Gelbvieh is an up and coming breed in the world of beef cattle. Farmers around the world are starting to recognize the breed for its great potential both as a purebred and as a hybrid. Performance, low maintenance, and temperament are just a couple of the best selling features of the breed. We have chosen to base our herd on Gelbvieh animals and Angus/Gelbvieh hybrids because the Gelbvieh Females add some distinct advantages.
Temperament:
Once used as both dairy and beef cattle the docile, quiet nature of the Gelbvieh breed has been selected for since its inception in Europe. Today this reads as a safer working environment for farmers and better quality beef at slaughter. Calmer cattle means less bruising and hormone fluctuation which improves beef quality at slaughter time. Our personal experience with Gelbvieh is we can easily move a large number of cattle single handed without much assistance from fences, chutes or alleys.
Early Maturity: Gelbvieh has one of the earliest maturities of any breed tested (Jersey being the only earlier maturing cattle.) Gelbvieh can be bred as early as 13 months and calve by 22 months as opposed to 24 to 30 months with other breeds. Gelbvieh yearlings are usually at least 300 kilograms which is why Gelbvieh heifers are ready for breeding sooner.
Fertility: We would be remiss in not mentioning the Gelbvieh’s high fertility rate. Tests showed that Gelbvieh had the largest testicle size of any of the breeds tested. Every experienced farmer knows testicle size and female fertility are directly linked. The testing also showed that of all breeds the Gelbvieh bulls had the highest count of quality, virile semen. Those kinds of stats clearly represent why your next bull should be a Gelbvieh.
The Maternal Advantage: Gelbvieh have some of the best maternal traits out there, great udders, lots of milk and combined with their fast growth and early puberty, they are a winning combination as both a purebred or a cross. While we are on the subject, we should mention that the Clay Centre study also showed that Gelbvieh’s produced the highest weaning weight of all the breeds tested, all thanks to the Gelbvieh’s superior milking ability. On average Gelbvieh’s produce 1000 litres more milk than other leading breeds like Angus or Hereford.
Carcass and Meat Quality: When Clay Centre tested the Gelbvieh had the largest ribeye of all breeds tested. Mix the larger muscle size with the lean, fast growing, early maturing Gelbvieh and you have a recipe for efficient beef production, especially as a cross with another high yield beef breed like Angus.
http://www.thecattlesite.com/breeds/beef/54/gelbvieh/overview
Abel Farm 