Philippine E-Journals

Relative Economic Values of Some Heritable Traits in Selected Breeds of Cattle, Water Buffalo, Goat and Pig

Orville L. Bondoc | John Daniel P. Tec | Consuelo Amor T. Santiago | Thelma S. Maguire

Discipline: Veterinary Medicine, Animal Science

 

Abstract:

Using simple cost-benefit analyses, the local costs of producing 1 kg live weight of cattle, water buffalo, goat and pig were found to be PhP89.14, 73.37, 63.40, and 70.74, respectively. Variable costs (i.e. feeds, medicines and vaccines, utilities, repairs and maintenance, salaries and wages) generally contributed more to total costs of production than fixed costs (i.e. stocks, buildings and equipment, depreciation). Profit per animal was highest for the production and sale of yearling cattle (PhP1, 430.24), followed by two-year-old water buffaloes (PhP355.10), 170-day-old pigs (PhP221.04) and 180-day-old goats (PhP56.88).

Relative economic values (REVs) of traits were derived from partial derivatives of their respective profit functions. The REVs for these traits were - 1.00, 1.02, and 0.16 for birth weight (BWt), adjusted 210-day weaning weight and post weaning average daily gain (PoADG), respectively for cattle; -1.00, 6.93, and 3.44 for BWt, 6-mo weight and PoADG, respectively for water buffaloes; -1.00, 0.30, and 0.27 for BWt, 90-day weight and PoADG, respectively for goats; and 1.00, 1.83, and 0.40 for ADG, feed conversion ratio and backfat thickness, respectively for pigs.

Based on computed REVs, phenotypic correlations and published estimates of heritability and genetic correlations, selection indices were constructed separately for the local production of yearling cattle, two-year-old water buffaloes, 180-day-old goats and 170-day-old pigs.