The beef industry of the state has been under severe economic stress for several years. All indica tions are that unfavorable economic conditions will persist for the next few years. Therefore, survival of the beef enterprise on many farms will depend on the producer's ability to adopt production practices that increase output with minimal increases in input costs.
Reproductive rate has a major economic impact on herd profitability.
Until recently, changes in management appeared to be the primary route for improving reproductive rate. Performance based only on lbs calf weaned per cow may be a misleading indicator of overall breed perfor mance and profitability. When maternal performance includes lbs calf weaned per cow pregnant or per cow exposed, a more realistic appraisal of breed profitabil ity is observed by including maternal ability, calf viability and reproductive rate. A major area in which low-cost improvement may be realized is in breed substitution as a means of achieving an optimum combination of growth, viability, market characteris tics and reproductive efficiency for the prevailing conditions. Improvement resulting from breed substitution and utilization of heterosis and comple mentarily through crossbreeding is cost efficient and may be obtained with little additional outlay of capital.