RFI Helps Lower Cattle Production Cost

EDMONTON - Jan 9/04 - SNS -- Livestock producers can use a new bull selection tool called residual-feed intake (RFI) to help improve the feed efficiency of a beef cattle herd, says Alberta Agriculture beef specialist-new technologies, Patrick Ramsey.

Focussing on selecting feed efficient bulls makes sense, Ramsey notes, because 80-90% of the genetic improvement in a herd comes through the sires.

"On average, it costs $50 less over 112 days to feed an efficient bull as opposed to an inefficient one," he said. "If a feed-efficient bull passes this trait on to his progeny it can result in equivalent savings for yearlings in the feedlot, double the savings for fed calves, and triple the savings per year for replacement heifers entering the cow herd."

Feed is major expense to cattle producers, second only to fixed costs. With 75% of the total feed cost used for maintenance, improving feed efficiency can have a big economic impact. "It's simple math," says Ramsey. "A 5% improvement in feed efficiency could have an economic impact four times greater than a five-per-cent improvement in average daily gain. This means improving feed efficiency will have a tremendous influence on the unit costs of production and the value of breeding stock, embryos, semen and feeder animals."

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