Slaughter performance of Charolais and Limousin beef cattle finished in specialised farms in Veneto region (Italy): evidence from large-scale individual records

The collection of individual data in the beef sector enables precise evaluations of animal performance. Veneto region (Italy) is one of the most specialised beef-fattening areas, covering approximately one-third of national production and relying largely on French cattle. In this context, improvement in data-driven management is essential to sustain production efficiency and competitiveness. We explored sources of variation of body weight immediately after stunning (BW, kg), hot carcase weight (HCW, kg), and carcase yield (CY, %) using large-scale individual records of Charolais (CHL; n = 25,528) and Limousin (LIM; n = 12,140) young bulls and heifers fattened in specialised farms and slaughtered between October 2021 and December 2024. A linear mixed model was applied to BW, HCW, and CY with breed, sex, season of arrival, age at arrival at the farm, and their interactions as fixed effects, and farm, slaughter batch, and residual as random effects. Breed and sex were the key drivers of BW, HCW, and CY. The BW and HCW of CHL cattle were lower when imported during summer. The sex × season interaction highlighted worse performance for males imported in summer compared to the other seasons. Females and LIM did not display an evident pattern across seasons of arrival for the traits investigated. The age at arrival had a relatively minor influence on slaughter traits. The CY remained constant regardless of season and age at arrival. Overall, the findings emphasise the value of integrating individual-level records in large-scale beef production systems to support farmers in restocking decisions.