Implementing Bos Indicus-Influenced Cattle in Utah for Hybrid Vigor Reganne K. Briggs and Matthew D. Garcia
Crossbreeding Crossbreeding is a tool that cattle producers have been using for decades. When used correctly, crossbreeding can improve productivity and efficiency because of heterosis (hybrid vigor). Hybrid vigor is greatest when crossing two completely different breed backgrounds (Burrell, 1999). Hybrid vigor is most noticeable in traits like fertility and survivability. These types of traits are usually economically important (Bourdon, 2000).
Heterosis Recently, Utah State University (USU) has incorporated Santa Gertrudis genetics into their herd to increase hybrid vigor. Santa Gertrudis is a Bos indicus-influenced breed of cattle that was established at King Ranch in Texas (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Santa Gertrudis Bull
This breed was developed to perform on the native grasses of the South Texas brush country (Santa Gertrudis Breeders International [SGBI], 2023). Santa Gertrudis is a cross of approximately 3/8 Brahman and 5/8 Shorthorn, and is known to thrive in harsh ranching climates all over the world (King Ranch, 2023). This choice 1