Reproductive Side of Marbling

Reproductive Side of Marbling

Cattle producers should be concerned with two things - what genetics will perform in the pasture and what consumers want at the meat case. Rancher James Henderson knows what kind of cattle his customers need and the important role that marbling plays in the end beef product but he says that marbling is also essential maternal trait.
Henderson: “Well we’ve been in the meat business and we’ve dealt with consumers and understand that marbling is very important trait to the consumers so looking at it from the meat side that is important. But as we’ve looked at it from the maternal side, we think it is even more important because there is nothing that makes a cowman more money than a cow that has a calf and stays in the herd and reproduces on an efficient manner. So if you can keep those two things going -- and marbling helps do that -- that’s what we think makes money.”
That’s right - selecting for quality can have a positive impact on your cowherd - Henderson says
Henderson: “I’ve said numerous times that marbling maybe is a more important reproductive maternal trait than it is a carcass trait. I say that because it is that ready source of energy and that cow can store it up really quickly and she use it really quickly when she needs to. Those fleshy easy keeping kind of cows tend to be the ones with the highest marbling.”
Henderson says using EPDs and other breeding tools let anyone fine-tune cattle to fit their business and resources.
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