the low value bobby calf trade. This model appears sub-optimal, with an estimated opportunity cost in excess of NZD $1 billion annually, and numerous animal welfare and ethical issues. Farming surplus dairy calves in an accelerated-cycle beef production enterprise for slaughter prior to one-year of age, could generate favourable outcomes, and the current study aimed to investigate this opportunity. Experimental growth and carcass data for Hereford x Friesian-Jersey steers slaughtered at 8-, 10- and 12- months of age was obtained in a live-animal trial. Simulation models (referred to as NGB8, NGB10 and NGB12 where the figures refer to monthly ages at slaughter) utilising Microsoft EXCEL feed budgets, gross margin analysis and the OVERSEER nutrient budget model were developed from the experimental data to estimate the physical, financial, and environmental performance of accelerated-cycle beef production at each slaughter age. Results were compared to a simulated high and low performing bull- beef enterprise based on the literature, with slaughter occurring at 18- or 24-months, to determine the relative performance of accelerated-cycle beef production. The model comparators are referred to as Bull18 and Bull24. In the trial, the accelerated-cycle beef production (NGB) steers achieved slaughter weights of 252, 303 and 348 kg at 8-, 10- and 12-months of age (119, 146 and 174 kg carcass weight). The dressing out percentage was the same in the 8- and 10-month treatments (P>0.05) but increased in the 12-month treatment (P<0.001). Using the ‘prime’ beef price, NGB8 and NGB10 generated a loss, while NGB12 was profitable. To be financially competitive with Bull18 or Bull24, NGB production required a price premium of 11 – 29% above the ‘prime’ beef schedule. There was insufficient evidence to suggest NGB production had a lower nutrient loss footprint, or reduced greenhouse gas output compared to bull-beef production. Further analysis showed weaner genetic merit for growth had a positive relationship with profitability, but no interaction with environmental output under NGB production. Overall, this study demonstrated that Hereford x Friesian-Jersey steers can grow well under typical beef finishing conditions. Given that accelerated-cycle beef production’s environmental output is similar to bull-beef production, profitability is the key determinant of the concept’s viability. Although NGB production with slaughter occurring at 12-months of age was profitable under the ‘prime’ beef classification, a premium of 11 – 29% (depending on slaughter age) would be required for the proposed enterprise to be financially competitive with bull-beef production. However, research has shown the meat derived from this production system is of high quality, therefore there is potential for a price premium if suitable markets are located. Finally, the procurement of weaners with high genetic merit for growth represents an opportunity to further enhance the proposed enterprises overall performance.Item Carcass characteristics and meat quality of dairy-origin steers slaughtered at eight, ten and twelve months of age : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Agricultural Science, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand(Massey University, 2019) Pike, Samuel JohnApproximately 2 million surplus calves are produced annually by the New Zealand dairy industry, which are generally processed at around one week of age as “bobby” calves. Concerns surrounding animal welfare issues, due to the ethics of slaughtering calves at such a young age, pose a threat to the industry’s social licence to farm, consumer acceptability and market access. In addition, the beef sector also faces the challenge of improving production efficiency, whilst minimising environmental impacts. To address these issues, a novel yearling beef production system is proposed, that would utilise dairy-origin calves and implement a slaughter age of between eight and twelve months. The objective of this study was to compare carcass characteristics and meat quality attributes of Hereford x Friesian-Jersey steers slaughtered at eight, ten and twelve months of age, in order to understand the potential saleable meat yields and type of meat product that could be sourced from yearling dairy-origin cattle. Additionally, the study aimed to determine if postmortem ageing had an effect on meat quality attributes. Sixty Hereford x Friesian-Jersey weaner steer calves born in spring 2017 were sourced from a commercial calf rearer at three months of age (average 103±1 kg live weight). The calves were managed as a single group; however, they were randomly pre-assigned at eight months of age to one of three slaughter treatments: eight, ten and twelve months of age. Steers were grazed on herb-clover pastures and brassica crops from December 2017 to March 2018, then on ryegrass and white clover pasture until slaughter. Steers were processed in May, July and September 2018 at eight, ten and twelve months of age respectively, at Venison Packers Feilding Ltd. Growth rates of the three slaughter groups averaged 0.9 kg/day and did not differ between treatments. The final unfasted live weights prior to slaughter at eight, ten and twelve months of age were 252±6 kg, 303±4 kg and 348±5 kg respectively (P<0.001), which corresponded to carcass weights of 119±3 kg, 146±3 kg and 174±3 kg (P<0.001). Steers slaughtered at twelve months of age achieved a greater dressing-out percentage (50.0±0.2%) than steers slaughtered at eight (47.2±0.2%) and ten (47.4±0.2%) months of age (P<0.001). Rib fat depth, P8 fat depth and eye muscle area measured by ultrasound increased at each age (P<0.001). Fat depths at all three ages were below 3 mm, which is the minimum fat depth required for steers to be classified in the ‘P’ fat class designating 3-10 mm of subcutaneous fat, under the current beef carcass classification system. The muscle to bone ratio, intramuscular fat content and yellowness of carcass fat all increased progressively with slaughter age. Objective meat quality attributes were measured on the M. longissimus lumborum (striploin). The caudal half of each striploin muscle was aged for 21 days in vacuum packaging, while the cranial half was frozen immediately after boning, 24 hours postmortem. Shear force values for unaged samples at eight, ten and twelve months of age were 5.1±0.2 kgF, 5.4±0.2 kgF and 5.5±0.2 kgF respectively. Although there was no difference in shear force values, sarcomere length or drip loss between the three slaughter age treatments (P>0.05), ultimate pH and thaw loss increased with age, while cooking loss declined. Meat colour also became darker and redder as animals became older (P<0.001). Proteolytic ageing for 21 days had a positive effect on shear force values and water-holding capacity at all slaughter ages, though differences were minimal (P<0.001). Overall, the changes in carcass characteristics with age were small, likely due to there being only four months’ difference in age between treatments. However, the greater saleable meat yields and dressing-out percentages at ten and twelve months of age may be advantageous in terms of processing efficiency and profitability. Differences in objective meat quality measures between eight, ten and twelve months of age were also small, indicating that the yearling beef is very tender and of high eating quality. This suggests that the beef obtained from beef-dairy cross cattle slaughtered between eight and twelve months of age and at live weights of 250-300 kg could be processed together under one category, and that the product could justifiably be targeted at markets which offer a premium.Item Structure and price formation in the store cattle industry : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Agricultural Science in Agricultural Economics and Marketing at Massey University(Massey University, 1974) Walker, Ian DavidSubstantial increases in overseas beef prices in recent years have made the farming of beef cattle increasingly important to the New Zealand economy. This study describes the place cf the store cattle sector within the cattle industry and investigates price formation in the store cattle market. The specific aims of the study were : 1. To identify and describe the various channels and institutions involved in store cattle marketing. 2. To investigate the process of price formation for store cattle on an annual basis. 3. To study the relationship of the prices of various classes of store cattle to each other and to the meat exporters' beef schedule. 4. To investigate the inter-regional price differences for classes of store cattle in relation to the transport cost differentials between regions. Over the period 1965 - 1971 there was a 41% increase in total cattle (beef) numbers in the North Island. Also there was an increase in the proportion of younger steers in the herd at the expense of breeding cows and older steers. Over the same period the number of dairy calves bred and retained for beef purposes increased from approximately 180,000 to 460,000. The rearing of calves from the dairy herd suitable for beef production has made possible a far greater expansion of beef production than would have been possible from the traditional beef herd alone. The structural changes in the traditional beef herd may be disguised by the presence of dairy beef animals suitable for beef purposes that are classified as beef cattle in the agricultural production statistics. Present data limitations made it impossible to investigate the spatial nature of the North Island store cattle industry in the spatial equilibrium framework used by Judge and Wallace. However a statistical model was formulated to analyse store market prices for different classes of stock within a regional framework on a per head and per lb liveweight basis. The factors influencing the price of store cattle included in the analysis were beef schedule price (OxGAQ), seasonal conditions, class of store cattle, and region cf origin. Although the node1 did indicate regional differences, no systematic or identifiable regional pattern of store cattle prices was apparent for individual classes of stock. However the results obtained for the per lb liveweight model were consistent with the conclusions of recent theoretical beef investment models, namely : 1. The store value of an animal on a per lb basis is greater than its slaughter value at any age prior to slaughter, and equal to it at slaughter. The per lb store value of a steer is larger for younger classes of steers and declines with age. 2. Changes in seasonal conditions have a greater impact on the price of younger classes of store cattle. 3. The beef schedule price coefficients for individual classes of steers on a per lb basis indicate that a unit change in the beef schedule price has a greater effect on the store cattle prices of younger classes of cattle. This is in direct contrast with the beef schedule price coefficients for the per head model where, as the age of the store animal increases changes in the beef schedule are reflected in greater increases in store prices. 4. The elasticity of store cattle prices with respect to the beef schedule price, is greater than unity for all cattle in the herd below the optimum slaughter age and declines monotonically towards unity as the animal approaches this slaughter age. The elasticities suggest that the optimum slaughter age for store cattle in the North Island is approximately 2½ years. The investigation of the regional differences of store cattle prices for selected pairs of regions indicated that regional price differences in excess of the transport costs between pairs of regions exist. This suggests that it would be profitable for traders to transfer additional store cattle from the surplus store cattle breeding regions to the growing and finishing regions.Item The determination of future output from sheep and cattle farms : an investment study : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Agricultural Science in Agricultural Economics and Marketing at Massey University(Massey University, 1977) Scott, Michael EdwardAgricultural supply analysis is concerned with the practical and important problems of explaining historical and predicting future patterns of livestock and crop production. Production at the farm level is the foundation of supply at the regional or national level. Decisions which determine the production of the different agricultural products are made at the individual farm level. The collective results of these decisions are the aggregate supplies which are available for export, local consumption or further processing. The objectives of supply analysis are to answer three questions: Why has production changed in the past? How may aggregate production be expected to change in the future? How may production be expected to respond to alternative controls contemplated by policy makers in Government? In developing countries policy makers need to know what is required to provide sufficient incentive for farmers to expand production. Highly developed countries such as the United States have sometimes suffered from an oversupply of particular products. Policy makers in these countries may need to know how production can be reduced, or diverted to more profitable products.Item Farmer attitudes and beliefs toward a bull beef supply contract : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree, Master of Agricultural Science in Farm Management(Massey University, 1993) Blanchard, Vanessa JThe objective of this research was to establish the reasons why past-users (1990- 92) of a Riverlands weaner bull supply contract (RWBC) had entered and exited the contract, and what aspects of the current RWBC prevented them from re-signing. A mail survey of past RWBC users in the central North Island who were still farming bull beef was conducted. Useful responses were obtained from 22 of the 35 eligible farmers. The survey design incorporated the Ajzen-Fishbein Theory of Reasoned Action to establish how past-user's subjective beliefs and evaluative attitudes towards aspects of the current contract influenced their overall attitude towards re-signing a RWBC. Information about RWBC entry and exit reasons, and farmer requirements of future meat supply contracts was also obtained. The results suggest that respondents originally entered a RWBC to obtain the equivalent of 100% funding for cattle at low interest rates, and to increase cattle numbers (which at that stage were more profitable than sheep) by access to such funding. Farmers exited the contract because slaughter prices in the RWBC had become uncompetitive, and because of inflexibility associated with the range of dates available to slaughter cattle. Low belief strengths that a RWBC provides competitive prices compared to the free market, flexible dates for killing cattle, and improved farm profitability compared to non-contract weaner bull systems, are acting against farmers re-entering a RWBC. A future meat supply contract therefore, needs to incorporate price premiums, flexible killing dates, low interest rates, and competitive pricing before respondents, such as those involved in this study, would be prepared to sign. The Ajzen-Fishbein Theory of Reasoned Action provided an effective methodology to identify key aspects of an individual's belief structure which influenced their decision to not sign a 1993 RWBC. Future research in the area of meat supply contracts should examine more closely, using techniques such as COPE (e.g. Hurley & Valentine, 1993), the cognitive structures farmers hold towards issues such as competitive pricing, farm profitability under contract, and killing date flexibility.Item Improving beef production in Brazil using selection and crossbreeding : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Applied Science in Animal Science at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand(Massey University, 2001) Pereira, Mauro LordesBeef industry is an important sector of the Brazilian economy. Brazilian beef production is very dependent on pasture, which, in all most its totality, is constituted by tropical forages characterized by abundance during the rain season and low quality and quantity during the dry season. Therefore, efficient beef production systems would include breeding adapted genotypes rather than attemptig large changes in the environment. As a result, animal breeding becomes a very important agent within beef production. This project intended to investigate throughout computer modeling the effects of different breeding schemes applied to a hierarchical integrate beef production system, involving a three straight bred herds nucleus and a three-breed terminal crossing commercial herd. The study simulated a tropical system of production based on common Brazilian management practices and parameters published in the literature related to beef production on tropical and subtropical climates. A deterministic procedure was applied to develop a model for a hierarchical integrated beef production system involving a crossbred commercial herd and three straight-bred nucleus herds and it was developed on an annual basis using a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Economic selection index methodology was applied to develop different selection indexes. The model was used first to estimate economic values for biological traits affecting returns and costs. A breeding objective was established based on economic values of traits that would significantly affect profitability of the production system. Basically there were two different scenarios that were tested. One scenario investigated the results of 20 years of selection taking in account the use of progeny tested bulls while the other scenario would investigated the outcomes of selection based only on individual selection of the bulls. Subsequently, the model was used to investigate which economic values would maximize profit per animal unit. The two selection indexes that included information of progeny into the selection criteria were the best ones when compared to the selection indexes using individual selection independently of the relative economic values applied. The maximizing profit AU relative economic value selection index presented the best improvement in profit per AU, which was also followed by a higher profit per hectare and return rates. Economic selection index proved to be an efficient tool to change profit since breeding schemes improved profit in all scenarios independent from the relative economic value applied or if information from progeny was included or not in the index. The adoption of progeny testing in breeding programs proved to be more effective than individual selection on a long-term basis. The advantage of selection indexes including progeny was to promote a greater increase in dressing out percentage and a lower change on mature size of the breeding cows.Item Development of a breeding objective for beef cattle in Ghana : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Agricultural Science in Animal Science at Massey University(Massey University, 1996) Annor, Serekye YawBeef contributes slightly more than 30 % to Ghana's meat requirements. About 57 % of beef consumed annually is imported, with only 43 % being produced locally. Although Ghana has the potential for increased beef production, it has not achieved self-sufficiency in production. Constraints in animal production indicate that this impasse has resulted from lack of simple livestock production policy in the past. A policy on livestock production and development was passed recently, and the livestock industries in Ghana are undergoing major restructuring. The first requirement of such a programme which requires much research effort and planning is to identify the planned production, processing and marketing system(s). Using this information, the economic merit for various traits can be defined and subsequently the breeding objective for the individual livestock species. The objectives of this work were to study the marketing and production systems of the beef cattle industry in Ghana and to calculate the economic values of traits of economic importance in N'dama and Zebu cattle. The results were used to draw guidelines needed for the genetic improvement of beef cattle in Ghana. The marketing and production systems were studied using information in the literature. A computer model simulating life cycle production of breeding cow and growth performance of her offspring was developed to estimate economic values of survival, reproduction and growth performance traits, and food intake. Economic values were calculated based on difference between income and expense (profit) and with discount rates of 0, 10 and 20 %. They were defined as the marginal profit per cow per year resulting from 1 % change in the average level of each trait, whilst holding the level of all other traits constant. Income was partitioned between 3 year old bullocks and surplus heifers, and cull cow. Expenses included food, husbandry and marketing costs; these were calculated for all ages and class of stock. The study of the production systems revealed that local cattle breeds are late maturing, with relatively small body size, poor reproductive and milk production capacities, but are well adapted to their environment. On the other hand, Zebu have poor reproductive performance with large body size, medium milk yield and a relatively low adaptation. Trypanosomiasis was identified to be the most important environmental factor affecting the survival of cattle. Profit per cow per year of N'dama was on average 17 % more than that of the Zebu. Profit per cow per year almost doubled in both breeds, when food intake was removed from the objective, but the difference between the two reduced to only 7 % in favour of N'dama. Economic efficiency for N'dama and Zebu production systems were 31 and 24 % respectively. In general, survival traits had the highest economic value, followed by reproduction, growth rate and food intake, respectively. Predicted economic values for individual traits decreased with increasing discount rates. This was much more pronounced in reproductive traits than in all other traits. Removal of food intake from the objective tended to slightly increase the relative economic importance of reproductive traits and survival from birth to weaning, but trends in economic values almost remained the same. It was concluded that smallholder cattle owners should be encouraged to use local breeds of cattle, whilst efforts are made to breed trypanotolerant larger cattle breeds.