Caracu Breed Genetic Improvement Program

Partnership:
ABCC / Geneplus - Embrapa Beef Cattle / IAPAR 

Luiz Otávio Campos da Silva¹
Daniel Perotto²
Antônio do Nascimento Rosa¹

The beef livestock in Brazil is going through a special development moment, as na answer to a new economic context. At the same time as production systems are being improved and diversified, new opportunities for quality genetic resources emerge.

Any ploy success, however, is conditioned to the trinomial genotype - evironment - market, onwich the animals adaptability, the production efficiency and the final product quality are the main propositions.

Attentive to this facts and awared to the role that Caracu can interpret on this scenery, as the main bull breed adapted to brazilian conditions, ABCC, Embrapa and IAPAR, through Geneplus, come to purpose the Caracu Breeders the improvement program whose the main steps are followed below.
 

Goal

Identify and provide differential procreation of superior individuals for maternal skills, sexual precocity, calve ease, freezer conformation and carcass merit.
 

¹ Embrapa Gado de Corte
² IAPAR

Program phases, reflections to be registered and actions to be developed

1. Ride Season

    More than racionalize the animals manage on property, the ride season enables the formation of contemporary and homogeny groups, contributing thus on the precison on selection. The begining of the season can diversify from a region to another, according to the environment conditions. Its length, however, must be 70 days for young cows and 90 for grown cows. The pregnancy diagnostic will be accomplished 60 days after the end of the ride season.

2. Delivering

• Weigh when born (within 48 hours after deliver);

• Type of calve (Normal (N), Assisted (A) or Surgical (C));

• Cow condition on birth (Normal (N), Abortion (A), Death within 48h (M), Empty (V);

• Weight and/or scores of female body condition, withn 48 hours after birth (score from one to six);

3. Maternal Phase

• The products weight around four months old (for maternal skills rate).

3. Wean

• The products weight around eight months old;

• The products freezer confirmation scores (one to six);

• Scrotum perimeter;

• Weight and scores of female body condition on wean (one to six).

4. One-year-olds

• Products weight between 13 and 15 months old;

• Freezer confirmation (one to six);

• Scrotum perimeter;

• Racial pattern;

• Pre-selected male andrologic exam.

Selection and Discard Criterion

Young cows

Before going to ride season, young cows must be discard for the following reasons:

• Narrow growth;

• Anatomical and position defect;

• Desqualifying defects, from racial pattern point of view.

In the end of riding season empty young cows will be discard.

Grown Cows

During their procreant lives gown cows will be discard based on the
> following features:

• Empty after ride season (rather);

• IER (Reproduction Efficiency Index);

• Ease on birth;

• Maternal fulfilment.

Male

    On wean animals with position compromising defects mus be discard, testicle bad formation and if muscular score is equal or minor than three ou menor do que três (six points scale).

Caracu Breed Genetic Improvement Program Partnership:

Partnership:
ABCC / Geneplus - Embrapa Beef Cattle / IAPAR 

After one year old must be discard male with score of freezer condition under four; scrotum perimeter under the contemporary group average or if they have desqualifying defects, from racial pattern point of view.

Knowing the Progenitor Expected Differences (DEPs), the breeder shall use superior individuals as reproducers for economic interest, chosen according to the cattle needs, within the breed improvement proposition.

Every year, between the best individuals refering to their sexual precocity and freezer conformation, promissing bulls will be selected to participate on the Caracu Breed Promissing Bulls Rate Program (PATPC). On this program, testing bulls will be rated considering the features related to the main program phases and a complementary killing phase.

The support for the program service will be provided by ABCC, Embrapa and IAPAR partnership, via Geneplus - Embrapa Program for Cattle Improvement, administered by Fundapam (Environmental and Agriculture Research Support Foundation).

Team Responsible
 

        Embrapa Beef Cattle, IAPAR and Geneplus Team.