REARING BEEF CATTLE IN SUBMOUNTAINOUS AND MOUNTAINOUS AREA OF THE ŠUMAVA REGION

Beef cattle rearing in Czech Republic started in 1990 when 12 major breeds of beef cattle were imported. Beef cattle rearing is of great importance for rural development and maintenance of permanent grasslands which covers 22.8% of agricultural land. Monitoring of selected beef cattle breeds was carried out in the Sumava region. Thirtyone farms with a total of 1 874 dams and 6 488 calves of seven beef breeds, i.e. Aberdeen Angus (G), Galloway (W), Hereford (U), Highland (E), Charolais (T), Beef Simmental ( S) and Salers (Z) were monitored over a period of 5 years. The main calving period in this region was from January to April when, regardless of the altitude of farms, 87.3% of calves were born on average. On the farms below 600 m.a.s.l. 89.2% and on the farms above 600 m a.s.l. 85.7% of calves were born during this period respectively. In the breeds Z, E and W 100% of calvings were without dificulties. The best results in the growth up to 210 days of age were achieved by the breeds Z (285.6 kg), S (279.4 kg) and G (273.1 kg of live weight). The G and S breeds were found to favour growth in the areas up to 600 m.