Beef Production from Lowline Cattle
Despite their small size, Australian Lowlines are an impressive beef breed. They’re highly efficient in converting feed into protein, producing up to 40% more beef per hectare than many other breeds.
Australian Lowline beef is on par with premium Angus beef. It offers 30% more rib-eye, with well-marbled, tender, family-sized portions. The beef’s fine grain and high tenderness come from the smaller size of the animals. Plus, the smaller carcasses fit easily in a home freezer.
For those managing both a job and a farm, Lowlines are an excellent choice. They’re easy to handle, docile, and have short gestation periods (about 271 days versus 280 days for other breeds), resulting in lower birth weights and fewer calving issues. They’re also efficient on hay, requiring less than larger breeds.
For those already raising cattle, consider a Lowline sire to improve beef quality and reduce calving issues, especially for heifers. Lowline traits, like calm temperament, early maturity, and high meat quality, make them a valuable addition to any herd. Your home-raised Lowline beef will be sure to impress friends and neighbors.
Size and weight
Newborn calves typically weigh between 18-24 kg.
By one year of age, they reach approximately 190 kg for heifers and 230 kg for bulls.
Mature cows, at three years old, average around 350/400 kg in good condition and stand between 95 and 105 cm at the shoulder. Bulls of the same age generally exceed 500 kg and stand between 100 and 110 cm at the hip.Australian
Steers are typically finished between 18-24 months of age. Average hanging weights are as follows: Fullblood Lowline steers have an average live weight of about 385 kg, with hanging weights averaging 193 kg, producing approximately 145 kg of retail cuts, or a 75% cut-out.
Efficiency
Although each Lowline produces less beef per animal, they yield more beef per hectare than any other cattle breed. Their superior efficiency in converting nutrients to body weight makes them ideal for grass-fed systems. Unlike larger, long-legged cows that are harder to maintain due to their inefficiency, these smaller-framed Aberdeen Angus channel more energy into muscle development. They thrive on pasture alone, requiring no grain or corn to achieve optimal health and growth. Lowlines effectively convert otherwise unusable forage into a nutritious, digestible product for human consumption.
Marbled beef
Lowline cattle are known for producing well-marbled beef, which means their meat contains a higher proportion of healthy fats, particularly monounsaturated fat, compared to saturated fat.
Another benefit of marbling in Lowline beef is the presence of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a type of omega-6 fatty acid. Lowline cattle, with their high levels of marbling, provide more CLA per gram than any other food source, thanks to their naturally higher linoleic acid content. Importantly, CLA is most concentrated within the marbled fat inside the meat, rather than in the external fat.
Shorter gestation time
The gestation period for Lowline cattle is two weeks shorter than that of other breeds, making the bulls and their semen particularly well-suited for dairy heifers, allowing for an easier calving process and a vigorous, fast-growing calf. Additionally, their carcass quality makes them an excellent choice as a terminal sire for beef crossbreeding programs.
The females of the Lowline herd have some unique qualities to their physiological makeup. Heifers will not cycle until they have achieved a weight of approx. 220kg, which will occur when they are between 14 to 18 months of age.
