Economic aspects of steer fattening with six different breeds. Part 2

The evolution during the fattening period of the margin of fattening steers of the breeds Angus (AN), Simmental (SI), Charolais (CH), Limousin (LI), Blonde d’Aquitaine (BL) and Piemontese (PI) was analysed for two marketing channels – standard or as label. This study is based on the results obtained with an optimum fatness score (part 1). Thereby, LI and CH steers reached the highest comparable margin per large animal pen unit. The economic result of the late maturing breeds BL and PI can be improved by increasing the feeding intensity and/or by opting for an insufficient fatness score. Considering the early maturing breeds AN and SI, better returns are obtainable when maximizing the slaughter weight on condition that feeding intensity is reduced for AN steers while SI steers benefit from the stability of their fatness score over a wider weight range. The marketing as label significantly increases the margin for all breeds.