43 years just for a cow?

There is such a cow

It was born in the Ulagai grassland in Inner Mongolia

Now its footprints are all over the country

Image source: Farmers Daily Huaxi Niu Niu Group

It allows our country to have

With completely independent intellectual property rights

New breeds of specialized beef cattle

Breaking the dominant breed of beef cattle in my country

The core seed sources are heavily dependent on imports

Researchers have been studying it for 43 years.

What is so special about it?

Today, let us get to know Huaxi cattle!

Why study cows?

my country is a large agricultural country. Cattle are an important source of power in agricultural production and are known as the first of the six domestic animals. However, with the development of social productivity, by the 1980s, cattle gradually withdrew from agricultural production, and the traditional breeding of working cattle gradually declined. At the same time, with the improvement of living standards, residents' demand for beef cattle is increasing.

How to transform cattle from being used for work to being used for meat, and to push my country's cattle industry from traditional breeding to the modern beef cattle industry, is a difficult problem facing scientists.

Improved breeds are the key to the development of the beef cattle industry and the main manifestation of the core competitiveness of the beef cattle industry. However, due to the influence of various factors such as farming traditions, my country's beef cattle breeding started late. By the 1980s, the level of beef cattle production was still very low, the coverage of improved beef cattle breeds was small, and the source of leading beef cattle breeds was heavily dependent on imports. The supply of Simmental hybrids, which account for 65% of my country's beef cattle production population, has long relied on foreign countries, and the external dependence of core seed sources is as high as 70%.

How awesome is Huaxi cattle?

At the end of 2021, after approval by the National Committee for Livestock and Poultry Genetic Resources, "Huaxi Cattle" obtained the National New Livestock and Poultry Breed Certificate. Since then, a new breed of beef cattle independently bred in my country with stable genetic performance, good production performance, and in line with the development of the beef cattle industry and market demand has been born.

Image source: Farmers Daily "Huaxi Cattle" new breed certification certificate

The coat color of "Huaxi cattle" is mainly red and yellow, with a small amount of white spots. The abdomen, head, limbs, hooves and tail are all white. The bulls are strong, with broad backs and well-developed muscles; the cows are well-proportioned and gentle.

Image source: Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Huaxi cattle breeder bulls and cows

1. Adaptable “cow”

Huaxi cattle have good breeding performance and a wide adaptability. They can adapt to my country's pastoral areas, agricultural areas and the northern agricultural and pastoral transition zones, as well as the grassy hills and slopes in the south.

2. Meat output weight "cow"

The weight of an adult bull of Huaxi cattle reaches 900 kg, and that of an adult cow is over 550 kg. The slaughter rate is 62.39%, the net meat rate is 53.95%, and the average daily weight gain during the fattening period is 1.36 kg. The main production performance has reached the international advanced level.

3. Strong market competitiveness

It is estimated that by 2025, Huaxi cattle will be able to provide about 400 bulls for semen collection each year, and my country's independent supply rate of beef cattle will increase to 70%. By 2027, the annual supply of excellent bulls will reach more than 500, and the independent supply rate will reach 80%, realizing independent control of core seed sources.

According to current genetic progress, after another 5-10 years of breeding and improvement, the main meat indicators of "Huaxi cattle" such as growth rate, meat production performance and slaughter performance will be comparable to the core groups of top-grade Simmental cattle in the United States and Australia. The frozen semen of excellent "Huaxi cattle" can be exported to directly participate in international market competition.

43 years of scientific research, every challenge has been overcome!

The breeding of "Huaxi cattle" began in 1978. From 2002 to 2003, Li Junya, chief researcher of the cattle genetic breeding science and technology innovation team of the Beijing Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, led the team to conduct research in Yunnan, Hubei, Xinjiang and other places, and finally stopped at the Ulagai grassland in Inner Mongolia. The herdsmen here have raised cattle and sheep for generations, and the cattle herds have been improved, making it an ideal base for beef cattle breeding.

Image source: The Paper Ulagai Grassland

1. Slow genetic progress? Use genomic selection technology!

At the beginning of breeding, Li Junya's team encountered a huge problem. Due to the long generation interval of beef cattle, low reproductive efficiency, complex production model and difficulty in collecting breeding data, the genetic progress of beef cattle breeding was slow.

Image source: Farmers Daily researchers are testing the fatty acid content of beef

To this end, Li Junya's team established my country's first Huaxi cattle genome selection reference group, taking the lead in applying genomic selection technology to breeding practice. All individuals in the reference group have both phenotypic data such as height and weight, as well as genotypic data. The reference group can be used to evaluate the breeding value of offspring individuals, and then early seed selection and seed preservation can be achieved based on the evaluation results.

2. Are gene chips expensive? Many parties support it!

Gene chips, also known as DNA chips or biochips, can measure individual genotypes. Using the genomic information of chip typing, accurate breeding value estimation of individuals can be carried out to achieve early selection, which is an important tool relied on by whole genome breeding technology.

"What made me most upset was that around 2012, we didn't have a penny for our project, and we even had to borrow money to work," said Li Junya. During the breeding and improvement stage, the gene chips needed for genome selection technology had to be imported from abroad, and the cost of testing a cow with imported chips at that time was as high as more than 3,000 yuan. Li Junya sought support from enterprises and social forces. In this way, the team continued to work while striving for more financial support.

Source: Farmers Daily. Main members of the cattle genetic breeding technology innovation team of the Beijing Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences

3. Does the end of the project mean the extinction of the species? Break the "curse"!

There is an old saying in the breeding industry, "The end of the project is the beginning of the extinction of the breed." The approval of a new beef cattle breed does not mean the end of breeding. Whether it can be promoted and whether its quality can be maintained are issues that need to be addressed.

Li Junya and his team decided that the solution was joint breeding. Initially, the team established cooperation with 15 farmers. In 2018, the Ulagai Management Area Bohao Fine Beef Cattle Breeding Professional Cooperative was established with 22 members. By 2022, there will be 41 core farms of "Huaxi Cattle" nationwide, and the total number of joint breeding enterprises will reach more than 60, forming a "national chess game" Huaxi Cattle joint breeding model, and advanced breeding experience will gradually be promoted nationwide.

Image source: Tencent.com 255 Huaxi cattle set off smoothly from the Ulagai Management Area to Shanxi

END

Source: Farmers’ Daily, The Paper, Science and Technology Daily

Compiled by: Dong Xiaoxian

Editor: Guru