Prediction of liveweight from linear conformation traits in beef cattle

In the present study, live weight in beef cattle was modeled using linear conformation traits. For this purpose, Mutterkuh Schweiz provided data from a total of 26,374 beef cattle (♀: 17920; ♂: 8454) of 19 different breeds from years 2015-2023. For each animal, the first linear description was used in each case. In the linear description, the live weight of the animal was also determined with a scale in each case. The relationship between live weight and linear conformation traits was investigated using a linear mixed model. The model included the fixed effects sex, breed, age and month at the measurement, height at withers (cm), top line (score:1-9), body length (cm), length of rump (cm), rump angle (score:1-9), chest depth (cm), width at hips (cm), muscularity (score:60-99), BCS (score:1-9), muscularity shoulder side view (score:1-9), thickness of loin (score:1-9), thigh rounding side view (score:1-9), thigh length (score:1-9) and final score (score:60-99), as well as expert as random effects and residual effect. This model resulted in a coefficient of determination of 87.7% and a root mean squared error of 38.26kg. The largest fixed effects were observed for sex ((♀-♂: 37.97±1.17kg) and the breeds Grauvieh-Charolais (36.51±2.00kg), Grauvieh-Aubrac (33.55±1.97kg), Grauvieh-Dexter (24.51±3.64kg), Grauvieh-Galloway (16.80±4.00kg) and Grauvieh-Simmental (16.08±1.85kg). The main estimated fixed effects for linear conformation traits were 8.51±0.49 kg/score, 7.92±0.49 kg/score, 6.26±0.12kg/cm, 6.17±0.12kg/cm, 5.80±0.43kg/score and 5.55±0.67kg/score for thigh rounding side view, muscularity shoulder side view, width at hips, chest depth, BCS and rump angle, respectively. In conclusion, linear conformation traits can be used to estimate live weight of beef cattle