BREEDING POTENTIAL OF BEEF CATTLE FARMING IN THE STAVROPOL TERRITORY (review article)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48612/FARC/2687-1254/018.4.17.2024Keywords:
selective breeding, productivity, the Stavropol Territory, beef cattle farming, resource potential, breed and class composition, genetic potential, breeding base, types of beef cattle.Abstract
The article reveals aspects of the study of zootechnical parameters and genetic associations with productivity traits of beef cattle, which is bred in the Stavropol Territory, the use of new approaches based on molecular and genetic methods in order to increase production and improve the quality of beef. The work also characterizes the resource potential of beef cattle breeding in the Stavropol Territory: forage base, quality and breed composition of cattle, the number of breeding enterprises, the human capacity of the industry, the organization of selection and breeding work. The meat subcomplex is being intensively formed in the region. In 2021 – 2023, the number of beef cattle in agricultural enterprises increased by 9,9%, but remains below the 2019 level. Nineteen out of twenty-six districts of the region are engaged in industrial fattening of young animals. The region has the necessary resource base for both extensive and intensive development of the industry. All beef cattle raised in the region are purebred and high-quality, of which 48% are Kalmyk cattle, 28% are Hereford cattle and 24% are Kazakh Whiteheaded cattle. 57,5% of cows kept in breeding farms of the region are 6 years old and older. The share of servicing bulls aged 2 – 4 years accounts for 79,6% of animals.
The qualitative characteristics of cattle affect their productivity. Thus, the milk yield of cows in breeding enterprises of the region varies from 175 to 204 kg, on average for the Kalmyk breed, and 209 kg for Kazakh Whiteheaded and Hereford cattle. The maximum average daily live weight gain in young Kazakh Whiteheaded cattle was 1,250 g compared to 1.016 and 995 g in Kalmyk and Hereford cattle.
The livestock of cows and servicing bulls, which are bred in the breeding farms of the Stavropol Territory, mostly meets the requirements of the standards of live weight by breed. Two new types of beef cattle of the Hereford (“Dmitrievsky”) and Kalmyk (“Voznesenovsky”) breeds, which are superior in their productivity and product quality, have been bred.
