A NEW study has set out to determine the optimum mature weight for both beef and cattle, with a view to improve production efficiency in breeding flocks and herds.

The projects’ researchers, AbacisBio International and Scotland’s Rural College, will study how different mature weights, in both upland and lowland livestock, affect issues including herd fertility and business profitability. They will then look to develop techniques and tools which pedigree breeders and commercial farmers can use to ensure they achieve the optimum mature weight for their enterprise.

Managing director of AbacusBio International and project lead, Tim Byrne, explained that slowing down the trend for larger livestock was vital: “If we take the UK as a whole and we know that we have about 14 million sheep and two million cows, what happens to our industry if the weight of those animals keeps going up?” he questioned.

“We know that is the general trend and that growth rates are also rising, but we are not killing these animals any younger, what are the implications of that? The benefits of bigger animals can quickly be diluted by increased, on farm costs,” he suggested. “This project will demonstrate exactly what producers should be trying to achieve to maximise their productivity and profitability.”

A key part of the study will be understanding the genetics of existing traits for growth, and their relationship with the mature size of the breeding cows or ewes.

SRUC's Professor Eileen Wall said: “More recently, we have been able to use a wide range of industry data sources to begin to see the variation in mature size in our livestock species across the UK. This has fed into improvements in the national greenhouse gas inventory and helped benchmark where we are as an industry today.

“The project will explore some of the causes of the variations we see on the ground to inform where we could get to in the future with our red meat production.”

The study was jointly funded by Quality Meat Scotland, AHDB and HCC. QMS director of industry development, Douglas Bell, commented: “Breeding flocks and herds represent the backbone of lamb and beef production in Great Britain. It has long been recognised that the profitability of such enterprises is related to the productivity of the breeding population.

“Enterprise efficiency however relies on understanding the cost base as well as the output potential. It is for this reason that QMS, AHDB and HCC have identified assessing efficiency of breeding enterprises as an important area for their levy payers,” he concluded.