Breeding goals & design

Economic values of fertility, growth, and carcass traits for beef cattle seedstock and cow-calf operations in the Southeastern U.S.

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Abstract

Breeding strategies in the beef cattle industry must integrate reproductive, growth, and carcass traits to improve profitability and long-term sustainability. Economic selection indexes provide a strategic framework to achieve simultaneous genetic improvement across multiple traits by combining them into a single index, with each trait weighted according to its economic relevance. However, identifying the optimal balance among these traits requires understanding their relative economic importance. Here, economic values (EV) were derived for fertility, growth, and carcass traits using the UF Purebred Brahman (BRA) and UF Multibreed Angus-Brahman (MAB) beef cattle herds as seedstock and cow-calf reference populations, respectively. Bioeconomic models were developed using herd costs, revenues, and management data collected from February 2024 to May 2025. Briefly, BRA and MAB cattle are raised under grazing conditions, with supplemental feed provided as needed, depending on forage availability and animal category. BRA offspring are either sold at weaning, retained as replacements, slaughtered at 15 months for carcass and meat evaluation, or sold for breeding purposes. MAB offspring are either sold at weaning, retained as replacements, or transferred to a partner feedlot for finishing and slaughtered for final product evaluation. Economic profit was calculated by subtracting variable costs from total revenues per production cycle. Economic values were estimated as the expected change in profitability resulting from a one-unit change in performance for a specific trait, while holding all other traits constant. The USDA grading scheme for quality and yield was considered when estimating EV for carcass traits, which were expressed per hundred-pound carcass weight (cwt) per one-grade improved. In the BRA herd, calving-to-sale success was valued at $991.04 per cow per production cycle, a reduce in age at first pregnancy resulted in a gain of $67.03 per heifer per month, weight at 15 months was valued at $3.67 per kg gained, and dressing percentage were valued at $33.29 per 1% increase, with improvements in quality and yield valued at $16.33 and $3.72 per cwt, respectively. In the MAB herd, calving-to-sale success was valued at $1,003.47 per cow per production cycle, reducing age at first pregnancy resulted in a gain of $59.42 per heifer per month, weight at 18 months was valued at $4.12 per kg gained, dressing percentage resulted in a gain of $40.80 per 1% increase, and quality and yield were valued at $10.84 and $5.64 per cwt improved in USDA grading, respectively. Overall, the results highlight the economic benefits of improving calving-to-sale success, reducing age at first pregnancy, and enhancing growth, carcass, and meat quality traits in both seedstock and cow-calf herds. These findings provide a foundation for data-driven breeding decisions that can help beef cattle operations optimize productivity, boost profitability, and accelerate genetic progress through multiple-trait selection.

Keywords: 2026

How to Cite:

Boscollo, P., Savell, J., Raineri, C., Santos, R. & Rezende, F., (2026) “Economic values of fertility, growth, and carcass traits for beef cattle seedstock and cow-calf operations in the Southeastern U.S.”, World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production Digital Archive 2026(1): 2286825. doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/wcgalp.24135

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