Professional Journal of Domestic

Professional Journal of Domestic

A Review of Breeding Strategies for Enhancing Meat Production Efficiency in Cattle and Small Ruminants in Iran

Document Type : Scientific-Extensional Article

Authors
1 Ph.D. Student of Animal and Poultry Breeding & Genetics, Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran
2 Professor of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran
10.22059/domesticsj.2026.109606
Abstract
Under Iran's constraints on feed, water, and rangeland resources, increasing red meat production depends less on expanding herd size than on raising productivity per breeding animal. This paper reviews genetic strategies for increasing meat production in two livestock groups: heavy livestock (dairy cattle) and light livestock (sheep and goats). For heavy livestock, beef-on-dairy crossbreeding is presented as a successful international strategy, and findings from Iranian studies in this area are reviewed; several studies at the Gaodasht station and in Markazi province show that crossbred calves (Simmental, Charolais, and Montbeliarde sires on Holstein dams) consistently outperform purebred Holstein calves in daily gain, feed conversion, and carcass yield. For light livestock, three main strategies are examined: within-breed selection (emphasizing the heritability of growth and reproductive traits), targeted crossbreeding (emphasizing Romanov × Baluchi crossbreeding results and composite-breed projects), and terminal crossbreeding using meat-type sire breeds. International research on terminal crossbreeding in sheep and goats is also reviewed, and growth models for the Boer goat, a major meat sire breed, are presented. The paper concludes that a shift from single-dimension approaches toward an integrated strategy — combining within-breed selection, targeted crossbreeding, terminal crossbreeding, breed synthesis, backcrossing, and genomic selection, particularly for low-heritability traits such as fertility — is needed. Applying these complementary strategies together can increase meat production while supporting production sustainability and reducing Iran's growing dependence on red meat imports, particularly beef, which accounts for the largest share of recent import growth.
Keywords

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