Beef Cattle Uintah High School Agricultural Sciences Mr

Beef Cattle Uintah High School Agricultural Sciences Mr. Wilson

In your notebooks… Make a list of ten benefits of beef cattle! Make a list of as many breeds of beef cattle that you can. List all the people you can think of that raise beef cattle.

Beef Cattle o Science term for cattle is what? n Bovine n Just like Canine is a dog n and feline is a cat.

Beef production is big business in the U. S. . o. Largest single portion of U. S. agricultural economy o$40+ billion in direct sales o 18% of total agricultural sales

Evolution of Beef Industry o Early civilization- cattle used for milk and some meat production, n Meat was much leaner than today's beef o Grass fed o Smaller framed o Less muscle o As farming practices evolved and corn belt was formed the beef industry changed.

Evolution of Beef Industry o Railroad also contributed to the centralization of large cattle feedlots in the center of the country o Started “segmentation”

Beef Industry Segmentation o “Segmented" -- several producers own a single animal between birth and slaughter. n. Cow/calf producers - calves born in spring n. Stocker cattle - buy weaned calves in fall n. Feedlots - buy calves at about 1 year n. Packers - buy finished calves for slaughter n. Purebred producers

With segmented ownership o. The cow/calf producer usually doesn't know n. Ultimate productivity n. Carcass quality NRCS photo by Lynn Betts.

Shift to retained ownership o. Since the 1990 s, a gradual shift has taken place. o. Packers began buying based on carcass. o. Cow-calf producers investing in breeding stock more likely to maintain ownership through slaughter.

Geography plays a part o. Cow/calf producers n. Most in Deep South, Great Plains and Mountain West n. Usually full-time operations n. Routinely over 200 cows n. Requires land forage

How much land is needed for each cow/calf pair? o. Arid Western regions may need 60 acres o. Wetter Eastern regions may need 2 acres n. Land is more productive n. Use of intensive rotational grazing o. Southern climates n. Pastures grow for more months n. Less stored feed needed

Stocker feeders o. Concentrated in the Great Plains o. May graze winter wheat through the winter o. Once stockers are sold, wheat produced for harvest

Large-scale feedlots o. Most near packing plants o. Texas, Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado o. Typically hold tens of thousands of cattle

Eastern production o. Herds less than 30 o. Feedlots less than 1, 000 o. Majority are culled dairy animals and dairy steers o. Secondary income

Carcass quality o. Many packers buy based on carcass quality and/or lean: fat ratio o. Bonuses for high quality and lean carcass o. Discounts for low quality and fat carcass o. Typical dressing percentage of a beef animal is 55 -60%. That means a 1000 steer would yield a carcass weight of around 600 lbs. Photo courtesy Dr. Robert E. Mikesell.

Environmental issues. . . o. Overgrazing can lead to erosion o. Increased grazing fees for Bureau of Land Management public grazing land o. Manure management and water pollution

Environmentally Friendly

Animal Welfare Issues

Advantages to Beef Compared to other animals o o o Forage is cheaper than feed. Less labor requirements. Low death loss. Adapt well. Good demand for producers, especially small producers, because inexpensive.

Disadvantages o Through droughts, cost increases, due to no grass and feeding feed o Don’t convert grass as good as feed. o Fewer offspring per year, compared to other species. o High cost to start operation; n Land is expensive n Animals expensive $800 cow vs. $90 ewe

What is a Breed? o a group of animals that have certain traits in common n n color size body structure place of origin horned or polled

What is a Purebred? o animals of known ancestry where all parents etc. are of the same breed o Breed associations register purebred animals, develop markets for those animals, and organize breed shows

What is Crossbreeding? o mating animals of the same species, but different breeds o Angus mated to Hereford o crossbreed to achieve desired animal traits

Breeds to take note on in your notebooks! o o o o Angus Simmental Gelbvieh Limousine Hereford Polled Hereford Charolias Brahman Texas Longhorn Beefalo Short Horn Santa Gertrudis Salers Maine Anjou

What are the English Beef Breeds? • Hereford - Red & white, horned or polled – most popular in the U. S. • Angus - bred to compete with Hereford – – smaller cows and calves excellent conformation (body type) mature lighter resistant to pinkeye & cancer eye (due to black) • Shorthorn - dual purpose breed (meat/milk)

Hereford o Origin- County of Hereford in England o Breeders selected for high yield and economical production o Henry Clay of Kentucky imported the first Herefords o Herefords are registered by American Hereford Association o More Herefords have been registered than cattle of any other breed.

Polled Hereford o Origin- Iowa in 1901 o Warren Gammon, an Iowa breeder contacted all Hereford association members. o Located 4 Bulls and 10 Cows

Angus o Origin- Scotland in the shires of Aberdeen and Angus. o Earliest records of Angus date to the early 1700’s. o George Grant of Victoria, KS imported four bulls in 1873. o American Angus Association organized in 1883.

Brahman o Origin- from France o Hot & humid climates o Disease resistant

Charolais o Origin- Charolles in Central France. o King Ranch in Texas imported first bulls into the United States. o - large & long body, fast growth n used to increase size of English breeds n increasing in popularity due to low marbling

Santa Gertrudis o Origin- King Ranch. o - 3/8 Brahman & 5/8 shorthorn. o 1920 a bull named “Monkey” was born. o Monkey sired over a 150 useful sons. o All present day Santa Gertrudis cattle are descendents of Monkey the bull. n popular in southern U. S. n A sire is a father. Sired means to father.

Texas Longhorn o Origin- Spanish Andalusian Cattle n Brought by Columbus on his 2 nd voyage o 1860 estimated 4 million running wild in Texas o Almost became extinct by 1900 o Horns spread to 4 feet or more o Slow maturing and have high fertility o Resistant to disease and parasites

Shorthorn o Origin- Around 1600, Tees River Valley of Northern England. o Originally called Durhams. o Coates Herdbook was est. in 1822 to record Shorthorns. o Was first cattle Herdbook and served as a model for other herdbooks that followed. o Originally Dual Purpose

Brangus o Origin- USDA experiment station, Louisiana o 3/8 Brahman & 5/8 Angus o Adaptable to different climates o Good mothering ability o Produce desirable carcasses

What are Exotics? o animals not common to U. S. o used for increasing calf weights o importation laws restrict bringing exotics into the U. S.

Beefalo o Origin- Canadian ministry of agriculture o Good mothering characteristics o Excellent foraging ability

Beefmaster o Origin- Texas o Crossing was from three breeds under range conditions. n Shorthorn n Hereford n Brahman

Belgian Blue

Belted Galloway

Blonde d’Aquintaine

Chianina o o o Origin- Italy One of the oldest breeds of cattle Tallest breed of beef cattle Short hair that is white to steel gray Terminal breed Low milk production

Devon

Dexter

Galloway

Gelbvieh

Gelbvieh o Originated in Germany o Red sometimes black in color o Noted for superior fertility and mothering ability o Tend to be extra fleshy under the throat

Highland

Limousin

Maine Anjou o Originated in France o Dark red with white markings or black o Developed by crossing the Mancelle breed with the Shorthorn breed

Murray Grey

Piedmontese

Pinzgaur

Salers

Salers o Origin- France o Fastest growing breed in the United States o Mahogany red to black in color o One of the last breeds to be imported into the United States

Simmental o o o Originated in Switzerland Oldest breed of cattle in the world Large, powerful breed Brought to the United States in 1971 Orange/Yellow and white to black in color

South Devon

Tarentaise

Beef Production o Cow-Calf Production: own cows, sell weaner calves o Stocker: buy weaner calves, sell yearlings o Feedlot Finishing: buy calves, fatten, sell to slaughter house

Beef Production o Cow-Calf: most common - need range land – fed lots of roughages! - calve in spring, sell calves in fall - feed 2# roughages per 100# of cow weight in winter (extra for cold weather)

o Supplement with needed proteins, minerals, vitamins. o Feed best hay to those that need it the most (pregnant, lactating, heifers) o Lots of clean water & free choice salt

Cow-Calf Operations o How does it work? o What type of cattle are used? o When is the calving season?

What’s the Bull’s Job? o How many cows can one bull breed each season? o How many bulls would you need if owned 200 cows? o What is another way to breed your cows?

Heifers: What are these creatures? o When are heifers able to start breeding? o Gestation period of ~283 days (9 months) o Can a cow ever have twins?

Moo-cows get hungry too! o What do we feed beef cattle? n Mainly forages- grasses and legumes. o Grasses n Bermuda, Fescue o Legumes n Clovers, Alfalfa o Pasture free of weeds. Why? o It takes on average 6 -9 lbs of feed to produce one pound of beef!

Supplements o Minerals n Fed free choice o Creep feeding n What is it?

Where are we at in the process? o Calf is born. o Calf is weaned. o Where does it go next?

Backgrounding system o Cattle is fed high quality forages and maybe some grain for about a 4 -6 month period. o This is done to increase size of your cattle, as cheaply as possible. Because again grass is cheaper than feed.

Feedlot Finishing o Place calves in feedlot 500700# o Feed high concentrates (grain) 2 -4 months o Slaughter at 1000 -1200#

Finishing system o Cattle is fed to slaughter weight here. -start at about 800 lbs -finished at 1100 -1400 lbs -fed for about 150 -175 days o Commercial feedlots n Mid. Western and Southwestern U. S. n Fed feed concentrates -high energy- corn, milo, oats

Nowhere to go but, … o Slaughter House o Finally, beef is sent to grociers to be consumed by us.

Review of Process o Cow calf operator- conception to weaning, 15 months. o Backgrounder- raises weaned calves until they are ready to go to feedlot. 4 -6 months o Feedlot- fattens cattle to slaughter weight, usually 5 -6 months. o Slaughter House to Grocery store to Table.

Process Review Cont. o Total time require to get beef to the consumer. n From the first thought of the next calf crop to the table, right at or just over 2 years. n From the birth of a calf to the table, right at 16 -17 months.

Review o What is a cow-calf operation? o What do we feed? o Where are the beef cattle finished off?

Beef Terminology o A mature male is called a: Bull o A mature female is called a: Cow o The act of giving birth is called: Calving o Gestation: 283 Days o Castrated male is called a: Steer

There are eight wholesale cuts that are then used to make retail cuts.

Beef, it’s what’s for dinner.