The Beckton Program: Cow Size

The goal for Beckton's program has always been to develop breeding seedstock which offer increased levels of performance for the commercial cattleman.  Increased performance does not mean maximizing weight and size, which have already reached the upper limit of economic value for the packer and consumer.  It does, however, mean increasing performance related to calving percentage and weaning percentage; and increasing performance related to cow maintenance requirements and "pounds of calf per acre" efficiency.

Beckton cattle are already big enough for the consumer and the packer.  Using yearling weight EPD as the best available indicator of market size, the average for our sale bulls is +57.  The Red Angus breed average for 2006-born animals is +55, so on market size our cattle are fairly comparable.  They are fairly comparable for weaning weight EPD also, so Beckton cattle offer weaning and yearling performance very similar in today's mainstream Red Angus.

The big difference between Beckton's program and others is that we select for additional weaning and yearling weight, but with the restriction that we have maintained about the same cow size as 30 years ago.  In contrast, the industry has allowed cow size to increase at the same rate as calf size.  Cow size is the largest factor determining maintenance requirements.  Our goal over the past 30 years has been to increase efficiency, not size.  To our knowledge no other seedstock breeding program has had such a goal, or maintained it for so long.

Cow weights vary from year to year depending on body condition or other short term factors.  But overall our cow size has stayed fairly constant over time.

temporary photo for demo purposes only