Project on applying scientific and technological advances to develop high-yield 3B hybrid beef cattle breeding

The group conducted a health survey on the 3B crossbred cattle herd.

Engineer Tran Duy Thinh, the main member of the project, said that through a field survey, the total herd of cattle in the province is currently about 21 thousand, mainly raised in scattered households, most of which are local yellow cattle, with low meat quality and low value. BBB (Blanc Bleu Belge) or 3B cattle originating from Belgium have large physical characteristics, developed muscles, especially the hind thighs and gluteal muscles (developed more than 30% compared to normal cattle). This is a high-yielding beef cattle breed, known as a "meat production machine", with a mature cow weight of over 1 ton for bulls, and 800kg for cows, with an average weight gain of 1.3 kg/day.

A factor in choosing to breed 3B cows, Mr. Thinh added, since 1995, although Tuyen Quang province has invested in improving the cow herd in the direction of Zebuization (Sind cow herd program), but due to limited funding, investment is still spread out, lack of synchronization, so the results are still limited. Therefore, when Zebu cows are crossed with 3B cows, the hybrid will have many advantages, suitable for the soil and climate in Tuyen Quang.

Yen Son district was chosen as the location for the project because this is a locality with many favorable natural conditions for large-scale livestock development, with nearly 8,000 cows, but most of them are native breeds. Therefore, applying advanced technical and technological advances to improve the quality of the herd with high-quality BBB beef semen and growing grass to raise cows in the district will arouse the awareness of many households to rise out of poverty, creating a breakthrough in agriculture and rural areas.

3B crossbred calves have a weight that is superior to native calves.

During the 36 months of implementing the project in Nhu Khe commune (Yen Son) with an investment of 8 billion VND, the project team has supported the technology transfer of the Ba Vi Cow and Grassland Research Center ( Hanoi ). The project team has created nearly 200 calves through artificial insemination with the father being a 3B cow and the mother being a Zebu crossbred cow; organized training for over 200 farmer members on the process of raising breeding cows, growing grass for food and treating waste in livestock farming.

For 3B crossbred calves to develop well, after weaning, they will be raised on an intensive farming regime from the beginning to achieve the desired weight gain. Calves will be dewormed twice at 4 months of age immediately after weaning. Care and feeding are provided to achieve an average weight gain of nearly 1kg/day. Use roughage, silage, and supplementary feed according to the standards and rations of 3B crossbred cows growing at different ages, ensuring maximum growth and development of the breed.

Through the practice of raising 3B crossbred cattle, it can be seen that the diet of this breed of cattle is no different from that of regular beef cattle. Depending on their conditions, farmers can combine many different types of concentrated feed, roughage, and green feed such as: Corn, rice bran, industrial bran specialized for beef cattle, grass, straw, corn stalks, etc. At the same time, crossbred cattle are purebred, suitable for barn raising, healthy, good resistance, during the commercial raising process, it is only necessary to vaccinate against recommended diseases according to the age of the cow, clean the barn. Because of their large body, they consume 1.5 - 2 times more food than regular beef cattle, the weight gain is also proportional to food consumption, farmers need to pay attention to providing enough nutrition, balancing between concentrated feed and roughage, green feed for cows to develop well.

Silage to improve nutrition for crossbred calves.

Project leader Tran Duy Thinh affirmed: In the context of increasingly narrowing grazing environment, the 3B crossbred cattle breeding model is a truly effective direction. Through the model, step by step economic efficiency for people can be improved, agricultural by-products can be utilized and climate change can be adapted to become more and more complex. Improving the quality of beef cattle with crossbred cattle will have great potential for development and expansion, helping to improve the stature of local beef cattle, bringing high economic efficiency and increasing the income of farmers.

Source: https://baotuyenquang.com.vn/du-an-ung-dung-tien-bo-khoa-hoc-va-cong-nghe-phat-trien-chan-nuoi-bo-thit-cao-san-lai-3b-207519.html