CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BREEDING STOCK OF BEEF CATTLE OF THE VOLGA FEDERAL DISTRICT

The purpose of the research is to study the pedigree and sex–age composition of beef cattle, the effectiveness of the production use of breeding stock in the context of the Volga Federal District. The analyzed district is represented by 61 farms of meat productivity, where Aberdeen Angus, Hereford, Kazakh whiteheaded, Kalmyk and Limousine breeds numbering more than 40 thousand heads of cattle are bred. The dominant in terms of the number of farms and the number of probonized cattle is the Hereford breed, which accounts for more than half of the farms and the number of livestock. The breeding part of the livestock is mostly concentrated in breeding reproducers. The breeding stock of reproducers consists of 30 farms with a herd of 15,726 cows, of which 8,067 cows, or 51.3 % are representatives of the Hereford breed. Of all the regions of the district, the largest share of farms and livestock of meat breeds is concentrated in the Samara region – 11,935 heads of cattle, which are bred in 13 agricultural enterprises. The share of breeding animals in this region accounts for 11,014 heads of beef cattle, including 6,312 cows, which are kept in 9 breeding reproducers. The age of the first insemination was previously reached by heifers of the Kalmyk and Aberdeen Angus breeds – 15 and 16 months, respectively, which takes place regardless of the category of farms, later – peers of the Kazakh white-headed breed – with fluctuations from 20 months in breeding reproducers to 24 months in breeding plants. Longer use was typical for Aberdeen Angus cows – 6.9 calving, which is higher than the values of both individual breeds (by 0.7–1.8 calving) and the average value for all meat breeds of the district (by 1 calving). At the same time, the least calves per 100 cows were received from the breeding stock of Aberdeen Anguses – 70 heads, whereas from representatives of the Kalmyk and Limousine breeds – 88–89 calves each, and the indicators of Hereford and Kazakh white-headed cattle corresponded to the average level obtained for all the listed breeds of the district.