Jerseys are famous for easy
birthing, so they are prime candidates for crossing to large-frame beef bulls.
A feedlot in Morris, Minnesota,
has teamed with a dairy farm to produce Jersey-Limousin crosses that are more
profitable for both farms.
Jerry Wulf, president of Wulf
Cattle, outlined the partnership and its advantages recently to a seminar held
during the World Dairy Expo.
Wulf found that the crossbred
bulls gain well and grade better.
In 2010, Jersey cows at the
Riverview dairies were bred via artificial insemination to Limousin bulls.
The
resulting calf was called a Beef Builder and study was conducted with the
University of Minnesota to see how the animals would perform.
As part of Wulf Cattle’s program
calves are bought back from producers who breed with their bulls or semen via
artificial insemination.
This leads to 60,000 fed cattle
marketings per year through the Wulf Cattle feedlots. Beef-dairy crosses make
up 25 per cent of the fed cattle capacity at the yards.
The crossbred bulls help offset
the huge decline in the North American beef cow numbers.
What might work even better is embryo transfers. That way the offspring could be pure beef bulls.
