Breeding Mini Cattle

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from http://minicattle.com


A NEW BREED OR JUST CROSSBREEDING?
By Professor Emeritus Richard Gradwohl

The key to development of a new breed of cattle is strict control of sire and dam within a preplanned written breeding program. Notice I use the words preplanned and written. This means it should be well conceived and well thought out. I had a person call a few days ago wanting to register a new breed of miniature cattle. I asked if they had developed a breeding program outline? Answer - No. I asked if a sire or sires had been chosen for the new breed? Answer - No. I asked if a method of evaluating potential dams had been developed? Answer - No. I asked if they were going to linebreed to increase the herd? Answer - What's that? I asked if they were going to allow any inbreeding? Answer - Why not. I asked if they had chosen an appropriate name for the new breed? Answer - No. I asked what the appearance of the new breed was going to be? Answer - Whatever it is. I asked how are you going to cull animals? Answer - None.

These answers are typical of the complete misunderstanding and lack of knowledge concerning breed development. I suggested that they were just crossbreeding which was a world apart from developing a new breed. I also suggested that when they had some animals on the ground they might want to consider registering them in the open breeds category. The MCBR Open Breeds is not a category of registered breeds, the only requirement is the height standard. The development of a breed of miniature cattle requires patience, experience and a positive explanation to all of the above questions. A breeding program means standards and rules have been determined against which future animals are compared and measured. A breed is defined as "A group of animals with similar characteristics from a common background that reproduces itself similarly within an acceptable range of standards". The breeding program is an outline of the plan showing how you intend to get where you want to go. It allows a certain amount of flexibility within standards so that individual breeders can make appropriate choices as to the characteristics they want to emphasize. Culling needs to take place if animals do not fall within the acceptable range of standards.

Developing a new breed of cattle can take years. The first cross is like the first step in a long process. What you are trying to accomplish is the focusing of genetics so that there is the prepotency to reproduce similarly within an acceptable range of standards. Those that develop the standards and determine the acceptable range can put an animal within or out of that range. What is a cull can be a subjective decision. The Dexter breed for example can reproduce short or long legged animals. Sometimes you can breed short to short and get tall. Other times you might breed tall to tall and get short legged animals. Most of the time the progeny resemble the parents but when the progeny do not resemble the parents is it still a Dexter or a cull? What are the acceptable standards and what is the range of acceptability. If there is no agreement regarding these questions, then is the Dexter really a breed. The registry says that if a registered Dexter is bred to a registered Dexter then it's a Dexter. I guess that solves the problem, or does it?

To a large extent it all depends on your breeding goals. Cattle shows give ribbons out to those animals that are thought to be on the high end of the range of acceptable standards. But is that just a matter of a judge's perception? It seems what one judge says is most desirable is not necessarily the same as what the next cattle judge might say. I've been the show route and received a first place blue ribbon and at the next show a third place ribbon in competition with pretty much the same animals but with a different judge. Is there the perfect breed and the prefect animal? You bet!! and of course I own both. Of course that is just my opinion.

Breed development is not easy but it sure is interesting and a lot of fun. To tell you the truth I've been breeding cattle for 35 years with a lot of success but frankly I feel I'm just starting to learn a few things. When you are dealing with nature and trying to influence genetics nothing is for sure. As an example, I had a fellow call me the other day to buy some miniature cattle. He wanted me to guarantee that every animal would be under 42" at three years of age. Of course I couldn't make such a guarantee. He said he had a fellow in Texas who would make that guarantee in writing. I replied "buy all you can but be sure and have your attorney read his guarantee first".

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from http://minicattle.com/index.cfm?select=breeding_program


Linebred Belted Milking DexterTM and Belted Lessor JerseyTM

Breeding Plan and Standards
By Professor Richard Gradwohl
Founding Director International Miniature Cattle Breeders Society


The Linebred BMDTM and BLJTM are based on a two breed cross foundation of a single Miniature Belted Lessor JerseyTM bull with outstanding characteristics bred to approved Miniature Dexter females or approved small production Jersey cattle and Miniature Jersey cattle. Here at the Miniature Cattle Research Facility we are developing these two multipurpose breeds in the height range of 38" to 48". These new breeds are not only capable of producing outstanding feed efficient animals but also have high progeny milk production with a docile nature to make for great pets. Both the Jersey and Dexter breeds are known for high quality cream content milk. The combination of breeds creates a superior milk.

Most breeding programs that have been successful have been those based on linebreeding which requires the selection of a particular single bull as the foundation bull. The Belted Milking DexterTM and Belted Lessor JerseyTM are linebreeding programs with a bull by the name of Jackson (MCBR# 2724) as the single foundation bull. Jackson is 81.25% Lessor JerseyTM and 18.75% Buelingo. Jackson has a full white belt from the Buelingo influence. The Buelingo breed is based on a 50/50 cross between the Angus and Belted Galloway beef breeds. This beef breed influence makes the BMDTM and BLJTM dual purpose animals good for both milk and beef. The Belted Milking DexterTM is a four breed composite animal resulting in maximum heterosis, combining Jersey, Angus, Belted Galloway and Dexter. When Jackson is bred to selected approved Dexter females the resulting influence is 50% Dexter, 40.65% Jersey, 4.69% Angus and 4.69% Belted Galloway. When Jackson is bred to small approved production Jersey and Miniature Jersey cattle the resulting three breed influence is 90.62% Jersey, 4.69% Angus and 4.69% Belted Galloway.

The wide white belt from Jackson comes through genetically in 50% of the breedings. Breeding a belted animal to a non belted animal results in this 50% chance. How the belt comes through is also a matter of chance. It could be narrow or wide, partial or complete. All progeny will be half brother and half sister. These half brothers and half sisters are then bred together maintaining the 50% influence of Jackson, thus the linebreeding effect. In those cases where both bull and heifer have a belt the chance of the belt coming through is increased to 75% of the time. We are viewing the Belted Milking DexterTM and the Belted Lessor JerseyTM breeds as two of the most significant breed developments in the last 100 years. A composite breed with the influence of four highly desirable breeds including a white belt is a major accomplishment. BMDTM cattle and BLJTM cattle are highly desirable sought after breeds. Sought after as a beef animal, a mini milker and as wonderful pets with the added charm of a white belt.

All animals are registered in the International Miniature Cattle Breeds Registry. For those individuals that wish to participate in these breeding programs semen for artificial insemination purposes is available. Agreement of strict adherence to the breeding plan and standards is required by signed agreements. Violation of the breeding plan and standards results in disqualification of animal registrations. The breed registry chairperson is available to answer breeding questions and consultation, e-mail info@minicattle.com.



BREED STANDARDS
BMDTM and BLJTM BREEDS
As of 12-01-04

1. Animals must be 42" and under at maturity (three years) to be registered as miniature, or over 42" up to 48" at maturity to be registered as mid-size miniature. All measurements are at the hip (hook bone).

2. All animals must be registered no later than 4 months of age. A picture of each animal being registered must accompany each registration application. Animals are registered as full belts, partial belts or potential belts. Registration Certificates from the IMCBR are temporary until maturity (three years) at which time a height measurement is required for permanent registry. Contact the IMCBR or its agent for application for registration forms.

3. Animals must have originated from approved purebred Dexter cattle or approved Jersey cattle having been sired by Jackson and have followed the linebred breeding plan.

4. Parentage must not have any evidence of inbreeding within the last 6 generations unless from approved animals.

5. Animals must not be the result of inbreeding, inbreeding being defined as more than 50% influence of an ancestor.

6. Animals must have originated from the approved Lessor Jersey foundation bull, Jackson MCBR# 2724. Contact the IMCBR or its agent to order semen for artificial insemination purposes.

7. All breedings must result in 50% influence of the foundation bull creating a gene pool necessary for linebred BMDTM or BLJTM cattle to have the prepotency to reproduce similarly.

8. All animals used in this breeding program must be registered with the International Miniature Cattle Breeds Registry.

9. All Dexter females must be tested negative for the chondrodysplasia gene (bulldog gene) in the Dexter breed. Contact the IMCBR or its agent for approved testing facilities.

10. The attached Breeder Agreement Form is a required part of this program and must be signed by the approved breeder. All sales and transfers of animal ownership requires new owner to also agree to and sign this breeding plan and standards agreement.




BREEDING PLAN
BMDTM and BLJTM BREEDS
As of 12-01-04

WHERE:

J = Jackson MCBR# 2724
D/J = Dexter females (cows or heifers) or small approved production Jerseys or Miniature Jersey cattle (cows or heifers).
b = bull, hi = heifer, F1 = 1st progeny, F2 = 2nd progeny, F3 = 3rd progeny, F4 = 4th progeny.


F1 PROGENY:

Jackson bred to several Dexter/Jersey females of no closer than half sister relationships.
J x D/J = F1b and F1hi


F2 PROGENY:

Select F1 bull and breed this half brother to his half sisters. Bulls not selected (culls) must be steered.
F1b (selection) x F1hi (several half sisters) = F2's (bulls and heifers).


F3 PROGENY:

Select an F2 bull and breed to his half sisters = F3's (bulls and heifers). Bulls not selected (culls) must be steered.


F4 PROGENY:

Select an F3 bull and linebreed to increase the herd. Bulls not selected (culls) must be steered.
The selected F3 bull has the desired height, color, markings, size, and conformation. Breed him to all his half sisters. Then make a final bull selection and continue to breed half brothers to half sisters in increase the herd. Also, keep producing F1, F2, and F3 progeny from breedings with your selected bulls at these levels. The result is that every animal has 50% influence of Jackson with a mixture of genetics from various selected Dexter/Jersey females. Truly outstanding animals with great hybrid vigor. You're on your way to developing your herd of these magnificent Linebred Belted Milking DexterTM or Belted Lessor JerseyTM cattle.


BREEDING PLAN DESCRIPTIVE NARRATIVE

STEP 1 - F1 Progeny (see above)

Breed Jackson (by artificial insemination) to several approved Dexter females (cows or heifers) or approved production Jersey or Miniature Jersey cattle (cows or heifers). The selected females should be no closer than half sisters. Dexter or Jersey females are selected for height (48" and under at hook bone), conformation and temperament (docile nature). This first cross for either breed results in bulls and heifers that are half brother/half sister and are 50% Jackson/50% Dexter or Jersey. You should get 50% females and 50% males as a result of these breedings.

STEP 2 - F2 Progeny (see above)

Select one F1 bull. Bull selection is the key to developing the herd. When it comes to importance, the bull is half the herd. Desired height, color, markings, size and conformation are all important characteristics in the selection process. Look for the bull with the most beef characteristics and short stature. The IMCBR frame chart will help you predict height. Look for the desired color characteristics that you judge you want. Bulls that are not selected (culls) must be steered. Breed the selected F1 bull to all his half sisters. This maintains 50% influence of Jackson while combining the Dexter or Jersey genetics of the selected bull with those of each half sister. Each F2 progeny then, will have 50% Jackson, 25% Dexter or Jersey from the selected bull female side and 25% Dexter from each particular breeding with each half sister.

STEP 3 - F3 Progeny (see above)

Step 3 gives another chance at bull selection. Look for the very best F2 bull based on the criteria mentioned above. Breed this bull to all his F2 half sisters (bulls not selected must be steered). The 50% Jackson influence is maintained but this step gives another opportunity to influence the Dexter or Jersey female side. The F2 selected has, as mentioned 50% Jackson, 25% Dexter or Jersey from the selected bull and 25% from each particular half sister breeding. The breedings of F2 to F2 will have the genetic influence of Dexter or Jersey females in the percentage relationship of 25/12.5/12.5. The female influence of the selected bull stays at 25%. The influence of the half sisters breedings drops to 12.5% each.

STEP 4 - F4 Progeny (see above)

Now you have a group of animals that are 50% Jackson, 25% Dexter or Jersey from the F2 breeding and 12.5% from each F2 half sisters breedings. This step requires a last bull selection to be bred to his half sister. The resulting percentages are 50% Jackson, 25% Dexter or Jersey from the F2 breeding, 12.5% Dexter or Jersey from the F3 breeding and 6.25% Dexter or Jersey from the half sister breedings. Hopefully this last breeding results in a bull. If it doesn't try again. During the process of Step 2 and Step 3 additional breedings can take place to produce more F2 and F3 heifers to breed to your selected bulls at these levels. Sooner or later an outstanding F4 BMDTM or BLJTM bull is developed. Additional bull refinement selection can take place at the F2, F3 and F4 levels. The F4 bull is the best of the best because of your selection process that has taken place. Once this super bull has been developed breedings by him with all qualified Dexter or Jersey females can take place. The size of the herds are unlimited.

Through bull selection at the F1, F2, F3 and F4 levels the prepotency of genetic focus to reproduce similarly is developed. These bull selection choices develops a herd of animals which in the eyes of the breeder are the best that can be produced. This is what linebreeding is all about. The development of an outstanding breed of cattle through selective breeding. The Linebred Belted Milking DexterTM and Belted Lessor JerseyTM breeds are outstanding dual purpose animals, good for both progeny milking ability and beef characteristics with the appeal of a white belt.

[BravoC.D.]

only reason i see people wanting the miniatures would be for their own private use both for milk and beef. i find it odd but at the same time i can see why. people who live out on their farms wont have to freeze as much beef. u could say for personal comsumption with out as much waste.

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this stuff is pure gold

from http://minicattle.com/index.cfm?select=newbreeds

THE NEED FOR AND THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING NEW BREEDS OF MINIATURE CATTLE
By Professor Richard Gradwohl


The market for miniature cattle is growing at an estimated rate of about 22% per year according to the International Miniature Cattle Breeders Society. Consumer wants and needs in this niche market are wide and varied. Not everyone wants just one breed because one breed will not serve the extensive variety of customer requirements. There was a time when the smaller Hereford, Zebu and the smaller Dexter breeds were the choices available to those of us that had small acreage. Now there are over twenty-one breeds of miniature cattle; twelve of which are being developed at the Research Facility at Happy Mountain® Miniature Cattle Farm USA.

The amount of land being developed into small parcels of 5 to 10 acres is more every year. Large Herefords or large Angus on these small acreage parcels just doesn't work well. You can put two mini cattle per acre and that makes sense for a small acreage farmer. Who are buying these small acreage parcels? Mostly new farmers sometimes called Hobby Farmers or wantabe farmers or weekend farmers. It's great to move out of the city to the country isn't it? I don't blame them. These new farmers are a welcomed addition to the farm scene; they create a whole new market. The smaller mini cattle are less intimidating to these folks, especially the women folk. A little cow can become a pet, a member of the family, right? You bet. About one-half of all beef cattle are raised by women. This is a very valuable market that should not be underestimated.

I recently sold five Kentshires® to a gal on the East Coast. She's having a great time with her four heifers and a small bull. Her comment "I'm having a ball". She decided to start out with these five animals but down the road she will have four more and then eight more and so on. Starting out as a customer in the pet market she will soon find herself in the breeder market. She will probably be able to sell her calves for as much as she paid for the original breeding stock or more. Her animals are all registered miniature cattle. They are registered in the International Miniature Cattle Breeders Society Registry as miniature Kentshires®. The name Kentshire® is a trademarked name which protects the written breeding program for these animals. Only registered Kentshires® can be called Kentshires®. At this point in time there are only 58 of these animals in the world. As the number of animals increase the price will ultimately come down. That is if the demand stays the same. If the demand continues to climb, which it will, the price will stay high or go higher even if the number of animals increase.

There is a big difference between a breed of cattle and just a crossbreed. There are some people out there that are trying to create small cattle to cash in on the new demand for these little critters. Many of these animals are the result of inbreeding. These are the Heinz 57 animals also known as Mutt cows and they are really nothing. They don't have the genetic prepotency to reproduce in a similar fashion. Most of them don't have a name let alone a trademarked name. They don't have a written breeding program to go by. In most cases they've just grabbed a small whatever and bred that to another small whatever. If it turns out small it will sell. I recently talked to a fellow who had purchased three mini cattle. He called me because all three were sick. Why didn't he call the person he bought them from? I asked him what were the breeds that had gone into making these animals. He didn't have a clue. As it turned out he had picked them up at two months of age and was only feeding them hay and grain. My gosh, we don't wean our animals until four or five months of age. At two months their rumens are just not developed enough to digest grain and hay. They needed their mother's milk. What an idiot! Anyone who is going to raise miniature cattle needs to spend a little time finding out how to care for them. No wonder they were sick. I was surprised they weren't dead. I advised him to take them back to the person that he had bought them from and put them back on their mothers for at least two months. That's what you get for buying Heinz 57 animals from a Mutt cow breeder.

How do you develop a breed of cattle as opposed to a Heinz 57. In larger cattle when you cross an Angus with a Hereford or a Hereford with an Angus you get what is called a Black Baldie or sometimes called a Black Whiteface. Is this a breed? No it is not. It is just a crossbreed. Although this is considered a good cross it is just that, a crossbred animal. By crossing these two breeds you get heterosis or a high performance animal which is a desirable thing. But when you breed any Angus to any Hereford you have not selected a bull with the characteristics that you deem are particularly desirable. You have a Heinz 57. You have not developed any genetic prepotency to breed true from generation to generation.

Now if you're lucky you might find a bull from an existing pure breed with great conformation, desirable temperament, good reproductive ability, the right markings, desired height and many other positive characteristics. This could be an outstanding bull from a breed of your choice. You might decide to breed him to several females from another pure breed of your choice. This would result in what is called F-1 progeny; the F-1 being the result of the first original cross. You could then make a bull selection from these F-1 and breed him to his half sisters from the same group. An F-2 group would be the result of this breeding. Then make a bull selection from this F-2 group and breed him to his half sisters. You repeat this process several times going from F-2-3-4 until you end up with a bull and a large group of cows with the desirable characteristics you had previously determined you wanted. A valuable variation would be to bring in a second chosen sire of common ancestry to increase the genetic base. This entire process is called Linebreeding. Linebreeding is defined as no more than 50% influence of any given ancestor. In his book The Basis of Linebreeding, Jim Lents makes the following statement "In the early stages of Linebreeding many breeders suffer from what is described as breeders claustrophobia, a fear that the matings will become too close, failing to recognize that so long as the blood of any ancestor never exceeds 50% there are no incestuous relationships." When the influence is more than 50% it's inbreeding. Half brother to half sister or full brother to full sister is 50%. Father to daughter, son to mother, grandfather to granddaughter and grandmother to grandson are all over 50%. Such breedings will result in an inbred animal. The risks of inbreeding are well known and should be avoided, that is unless you want a Mutt cow.

Your breeding program needs to have been written including the characteristic standards you hope to achieve. Otherwise the goals against which your judgments are measured are not clear. What you are doing here is developing the genetic prepotency to breed true. You're attempting to focus the genetics so you can produce an animal with similar characteristics every time. Will there be culls? You bet there will. Not every animal will have those exact characteristics you want. Not every animal will be consistent with your previously determined acceptable range of standards. The definition of a breed is "a group of animals from a common background that breed true within an acceptable range of standards". The common background is the original bull selection and the foundational breed crosses that are used. Each animal ends up with 50% percent of its genetics being from the original bull. His genes are maintained through each level of the breeding program. You are Linebreeding off your original bull selection which achieves the goal of his major influence in your herd. Can you use this concept to improve an existing breed? You bet, that's where Linebreeding started years ago. It's all a matter of the most important steps; bull selection at every level to maintain and focus the genetics of the characteristics you want. If you read your Bible and study how the good Lord developed the populations on the earth it's the same thing, Linebreeding, so this is not a new concept.

Here at the Miniature Cattle Research Facility at Happy Mountain® Miniature Farm we are developing twelve new miniature / mid-sized breeds of cattle. They are the American Beltie (Mini Cookie)TM, AuburnshireTM, BarbeeTM, BurienshireTM, Covingtonshire TM, Four Breed Grad-WohlTM, Five Breed Grad-WohlTM,Happy Mountian®, Kentshire®,Red Kentshire®, KingshireTM and PandaTM. These breeds are all based on crossbred foundations. Some are two breed foundations, some are three breed and some are two breed triple cross breeds. They are not just crossbreeds. Of the some 250 breeds of cattle in the world fully 2/3 are based on a crossbred foundation that developed into actual breeds. This can occur naturally in nature or purposely by man. The Dexter, Hereford, Simmental, Santa Gertrudis and many others were originally based on crossbred foundations. Each of the research facility breed development programs has a written breeding plan with predetermined standards against which results are measured. The process of developing a new breed, as I'm sure you have guessed, takes a lot of time and money and patience. Some of our breeds are further along than others but all are based on Linebreeding. I recently developed a written Linebred Kentshire® program for South Africa. I'm including some of the descriptive portions of the program and charts in this article because it really clarifies the process. You can see the entire written program on our web site www.minicattle.com. You can also order a calendar with pictures of each of our twelve foundation bulls. You'll notice that all of our breeds under development have breed names that are trademarked. This distinguishes our Linebred animals from simply crossbred animals that someone may have developed by trying to copy our programs.

There are six markets for miniature cattle, they are the pet market, breeder market, mini-milker market, show market, farm grown beef market and organically grown beef market. The various breeds being developed at the Miniature Cattle Research facility are being developed to appeal to one or more of these six markets. They are also being developed for adaptation to various climatic and pasture conditions in differing regions of the world. Are there naysayers? Sure there are. We get comments like:

"Some individuals seem to want to crossbreed for some reason. If you want to see what a strange looking animal you can produce, go ahead, but if you are considering establishing another breed, it is probably a waste of time, and believe me, it takes a lot of time, and for what purpose! What is the need for another breed?"
Source: Anonymous

"There is really no practical reason to crossbreed except to kill the offspring for beef."
Source: Anonymous

There is a term I used in my marketing classes during the years I was a College Professor; this term is marketing myopia. The above statement illustrates the true meaning of this concept. Some people just don't understand the market, i.e. what other people want and need. When I was a youngster I ran a pop stand on a golf course. I purchased pop in the morning and sold it to golfers when they were at the ninth hole. My older cousin wanted in on my little business deal so being the younger I let him. The next morning I asked him what kind of pop he wanted to buy and sell. He decided on orange flavored pop because that is what he liked. I didn't particularly like Coke but I knew other people did; particularly golfers that liked to mix the Coke I sold them with a little of the hard stuff. At the end of the hot summer day I had sold all of my product and even gone back for more. My cousin had not sold even one bottle but had drank all of his product himself. My cousin had marketing myopia. He assumed that what he liked everyone would like. There are a lot of cattle breeders out there with the same problem. Our vision of the potential market must be wide enough to anticipate future needs.

If you have questions about Linebreeding I refer you to an excellent book by J.H. Lents "The Basis of Linebreeding" A Practical Guide With Illustrations. You can order it from the International Miniature Cattle Breeders Society (253) 631-1911. If you have questions about miniature cattle and the various breeds under development you can call Professor Richard Gradwohl at (253) 631-1911 or (253) 631-5872 or Fax (253) 631-5774 or e-mail info@minicattle.com or visit our web site, www.minicattle.com.


MINIATURE LINEBRED KENTSHIRES® BREEDING PLAN FLOW CHART WITH DESCRIPTIVE NARRATIVE BY PROFESSOR RICHARD GRADWOHL

STEP 1
F1 Progeny (See Chart Step 1)

Breed Happy Mountain® One semen to Dexter females (artificial insemination). Dexter females are selected for height (42" and under at hook bone), conformation and temperament (docile nature). This first cross results in bulls and heifers that are half brother/half sister and are 50% Miniature Hereford/50% Miniature Dexter. You should get half females and half males.

STEP 2
F2 Progeny (See Chart Step 2)

Select one F1 bull. Bull selection is the key to developing this herd. When it comes to importance, the bull is half the herd! Desired height, color, markings, size, and conformation are all important in this selection process. Look for the bull with the most beef characteristics and short stature (under 42" at 3 years). The IMCBR frame chart will help you predict height. An all black animal, white face with black around both eyes is desirable markings. Bulls that are not selected (culls) must be steered. Breed the selected F1 bull to all his half sisters. This maintains the 50% Miniature Hereford influence while combining the Dexter genetics of the selected bull with those of each half sister. Each F2 progeny, then, will have 50% Hereford and 25% Dexter from the selected bull female side and 25% Dexter from each particular breeding with a half sister.

STEP 3
F3 Progeny (See Chart Step 3)

Step three gives another chance at bull selection. Look for the very best F2 bull based on the criteria mentioned above. Breed this bull to all his F2 half sisters (again, bulls not selected must be steered). The 50% Miniature Hereford influence is maintained but this step gives another opportunity to influence the Dexter female side. The F2 bull selected has, as mentioned, 50% Hereford, 25% Dexter from the selected bull and 25% from each particular half sister breeding. The breedings of F2 to F2 will have the genetic influence of Dexter females in the percentage relationship of 25/12.5/12.5. The female influence from the selected bull stays at 25%. The influence of the half sister breedings drops to 12.5 each.

STEP 4
F4 Progeny (See Chart Step 4)

Now you have a group of animals that are 50% Hereford, 25% Dexter from the F2 breeding and 12.5 from each F2 half sister breedings. The last step requires a last bull selection to be bred to his half sisters. The resulting percentages are 50% Hereford, 25% Dexter from the F2 breeding, 12.5 Dexter from the F3 breeding and 6.25 Dexter from each of the half sister breedings. Hopefully this last breeding results in a bull. During the process of step two and step three additional breedings take place to produce more F2 and F3 heifers to breed to your selected bulls at these levels. Sooner or later an outstanding F4 bull is developed. Additional bull refinement selection can take place at the F2, F3 and F4 levels. The F4 bull is the best of the best. Once he has been developed breedings with all qualified Dexter females can take place (refer to breed standards for definition of qualified Dexter females). The size of the herd is unlimited.

Through bull selection at the F1, F2, F3 and F4 levels the prepotency of genetic focus to reproduce similarly should be developed. These bull selection choices develops a herd of animals, which in the eyes of the breeder are the best he can produce. This is what linebreeding is all about. The development of an outstanding breed of cattle through selective breeding that creates great hybrid vigor. The Linebred Kentshire® is an outstanding dual-purpose animal for both progeny milking ability and beef characteristics with the best of both foundation breeds.

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from http://farmprogress.com/story.aspx/heterosis/needs/a/homozygous/recharge/14/38578

Heterosis Needs a Homozygous Recharge
Author explores cattle breeding, and challenges the notion of hybrid vigor.
Jim Lents
Published: May 26, 2010

The beef industry in this country runs on heterosis. It's perceived as the thing that fuels the production side of the equation by providing the only "free lunch" in the industry. At least that's the view held by the vast majority of industry participants for the past approximately 40 years.

There's been ample research conducted that on the surface appears to support this supposition, but careful and thoughtful evaluation reveals there may be some warts attached to this view. We'll explore those warts a little later, but first let's explore heterosis a bit.

Granted, heterosis occurs in the F-1 offspring when animals from two different breeds are mated. It's known that the more genetically pure each parent is within its respective breed, the greater is the degree of heterosis.

Genetic purity simply means purity for their characteristics. Genetic purity exists when an animal's characteristics are held in a homozygous state, i.e., their characteristics are controlled by dominant genetic combinations. In contrast, the characteristics of heterozygous animals are controlled by recessive genetic combinations. In this case genetic scattering occurs in reproduction, ensuring inconsistency and loss of uniformity in the offspring.

The available research suggests that the degree of heterosis is maximized in F-1 offspring of parents that are at the point of greatest divergence, one to another. Achieving the greatest degree of divergence is as simple as mating Bos taurus animals with Bos indicus animals, provided however, that each parent is the product of generations of linebreeding coupled to consistent and constant selection pressure. The more generations of such linebreeding that are behind the parents, the more genetically pure will be their characteristics, and the greater will be the degree of divergence.

Remember, genetic purity means all characteristics are controlled by homozygous (dominant) genetic combinations, and the homozygous state is created, developed and maintained via linebreeding coupled to consistent selection pressure constantly applied. No other breeding methodology has this capability.

Outcrossing, the practice of mating animals within a breed that are of little or no relationship, is the first step to breaking down the homozygous state, and crossbreeding results in its total destruction.

It logically follows that whenever that Bos taurus X Bos indicus mating previously mentioned occurs between parents who aren't from linebred populations, the gap called divergence shrinks to the degree that the parents are less pure genetically. The shrinkage continues at an accelerating rate in each succeeding generation because genetic purity quickly evaporates in all crossbreeding schemes. With this genetic collapse comes loss of control in all matings. The same thing occurs in any crossbred mating between parents of lesser divergence, i.e., Bos taurus X Bos taurus and Bos indicus X Bos indicus.

All crossbreeding, if very long continued, leads to a situation where the cowherd is virtually unable to contribute genetically because of radically diminished prepotency. Prepotency is defined as the ability of parents to stamp their characteristics uniformly onto their offspring, and it's surrendered very early in the process of crossbreeding. It doesn't take much crossbreeding to reduce a cowherd to being nothing more than an incubator for the next round of inconsistent and dis-uniform calves.

Continued crossbreeding ensures that outcome in matings is impossible to control; therefore, specification breeding is likewise impossible and everyday commodity standards look like mountains impossible to scale. It's why the industry hasn't been able to overcome the re-occurring problems of inconsistency and dis-uniformity identified in each and every USDA Beef Quality Audit ever conducted.

When we reach this point of failure, and according to those same USDA Beef Quality Audits we're there on a national scale, all that remains is for producers to awaken and realize they're left with a cowherd that's been reduced to a genetic garbage heap and that's totally incapable of responding to the industry's primary problems. One solution ought to spring to mind, and that's for producers to replace their cowherds with new ones possessing some genetic integrity, if such a thing is available in today's very heterozygous national cowherd, and then start over. This is doubly important if one intends to continue crossbreeding in pursuit of the perceived "free lunch."

Finding replacement stock possessing genetic integrity means finding commercial females that are all of one breed and sired by linebred bulls of the same breed. The biggest winners in the free-lunch crowd will be those whose new-found stock have been produced in this manner for multiple generations, and which are mated to linebred bulls from another breed. The increased level of genetic purity in the parents will act as a springboard in crossbred matings because it increases the degree of divergence between them.

Unfortunately breeding practices of the past forty years have ensured that commercial parent stock capable of meeting this standard must now be created and developed anew. It'll add measurably to the time required for the national beef cowherd to be extricated from the genetic bog wherein it now rests.

Why the negativity?

I don't know just when beef producers will awaken to the facts of life, but I do know a couple of major reasons they don't want to face the realities of their business. First is their learned bias, fear actually, of any kind of close breeding. There are many who boldly espouse the concept of working with nature, who'll shrink into their own skin at the thought of actually using a little closebreeding (linebreeding and some inbreeding) to regain some control of outcome. Nothing could be more natural than closebreeding. It's how all the wild species retain their species identification but we've been taught to fear it, actually to hate it.

Worse still is the industry's outright rejection of the only way to produce a suitable replacement animal for crossbreeding purposes, one capable of providing a place of renewal in the pursuit of heterosis. If closebreeding was used from time-to-time in the nations' many beef cattle herds, there would be a constant and natural point of renewal of heterosis within those herds.

The second major reason beef producers dodge the truth is because of their heavy investment in the status quo. We have somewhere between two and a half and three generations currently involved in the production side of the beef industry, who are invested to the maximum in the status quo, in every way that's possible. They're obviously financially invested, but perhaps more importantly, they have a heavy emotional investment that blocks the analytical and independent thought necessary to see through the fog of the status quo. In every endeavor of mankind, the status quo provides a natural hiding place for the fearful and those unwilling to think for themselves. It's the reason the trite old line about heterosis providing the only free lunch in the industry is so often parroted by people who fail to understand all its ramifications.

Rethinking heterosis

Heterosis has gotten far more than its due these past 40 years, partially because of research that on the surface appeared favorable to the notion that heterosis does provide a free lunch. But blind acceptance of any research result is unwise, regardless of the integrity of those in its charge. Everyone in the industry with a reasonable degree of intelligence and a rudimentary grasp of the language ought to seriously question every step of every research project we encounter. Logic says that if the right questions aren't asked, then the correct answers will never be found.

Perhaps that's the place to start with our questions. Was the research conducted in a way so that right answers could have been found? This is the area where the research apparently supporting the free lunch idea may have those warts mentioned in the first paragraph of this article.

So far as I can ascertain, all the research regarding heterosis that's been conducted since about 1970 has involved parent animals that were bigger in each generation than the previous one. Were any adjustments made for this phenomenon. Is it even possible to account for this with any degree of accuracy in research work?

Remember this was the era of the great frame race when breeders at both the seedstock and commercial levels were constantly in pursuit of bigger and bigger animals. Frame scores shot up in just a few years from frames three, four and five to the outer limits of frames seven, eight and nine. I've seen animals that, if the frame score chart were extended on the tall end, would have framed at thirteen.

The use of such sires in one generation, followed by even bigger sires in the next generation mated to the larger replacement daughters of the previous bull sent the cowherd spiraling upwards. This scenario has been repeated thousands of times in the past 40 years. Since this first occurred in the seedstock business, heterosis is not a possible answer for the extra size (pounds) being produced if the breeds were actually kept pure.


Jim Lents argues linebred cattle like these present the most consistent seed stock and the greatest benefits from crossbreeding.

With these new and larger cattle being used as research herds, the inability to adjust for constantly increasing size in incoming sires, and with the natural instinct on the part of some less scrupulous folks to discover the answer they sought, is it possible that what's been credited to heterosis actually is connected more to increasing animal size throughout the industry because of selection than it is to heterosis?

My gut says about 2-3% of the increases are actually attributable to heterosis, and the other 97% to the use of larger and larger stock in each successive generation for over three decades. That's a hard pill to swallow by someone steeped in the status quo, but it's a position standing on pretty solid ground.

Genetic jumbalaya

Consider what's been going on in the beef cattle industry for the past forty years. Wide outcrossing has been the order of the day within the older established British breeds -- Hereford, Angus and Shorthorn. This process of constant outcrossing has ensured that those breeds have moved towards a more heterozygous state for all characteristics, and at a progressive rate. On this account, they're less prepotent today than they were in former decades, and the USDA Beef Quality Audits bear it out.

There's wide speculation and in some cases actual knowledge of outside blood having infiltrated these older established breeds. Even a small amount of such activity means an inordinate amount of genetic damage has been done to the homozygous state necessary to hold together a breed's fabric. It's likely that only a handful of herds remain in any of these breeds to which suspicion and/or speculation cannot be successfully attached. They're the herds that appear to have seen past the fads and avoided the folly of genetic deterioration, and they're pretty rare in today's industry.

In the newer breeds, those that made their entries beginning around 1970, crossbreeding has prevailed, but in shrinking degrees. Here's why: As the first actual purebred representatives of each new breed arrived they joined the fray for market share. Essential to this was the existence of populations of stock that could each be identified as one the various "new breeds".

The quickest and cheapest way to accomplish this was through "breed up" programs typically called "percentage" programs. In these programs an actual purebred animal is mated to unrelated animals, often of unknown ancestry, with the offspring being designated as half bloods. When half bloods are in turn mated to purebreds the resulting offspring are called three-quarter bloods. This process is repeated, typically to the 7/8 or 15/16 level, with the stock then being declared full-blooded.

What's in a purebred?

The fundamental flaw in all percentage programs is the point at which the various percentage crosses were declared to be full bloods; a term obviously intended to imply genetic purebreds. Unfortunately the points were all set at arbitrary levels having everything to do with politics and promotion, and absolutely nothing to do with the realities of natural laws.

Breeds are by definition homozygous populations of stock descending from rootstock common to the entire population, with each member bearing a degree of kinship and likeness to every other member of the population. This isn't what percentage programs produce. They may look like a breed on the surface, however, genetically they're still crossbreds, but to a shrinking degree, and still many generations away from actual genetic purity.

Any knowledgeable geneticist can tell you that genetic purity, that point at which all characteristics are held in a homozygous (dominant) state, requires a population be closed to outside blood and linebred for fourteen consecutive generations. That hasn't happened in any of the percentage breeds based on continental breeds, and it hasn't happened in any of the homemade American composite breeds either. Accordingly, all percentage animals are heterozygous animals, many extremely so.

It's known that genetically pure parents from different breeds are the choicest candidates for crossbreeding. It logically follows that less-pure parents make less-than-choice candidates for crossbreeding because there will be less "pop and fizzle" in the offspring. Perhaps a more proper term would be less "heterotic boost" in the offspring.

The genetic condition of our industry is a serious matter. Because of the diverse breeding methodology broadly employed the past 35 to 40 years, the entire national beef cattle herd has been measurably weakened at the genetic level. The older seedstock, and actual purebred breeds of the country have been compromised, if only through reduced prepotency yielded up by decades of the wide use of outcrossing. They're left in a weakened genetic state. The newer composites and percentage continental breeds have never been genetically stabilized and purified via linebreeding, so contribute far less than is possible.

Weak link

The commercial sector desperately needs a genetic uplifting whether or not it continues the practice of crossbreeding, but the seedstock sector is genetically too weak from wide outcrossing or crossbreeding to respond. Seedstock breeders ought to be practicing linebreeding along with their selection. If it were so, the stock they deliver to the commercial sector would be far stronger genetically, and able to provide a greater heterotic boost in crossbreeding while at the same time providing greater control of outcome. The results of the USDA Beef Quality Audits suggest the latter is as important as the former, and consumers everywhere agree.

For the past three-plus decades our industry has been in decline. We've suffered the same fate other mature industries have suffered; that is, loss of market share, quality in decline and loss of ultimate consumer acceptance. Industries in this condition are ripe for a revolution, and I believe the beef industry is positioned for just such a revolution.

When it happens things will be different. The rules of the game will be permanently changed. Unless there is serious change in the beef breeds and their associations, breeds will become even more irrelevant than they are today and will lose value. Well-selected linebred genepools will increase in both importance and value. The commercial sector no doubt will still seek heterosis, but hopefully learn that all F-1 animals are for market purposes, not breeding purposes. When revolution comes to our industry, it isn't likely to be led by current industry leaders blinded by status quo thinking. It will be the work of the next generation, many from outside the industry, joined by a handful of visionaries from the present generation.

Jim Lents can be contacted by mail at 25398 SW Coombs Road, Indiahoma, OK 73552, by phone at 580-246-3560 or by e-mail at jhlents@sirinet.net