BEEF INDUSTRY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22320, 18 January 1936, Page 22

BEEF INDUSTRY

HYPE OF CATTHjE i SUITING MODERN DEMAND BREEDS IN NEW ZEALAND * r BY SUNDOWNER The beef cattlo which have won popularity in New Zoal&nd through their suitability for the woirlc demanded of them, combined with pjrofitablo beef production, are the Shoe thorn, Hereford and Aberdeen Angus broods. Of theso the Shorthorn tools first placo in tho &r«.zi e r s estimation in the oarlier days of settlement, partly because it had the capacity to deal with tho coarse and rank grass growth which was tho first pasture clothing, of our free and unconsolidated soils, while it also had tho weight necessary to effect consolidation. It also produced tho class of beef then in demand both in New Zealand and Great Britain. As, through stock trampling, the soil Burface became more consolidated, ana finer, shallow-rooted grasses of higher nutritive value took the place ot the lush, coarse types, the Shorthorn was found to bo unsuitable for much of the area on which it. had previously thriven, and was gradually from the hills—in company with the Lincoln sheep—on to the rich fiats where the pasture was still luxuriant. The change in pasture conditions, combined with the demand for small joints of finer quality and tender meat, largely influenced the rise to popularity of tho Hereford and Aberdeen Angus breeds of cattle, both smaller in frame and bono than the Shorthorn, and proportionately earlier in reaching lty. Their conformation and size also fitted them to thrive on the hillcountry pastures where the bigger framed Shorthorn had starved when in association with sheep. A considerable amount of crossing of these breeds with the Shorthorn was at first inevitable, and the result was a leggy and big boned, rather coarse crossbred which was, however, most useful in breaking in bush country which was still being felled and laid down to pasture. As a beef-producer, however, it was, and still is, slow in maturing and fattening. Producer ol Excellent Bee! On comparatively open grazing the Hereford —a producer of excellent beer when the right type is employed, and with excellent fertility and moderate hardiness to further popularise it —soon won to favour. This, however, received a check when breeders and graziers, still enamoured of the size which had been such an admired feature of the Shorthorn breed, favoured a type big in bone and size, and rather inclined to be gross and coarse. With the alteration in its original characteristics, this breed lost some of the qualities of hardiness and " good-doing " for which it was at first famed, and with them the support of a large number of graziers who then turned to a cross of "their Herefords with the compact and'active Aberdeen Angus. » The rise to popularity of the Aberdeen Angus breed in New Zealand has been phenomenal. This hardy type, selected for hundreds of years for its ability to produce fine-quality beef on the sparse pastures and in the rigorous climate of Scotland, was found to be ideally suited to the grazing of light hill country, where its compact frame and light bone, combined with active foraging qualities, enabled it to thrive where heavier animals starved. These cattle proved to be equally as good aa the Hereford on light open grazing, and superior to them in fern and bush j country, especially where this was steep | and broken. The Old Object Until the last year or two, when it was demonstrated that it was practicable to send chilled beef Home, the objective of our graziers was to produce beef cattle which could be drafted in to the fattening paddocks as three-vear-olds and turned out as mature Lecf suitable for freezing. The successful application of chilling to our beef for its long sea transit has definitely altered this, and our object is now. to send Home younger and more tender beef of a quality which is in keen demand by tne majority of our customers. This we can do from our generally excellent pastures, but we require to concentrate upon a type which fattens more readily into small prime beef than that we have at present. We have naturally favoured the very active and somewhat leggy type of cattle-beast in the past, on account of its foraging ability, but experience has proved that this is not the type which puts on condition readily or arrives at a killable stage early. The desirable animal is low-set, thick, and comparatively short, with great food and air capacity, but comparatively light bone. With this, the demands for skeletal formation are soon satisfied, and the nourishment absorbed is then all diverted to flesh formation. It has been the general experience that polled or dehorned cattle are less restive when grazing with their fellows than horned stock. Hornlessness is also an advantage when fat cattle are being driven or trucked to saleyards and freezing works, hence polled types of the different breeds aro in favour with beef fatteners. This was originally a great advantage of the Aberdeen Angus breed, but. tho selection and fixation of polled types of both Hereford and Shorthorn by American cattlemen, have brought these beef breeds into prominent favour again, and as in some other important directions they have advantages over the Aberdeen Angus, they may prove (serious rivals of this breed for tho production of baby-beef or chillers. Need lor Milk There is little to choose between the Aberdeen Angus and Hereford breeds in quality beef production where the types are similar in size and conformation, but of the two the polled Angus fattens more quickly, while the Hereford has greater fecundity. Indeed one of tho few objections to the Aberdeen Angus is that the calving percentage is disappointingly low. Another fault of the breed, at any rate in this Dominion, is a poor milking capacity, which perhaps is not of vit'al importance where only mature beef is aimed at,_ but which is a big drawback where chillers, and particularly baby beef, are the objective. It is very necessary in the production of baby beef and chillers that the calf should have an abundance of rich milk to carry it on fat from birth to weaning, and for this reason tho Herefords aro likely—other type features being equal—to prove excellent producers of young beef. Dual Purpose Breeds lu dual purpose breeds wo have practically only one, the I tod Polled cattle, that now nearly fill tho requirements of the beef breeder and still are heavy milk producers. Although generally averse to tho crossing of fixed breeds, tho writer believes that tho progeny of a cross Red Polled bull on Aberdeen Angus females, would produce almost perfect mothers for baby beef and chiller production. The types of polled Hereford and Shorthorn now being produced by the foremost American breeders aro vastly in advance of those of a few years ago, and leave little to be desired from the points of early maturity and tho production of good finality, fine-grained' meat. This typo is now being eagerly sought by our graziers who are determined to use every means of placina our beef on the Home in quality, age, flavour and condition, as nearly as possible what the discriminating consumer in Great Britain desires.