New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research abstracts

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Beef cycle buffering by embryo technology adoption in the dairy industry in New Zealand

I. VETHARANIAM
D. G. MCCALL

AgResearch
Ruakura Research Centre
Private Bag 3123
Hamilton, New Zealand

Abstract  The use of embryo transfer technologies to produce pure-bred beef animals from the dairy industry has the potential to buffer breeding cow and production cycles in the New Zealand beef industry. The use of predominately female embryos can reduce the recovery time for breeding cow numbers from 5 years to 3 years (with a 30% adoption rate). The use of male embryos can reduce the recovery time for beef production from 9 years to 4 years (with a 30% adoption rate). In a long-term implementation of embryo transfer technologies, the use of male embryos offers improved grazing efficiency while retaining the capability to buffer declines in beef breeding cow numbers with a switch to the use of female embryos.

Keywords  beef population; beef production; breeding cows; embryo technologies; national herd; New Zealand

New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research, 1999, Vol. 42: 37-45

0028-8233/99/4201-0037 $7.00/0 (c) The Royal Society of New Zealand 1999

PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (678K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)

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