REPRODUCTION OF BEEF CATTLE BREEDS IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION: REALITIES AND PRIORITY DIRECTIONS

Abstract

The article studies the main parameters of the reproductive abilities of cows (live weight and age of heifers at first insemination, the age of culling of cows, the yield of calves per 100 cows and the yield of calves during the productive life of a cow), in the context of beef cattle breeds bred at enterprises of the Russian Federation over a five-year period (2021–2025). As part of the monitoring, we carried out a rank assessment of cows using the method of assigning ordinal ranks depending on the value of their economic parameters, and based on the sum of ranks and the final rank (class), we calculated the integrated coefficient of communication for each individual population. The conducted studies showed that the best parameters for ranking assessment, taking into account the above complex of reproductive characteristics, are in the cows of the following beef breeds: Aberdeen Angus (Ri = 0,708); Kazakh Whiteheaded (Ri = 0,677); Kalmyk (Ri = 0,646). Individuals of the Limousin (Ri = 0,431), Charolais (R i = 0,415) and Salers (Ri = 0,338) breeds had the lowest rank scores. In conclusion, priority directions for increasing the reproduction of livestock in the herds of the industry are outlined. It is noted that in recent years, in breeding and commercial herds of beef cattle in the Russian Federation, the yield of calves per 100 cows varies from 75 to 79 head, and in 2025 this figure was 80%, which is significantly lower than the target level for effective management of the industry (at least 85%). Monitoring the ranking assessment of beef cattle by breed indicates that the best parameters, taking into account the complex of the above reproductive characteristics, have cows of the Aberdeen Angus, Kazakh Whiteheaded and Kalmyk breeds, and the lowest ranking assessment was given to individuals of the Limousin, Charolais and Salers breeds.