A TIME-DEPENDENT BIOECONOMIC MODEL OF COMMERCIAL BEEF BREED CHOICES

The breed choice decision requires simultaneous consideration of both economic and physical relationships in light of the multi-year, multi-product nature of commercial cow-calf production. To accomplish this a time-dependent bioeconomic model of cow-calf production was developed in which both physical output-input relationships and production decisions are expressed in terms of cow age and stage of production. The breed choice and optimal herd distribution (culling age and proportion by age) decisions are then cast within the economic framework of maximizing net returns per unit of nutrient resource derived from a fixed land area. The resulting bioeconomic model is easily solved, as illustrated by an empirical example evaluating 16 alternative breed choices for a representative West Texas ranch. Results indicate a marked economic preference for smaller, higher productivity animals, such as Sahiwal. Conversely, large, slow maturing breeds with marginal reproductive capacity, such as Charolais, are least profitable for the fixed resource area defined.