From my limited experience with the F1's (approaching 20 head now) I think the first cross is comparable to whatever breed they are used on in regards to growth. That being said, from my experiences, they do in fact increase quality grade significantly and consistently. I'm not necessarily interested in building a registered herd just yet, but I do think they will approach kitchen table status in the next decade. I do not think they'll put any breed or marketing program out of business, but they will become a player at some point in the game (on a national level). They do take a little longer to finish, but the first ones I harvested "early" with my Angus and Simangus calves all graded high choice and prime (by my standards). The most consistent thing about the breed is their boost in marbling/quality grades. On my cows, they neither added nor took away frame. If bred to a large frame cow, the calf was large frame...smaller framed cows produced smaller framed calves. One inconsistency I did see was with disposition. Some of my calmest cows (too calm at times) had some high headed calves. MOST (90%) were calm as cucumbers, but the others were a bit flighty. They weren't mean or aggressive, just well aware of their surroundings and restless in tight spots. They weren't fence jumpers or rodeo stock, just wanted to get as far from you as they could if they smelled a rat. I've decided that the sweet spot for the heifers is between 18-20mos, while steers are 20-22 mos, depending on frame. I'm no nutritionist, nor do I claim to have the best finishing ration, so a more experienced person could probably shave those times quite a bit. We direct market all of ours, so I get to see every cross and how it has panned out in the end. I think the best cross has been on the Simangus cows. They've all been good, but those SA cows just produced a calf that checked every box on our operation.
In regards to the females, I've only had the guts to retain 2, out of my highest milking cows. They are nursing their first calves now, but I have not had to supplement them any more than usual. My wet 2's always get the best stockpiled fescue until it runs out. I give them a 3 way commodity mix about once or twice a week to keep them friendly in the corrals for breeding season. They are nursing calves from GAR Sure Fire at the moment, and those calves are doing fine...no dinks here. The F1 heifers did take a hit in milk from their mothers, but I feel like it's still too early to tell exactly how much milk they knocked out of their dams since they are first timers. I think as they mature into cows, they'll probably be about right for my environment. Time will tell there.
Attached is a couple ribeyes from an F1 heifer. She was a CharXAngus cow mated to Akaushi. Our customers have been raving about how good the meat is and we've already got deposits on all of our 2021 Akaushi cross calves and are about to start booking the 2022 come spring. I think if you direct market, this breed will set you apart from your competition. If you are selling fats, the whole time on feed thing may get costly depending on the carcass premiums paid for QG,etc. I'm not a grassfed, grass finished producer, but I have seen some folks that have taken the F1's to finish on grass at 28-30 mos. and the marbling is impressive for a grassfed beef. To each their own, but I plan to keep breeding a few each year to sell direct. At $4.95/#HCW on a 750-850# carcass, I've got room to be a little sloppy in my management as long as I've got folks begging to be put on our list. Good luck if you try them, I've certainly been pleasantly surprised at how well they have done in the heat, cold, fescue, etc.. They are worth a look. If you do try them, keep us posted on this thread!
