Indigenous Crossbreeding Improves Cows' Longevity

Cow longevity is crucial to optimal productivity in beef cattle production, says Anette Theunissen, an animal scientist based at the Vaalharts Research Station. Annelie Coleman reports.

- Annelie Coleman

The longevity of a cow is determined by the terminal age at which she can no longer contribute meaningfully to a breeding herd.

In the past, farmers took only the age of the animal into account when deciding whether or not to cull her from a breeding herd.

“If a cow reached an advanced age, she was simply removed from the herd. Fortunately, this is no longer the case,” says Anette Theunissen, a senior researcher in animal science at the Vaalharts Research Station in Jan Kempdorp, Northern Cape. Today, a cow’s age is of less importance. Fertility, and value to the herd, are judged on the animal’s ability to successfully deliver and raise a calf annually regardless of her age.

According to Theunissen, common sense dictates that a productive cow that stays in the herd for longer adds far more value to the sustainability of the herd than one that must be removed and replaced at a younger age. The more productive cow decreases the need for replacement heifers, as the farmer will have to replace a smaller percentage of cows every year to maintain the herd size.

FERTILITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

A number of factors have an effect on longevity. Over and above fertility, the impact of climate change on beef cattle cows is becoming an increasingly important selection criterion. To sustain a productive cow herd, all traits that add to or subtract from an animal’s lifespan should be managed holistically, says Theunissen. For this reason, it is necessary for environmental changes caused by climate change to be added to the equation. Selection criteria are interconnected, and regardless of which cow selection programme is followed, it should always be geared towards long-term sustainability and economic viability.