Beef crossbreeding booms in the UK: Why the Aberdeen-Angus is at the centre

The search for lower-input cattle in the face of a severe shortage of labour and the need to secure a strong market for bobby calves in the dairy business is fuelling a boom in beef crossbreeding in the United Kingdom.

At the centre of that is the centuries-old Aberdeen-Angus, a breed of cattle famed worldwide not only for its production traits but as a leading beef brand.

The combination of ever-increasing consumer demand for what is prized as a premium beef product and the Aberdeen-Angus' on-farm benefits has led to crossbred registrations of the breed rising from 311,000 in 2018 to 455,000 in 2023, according to Great Britain government cattle industry data.

Robert Gilchrist, chief executive officer of the Aberdeen-Angus Cattle Society in Perthshire, Scotland, says the UK beef industry is now heavily reliant on crossbreeding.

Beef cow numbers had been dropping in recent years but dairy beef had filled some of the shortfall, he said.

Beef prices are at historic highs in the UK. Mr Gilchrist reported up to £2300, or $4570, being paid this year for a 348 kilogram carcase.

Purebred pedigree Aberdeen-Angus has recorded slow growth during the past few years and has topped out around 15,000 registrations per year.

However, purebred non-pedigree Aberdeen-Angus has risen from 58,000 registrations in 2018 to nearly 70,000 in 2023, government figures show.

"We are waiting for completion of 2024 data but expecting it should be similar," Mr Gilchrist said.

The total share of Great Britain beef registrations now enjoyed by the Angus-Aberdeen breed has risen from 22 per cent in 2018 to 30pc in 2023.

That means the breed has now overtaken Limousin, which has slipped from 28pc to 21.5pc.

Mr Gilchrist said consumers recognised and selected Aberdeen-Angus as a premium product and that was influencing the trend, but also the production traits were influencing beef farmer moves to the breed.

The biggest challenge in the UK beef industry right now was a lack of labour, he said.

"Shortage of labour and an ageing workforce is causing many to swap towards lower-input cattle," Mr Gilchrist said.

Key production traits of Aberdeen-Angus include easier calving and easier finishing and Mr Gilchrist said high grain prices in 2022/2023 helped persuade many towards the breed.

"There has also been a significant rise in Aberdeen-Angus usage in the dairy sector with the advent of sexed semen, with our genetics used on remaining cows. This has led to a major reduction in bobby calves," he said.

The dominant traits commercial breeders seek in Angus genetics are calving ease/birthweight/gestation length in both beef and dairy, he said.

The fat content for easy finishing and reduced cow costs over winter was also a big driver.

UK beef challenges

Mr Gilchrist said the potential loss of critical mass with beef herd reductions was a key challenge in the UK.

Poor public and governmental perception of the industry was another.

And the barriers to entry for new beef producers, such as land prices and capital costs of the cows, was another area recognised as a challenge.

The big opportunity, however, was the current price being achieved for cattle.

Returning organic matter to arable ground that has been out of grass since World War lI was also providing opportunity in the industry.

Mr Gilchrist said a good number of UK beef producers were planning to travel out to Australia for the World Angus Conference in Brisbane in May.

They were particularly keen on seeing the scale of beef production here.

"My brother farms 240 acres - that's a small paddock to you guys," Mr Gilchrist said.

"Like farmers all over the world, they will all want to have a nose in someone else's yard.

"The forum agenda looks good and will offer learnings too."

He said there were opportunities to increase the use of UK genetics in Australia and vice versa.

A good number of Australian bulls were already in use in the UK today, he said.

Australia will host the Neogen World Angus Forum in Brisbane from May 6 to 8. See here.