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The global beef industry has been growing steadily in recent years due to the fact that the largest beef exporters and importers in beef producing countries continue to invest financially in the global market. Beef, one of the most important products in the world livestock market, is often recognized as a premium source of protein in the human diet, therefore it is widely consumed in most countries around the world. In 2020, at the national level, the number of cattle slaughtered in industrial units (slaughterhouses) decreased by 15.6% compared to the previous year. Also, the beef production decreased from 196,000 tons in 2017 to 173,000 tons in 2020, even though the slaughter yield has increased. There are about 1 billion beef cattle worldwide, and compared to poultry and pigs, beef cattle have the lowest feed-to-meat conversion efficiency. Strategies to improve beef cattle performance emphasize operational and reproductive management, host genetics, functional efficiency of the rumen and respiratory microbiome, and forage structure and composition. There have also to consider the herd health and immunity and the need for beef cattle to thrive in a changing environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the productive performances of the ascendants and descendants of the cows' herd belonging to the 4 basic breeds were analyzed, as follows: Holstein, Băl?ată cu negru românească (Romanian Black Spotted), Băl?ată românească (Romanian Spotted), and Brună de Maramure? (Maramures Bown), from 7 farms of Neam? county, which were encoded with numbers from 1 to 7. For the analysis of the ascendants' performances - mother (M), paternal grandmother (MT), and maternal grandmother (MM) - and of the offspring' performance, 3 indicators were determined regarding the milk production: the quantity per normal lactation (kg), the percent of fat, and the percent of protein. It was found that the best milk production in normal lactation of offspring was recorded in farm 2 (6161.25 kg), where a mixed herd of Holstein and Băl?ată cu negru românească breeds is raised. If we compare the phenotypic performances of the ascendants (mother of mother - MM), which realized an average milk production of 7205.44 kg, with the father's mother (MT) of 11.931 kg, and the mother's mother (MM) of 7949.83 kg we confirm that the phenotypic performance for the milk production in the offspring does not reach the level of those obtained by ancestry. This fact is due to management deficiency regarding the external factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to present the evolution of cattle numbers and production obtained in Neam? County during between 2010-2018. In carrying out this work, we have used statistical data provided by the Directorate for Agriculture and Rural Development, the County Animal Husbandry Office and the Association of Animal Breeders "Operator A.I.". The analysis was carried out within two forms of property: population households and companies and private associations. The following were found: the population households registered a decrease in the number of cattle (ca. 15%) and in the average milk production (ca. 20%), while the companies and private associations had an increase in the cattle population by 44.4% and in the average milk production by 21%. With regard to meat production, the average weight for slaughter increased from 339 kg/head in 2010 to 451 kg/head in 2018, the share being 33.12%. The study found an improvement of the main indicators (cattle number and production) only in the holdings that have at least 40-50 heads compared to the holdings with 1-2 heads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aimed to assess the improvement of beef production using industrial crossbreeding. The research was conducted on 101 individuals allotted in four groups, L1-Romanian Spotted cattle (RS) - control 1; L2 Limousine (L) x Romanian Spotted cattle; L3-Romania Black and White cattle (RBW) - control 2 and L4-Limousine x Romanian Black and White cattle. Body development of half-bloods from experimental groups was higher than the maternal breeds, showing pronounced aptitudes for beef production, especially in L x RS cross, which performed a body weight by 18 months old of 689.37 kg (+14.36% compared to maternal breed). An obvious improvement of beef yield was registered also in L x RBW group (603.13 kg live weight at 18 months old, +15.38% vs. the maternal breed). BS x L half-bloods had an average daily gain above 975 g, fitting into the beef morphological type. In the study, we found a good ability of body development for half-bloods and a pronounced heterosis effect compared to maternal races. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current paper presents the original results regarding a software programme for production and reproduction data management in dairy farms, used also in the accounting department and in the genetic breeding of bovine herds. A management system database - SGBD - which assures the independence of logical correlations between dates and their minimum redundancy - was used for this purpose. This provided a fast development and a cost-effective use of application programmes for data exploring from a complex structure and also fast access to the dates, providing them a very good security. Therefore, SGBD is an assembly of programmes which allow the users to interact with a database, designed for large amounts of information, whose management requires not only a rigorous structure but also a rational access and processing. The programme called “C.O.P & R.G” was designed and developed at the University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Animal Sciences, Iaşi, Romania and addresses to farmers and units dealing with accounting and improving the milk production of dairy cattle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]