Breeding indigenous cows to terminal sires may facilitate production of calves in the emerging sector that better meet commercial feedlot requirements. Thus, the objective of this research was to develop breeding objectives for Angus and Charolais terminal sires to be used in breeding Afrikaner, Bonsmara, and Nguni cows. An aggregated simulation model that is reliant on user inputs for the phenotypic characterization of the germplasm and economic characterization of the production environment was developed. Relative economic values were calculated by approximating partial derivatives of simulated profit with respect to economically relevant traits. Correlations among the breeding objectives calculated from simulations of Angus and Charolais bulls bred to Afrikaner, Bonsmara and Nguni cows were consistently > 0.9. Thus, an average index could be used for all six scenarios with little loss of selection efficiency. On average, relative emphasis given to breeding values for survival, direct weaning weight, postweaning daily gain, postweaning daily feed intake, dressing percent, and fat depth were 31.1, 31.0, 17.3, 1.4, 19.1, 0.2%, respectively. These breeding objectives may be viewed as an appropriate step in the evolution of multi-trait selection to facilitate poverty alleviation among cattle producers in the emerging sector through wealth creation resulting from their production of calves for industrial feeding.

The goals of this research were to document the historical selection applied by Nguni breeders that contributed to the national genetic evaluation scheme, and to offer prospective breeding objectives to guide future selection practices. Genetic selection differentials, weighted by number of offspring, and unweighted, were calculated for the recorded traits, and were used to quantify differences between natural and imposed selection. Index-in-retrospect methods were used to quantify differences between the traits in selection that were applied. Economic values for the prospective breeding objectives were derived through simulation. Results indicate that relatively little directional selection has been applied to Nguni as a breed, and that historically bulls and heifers were selected according to divergent criteria. Breeding objectives indicated that production, profitability and sustainability goals were largely complementary, but reflected a change from past selection practices. Breeders are advised to be intentional and consistent in the application of selection criteria.