35 years of forming high-quality cattle herd: Crossbreeding journey

Free support with high-quality bull semen

According to Dr. Phan Trong Ho, former Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Binh Dinh (old province) and currently Chairman of the Livestock and Veterinary Association of Gia Lai Province, by 1980 Binh Dinh’s cattle herd had only about 46,000 head. Most were bo se (local yellow cattle) with very low body weight, only 180-250 kg per mature cow.

At that time, authorities recognized that Binh Dinh province had great potential to develop cattle production thanks to abundant farmland suitable for forage crops, plus plentiful rice straw from roughly 110,000 hectares of annual rice cultivation, not to mention sugarcane tops and legume stalks. Local farmers also had strong experience in animal husbandry and were eager to adopt new scientific and technical advances.

Notably, the climate of Binh Dinh province was favorable, with no Lao wind, mild sunshine, and well-distributed rainfall, creating good conditions for livestock growth and development. Most importantly, Binh Dinh at that time had policies promoting cattle development.

From 1985 to 1990, functional agencies of Binh Dinh province developed a cattle crossbreeding program. By 1990, according to sectoral data, the crossbred cattle rate in Binh Dinh province was only about 25-30%, and even then, the hybrid blood proportion was only 50%, which was insufficient to produce high-quality crossbred cattle. Therefore, provincial agriculture authorities developed a project and submitted it to the Provincial People’s Committee for approval, under which bull semen would be provided to farmers.

“Red Sindhi bull semen was purchased from India using provincial budget funds. The parent bulls of this breed weigh 450-800 kg, and semen was distributed free to households for breeding. However, to crossbreed cattle effectively, we first had to select foundation cows with a hybrid blood rate of 75% to ensure successful calving”, Dr. Phan Trong Ho recalled.

From hybridization to a high-quality beef herd

The program began through agricultural extension demonstration models developed from An Nhon town to Hoai Nhon town (old). According to Dr. Phan Trong Ho, it was necessary to build demonstration models because, at that time, farmers were not used to artificial insemination; they preferred natural mating with bulls and feared that inseminated cows might have difficulty calving or produce weak calves.

To persuade farmers, authorities built multiple models, provided technical guidance and supported forage grass for participating households. At the same time, technical training courses were organized, and artificial insemination technicians were trained, with partial funding support for their service. Thanks to this, eastern Gia Lai now has 158 skilled and dedicated technicians.

“From 1990 - 2015, the cattle crossbreeding program of Binh Dinh province expanded widely. As a result, the hybrid rate of the cattle herd increased from 25% to 75%, with 40% having 50% hybrid blood and 35% having 75% hybrid blood”, Dr. Ho said.

From this foundation, the 2015 - 2020 period saw Binh Dinh province continue developing a high-quality beef cattle project. To produce high-quality beef cattle, the province used semen of BBB (Blanc Bleu Belge) and Droughtmaster to inseminate foundation cows with over 70% hybrid blood to ensure reproductive safety.

BBB and Droughtmaster cattle have large body weights, flavorful meat, and excellent growth rates, with carcass yield reaching 65-70%, while traditional bo se have only about 40%.

Because BBB and Droughtmaster cattle are extremely large (850 - 1,020 kg/head), only foundation cows with at least 70% hybrid blood and weighing 300-400 kg were selected for insemination to ensure safe calving.

Results from the models showed that although BBB and Droughtmaster calves were large (20-28 kg at birth, compared with 10-15 kg for bo se calves), foundation cows with 70% hybrid blood and 300-400 kg body weight still calved safely.

“Through these models, mature cattle (2 years old) reached 350-500 kg, while traditional bo se adults weighed only 180-250 kg. When farmers saw the results with their own eyes, they accepted artificial insemination, enabling rapid development of high-quality beef cattle in Binh Dinh”, Dr. Ho said.

According to Dr. Ho, after Binh Dinh successfully produced crossbred cattle weighing 350-400 kg/head, with good meat quality and carcass yield of 55-60% (an increase of 15-20%), the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment recognized Binh Dinh as the province with the largest and highest-quality beef cattle herd in Viet Nam.