The influence of genetic and environmental factors on performance of Brahman heifers grazing pastures in northern Australia

E. Charmley; G. J. Bishop-Hurley; M. K. Matthews; J. Simington; C. S. McSweeney; S. E. Denman; L. Martinez-Fernandez; J. Padmanabha; P. Giacomantonio; J. Cheung

doi:10.1071/AN24386

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

Previous Next Contents Vol 65(4)

The influence of genetic and environmental factors on performance of Brahman heifers grazing pastures in northern Australia

E. Charmley

^A ^* , G. J. Bishop-Hurley ^B , M. K. Matthews ^A , J. Simington ^A ^† , C. S. McSweeney ^B , S. E. Denman ^B , L. Martinez-Fernandez ^B , J. Padmanabha ^B , P. Giacomantonio ^B and J. Cheung ^B

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A CSIRO Agriculture and Food, Private Mail Bag PO, Aitkenvale, Townsville, Qld 4814, Australia.

^B CSIRO Agriculture and Food, 306 Carmody Road, St Lucia, Qld 4067, Australia.

^* Correspondence to: ed.charmley@csiro.au

^† Deceased October 2024. Contributed to investigation through data curation and investigation and met the definition of authorship.

Handling Editor: Kieren McCosker

Animal Production Science 65, AN24386 https://doi.org/10.1071/AN24386

Submitted: 25 November 2024 Accepted: 14 February 2025 Published: 3 March 2025

© 2025 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Context

Between animal variation in performance is a determinant of productivity in the northern Australian beef industry. Understanding factors that contribute to this variation is critical for selection of superior genotypes and optimising the pasture animal interface.

Aim

To determine factors that influence performance of cattle grazing tropical pastures through co-ordinated grazing and pen studies.

Methods

Within a cohort of 56 yearling heifers, 32 were allocated to an 11-month grazing trial, whereas 24 were grazed, then individually fed hay in pens. At the end of the trial, pasture cattle were ranked according to liveweight (LW) gain and the top- and bottom-ranked animals were allocated to high-performance (HP) or low-performance (LP) groups. Residual feed intake (RFI) of heifers in pens was determined and correlations between pasture and pen performance were estimated. Pasture and diets were characterised using the Botanal method (pasture only) and near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy analysis. Activity on pasture was measured using global positioning system (GPS) collars. Pasture data were divided into dry and wet seasons and the grazing trial was analysed as a factorial, with performance group and season as the two factors.

Key results

There were seasonal differences in most measured variables of animal production, behaviour and rumen fermentation consistent with changes in diet quality. Diet selection, activity on pasture and rumen fermentation characteristics did not to differ between LP and HP groups. Differences in RFI of hay-fed heifers were attributed to variation in feed intake. There was a correlation (r² = 0.5) between performance of heifers in pens and on pasture in the wet season.

Conclusion

Seasonal variations in pasture biomass and nutritive value had an overriding effect on LW change in growing beef cattle, but among-animal variation in LW gain was still apparent. This could not be attributed to any of the measured variables on pasture; however, RFI data suggested a genetic influence on intake, which was supported by estimated breeding values.

Implications

Several possible reasons for differences in performance of grazing cattle were ruled out by this research. Methods for measuring intake and efficiency of grazing cattle are required to understand and manage the grazing animal.

Keywords: beef cattle, feed efficiency, grazing behaviour, liveweight gain, nutritive value, pasture, residual feed intake, tropical.

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