Beef Flashcards
what is the UofS leadership in beef cattle like
-long history working with the canadian and international beef industries
-large concentration of scientists in multiple disciplines that are focused on beef production
-focus on undergrad & grad student training, industry oriented research and tech transfer
-strong industry collaborations
what are some of the industry collaborations that the UofS makes with
-sask cattlemens association
-alberta beef producers
-Manitoba beef producers
-BC cattlemen’s association
what is the single biggest variable cost in beef production
-feed
-~65% cost of keeping a cow
-variable due to things such as cold stress
what kind of feeds are the back bone of beef production
-forages
-concentrates were only introduced within the past decades
what nutrients are with concerned with in beef production
-water
-energy
-protein
-minerals
-vitamins
what is the main book for beef nutrition
nutrient requirements of beef cattle (cowbytes would be based off this)
what things does nutrient requirements of beef cattle cover
-energy
-protein
-growth and body reserves
-reproduction
-minerals
-vitamins and water
-feed intake
-implications of stress
what is the most recent addition of the book “nutrient requirements of beef cattle”
NASEM 2016
what is a major way to reduce feed costs in beef cattle
by feeding a low quality feed when energy level is lowest
when are calves usually weaned
around 5-7 months
when is the energy levels of a cow lowest
a month after weaning ~8 months
when is the energy level of a cow highest
2 months post cavling
what is the affordability of basil forages
cheapest feed
forages are the…
foundation of the beef indistry
what are some pasture forages
pasture, hay, straw, silage
what things affect profitability
-feed cost
-market prices
-% calf crop
-feed efficiency
-fuel
-drought
-fertilizer
what is % calf crop
The number of calves weaned from a given number of cows exposed to breeding, usually expressed in percent, i.e., number of calves weaned {divided by} number of cows exposed x 100 = percent calf crop.
extension of results to industry is important. what are some ways this can happen
-field days
-publications (fact sheet, E-newsletter, journal publications)
-media (tv, radio)
websites
youtube videos
heifer
young female
steer
castrated male
open
non pregnant
background
-slow growth prior to finish
-when animal reaches 5-6 months you want it to grow slow
-then later put on the pounds
stocker
young terminal animal backgrounded
5 weight calf
500lb calf
primiparous
producing a child or young animal for the first time, or having produced only one child or young animal
is castration a world wide practice
no only happens in north america
what is the total world beef innovatory
1.15 billion head
what is the north america total beef innovatory
can+Mexico+USA=130.5 million head
what are the brick companies
-india
-brazil
-china
what are the top 5 cattle producing countries
-india
-brazil
-china
-US
-EU
how much bigger is the USA to canada
10x bigger
what are the top 8 biggest beef exporters of beef in the world
-brazil
-usa
-australia
-india
-argentina
-new zeland
-canada
-uruguay
how does canada compare to other countries for beef production
12th biggest producer but 7th biggest exporter
what breeds does canada vs australia produce. which is better (tastier)
-aus; bos indicus breeds
-can; bos taurus breeds (better)
how many bison roamed north america in the 1800s
40 million
how many beef cattle are in the USA
30 million
how many beef cattle are in canada
4 million (3.8)
how many beef cattle are in saskatchwan
1.1 million
how important is the canadian beef industry
it is a key economic driver in canada
how many beef producers are in canada
90,000
how much money is generated form farm cash receipts because of beef industry in canada
6.5 billion
how much money does the beef industry generate in value added benefits to the economy
25 billion
how many countries does canada export to
70 (US, Mexico, Asia)
what are some characteristics of the canadian beef industry
-manage a herd of ~15 million cattle and calves
-has fresh air, water, cold winters, warm summer
-millions of acres of rangeland and pasture that is unsuitable for growing annual crops
-majority are family run operations
-in existence for multiple generations
why are beef cattle up cyclers
-because of their rumens
-they upgrade plants of little nutritional value to high quality protein, micronutrients, and other important products
what is the larges stomach compartment of the cow
the rumen
how much volume can a cows stomach hold
40-50L (the size of a bath tub)
what gives cows their upcycling super power
the rumen microbes
what is VBP+
-canadas voluntary, market oriented, producer managed on-farm food safety program for beef industry
-a dynamic program to uphold consumer confidence in the products and good practices of this countries beef products
what are the segmented (sectored) parts of the beef production system
-cow/calf
-background/stocker
-feedlot
-packer
what parts of the calfs life is spent at cow/calf
birth-wean
5-7m
what age do calves go to the feedlot
14-15 m
where are the packers for canadian beef located
Lethbridge, brooks, highriver Ab
what are the different enterprises of the canadian beef industry
-cow/calf
-hay
-backgrounders
-replacements
-pasture
what is the schematic of the beef cattle production cycle in north america
-late winter/spring/summer calving
-summer grazing
-winter feeding, feedlot finishing, backgrounding programs–>feed lot finishing
what are characteristics to extensive cow-calf production
-lower cost of production
-reliance on large parcels of land
-diets based on forage and crop residue
what are the different types of extensive cow/calf production grazing
-perennial pasture
-swath grazing
-corn grazing
how many beef cattle is there in canada
3.56million
what are the presents of the cattle distribution in each provence
-BC: 5.7%
-AB: 41%
-SK: 30%
-MB: 11%
-ON: 7.1%
QB: 4%
what is the dominat beef sector in sask
cow-calf
why is the canadian beef herd shrinking
because of drought, lack of secession plan and producer ave age is 65. kids dont want to continue. theyd rather do grain
where is over 70% of the canadian beef herd found
in alberta and sask
what is the average beef cow herd size in canada
69
how many farms and ranches in canada is there with beef cattle
59,784
how much has the canadian beef herd gone down since 2005
33%
why did cattle go down in 2003
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE)
what has changes have been made because of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE)
-new practices and regulations in place;
-not feeding cow to cow
-better traceability
what are types of feeding operations
-backgrounding or stocker operations
-finishing operations
what are the characteristics of backgrounding or stocker operation
-manage weaned calves (~5 mo of age)
-grass (pasture)-summer and winter
-confined feeding
-calf-fed vs yearling
what is the propose of backgrounding or stocker operations
-to distribute supply of cattle for finishing through out the year
-grow at desired gain prior to finishing
-grow out slowly
-grow out the skeleton then put the pounds on when big
-set the stage before the feedlot stage
what are finishing operations
-feedlots (confined feeding)
-diets contain predominantly cereal grains (85%) high concentrates
what kind of cereal grains are primarily fed in finishing operations
-AB: barley based finishing programs (western canada)
-ON: corn based finishing programs
what is the target average daily gain for yearling steers on grass
0.68 to 0.90 kg/d (1.5 to 2 lbs/d)
in an auction what kind of cattle are feedlot buyers looking for
empty green cattle
where are cattle finished in canada
-70.5% alberta
-22.6% ontario
-4.6% BC/SK/MB
-2.3% QC/AP
what does a wide variety of beef cattle breeds help with
match cattle to wide variety of environments
within breed diversity sound be ___, but across breeds diversity is ___
low, high
what are some ways cattle breeds vary
-colour
-carcass quality
-behavior
-frame size
-feed efficiency (kg of feed/kg of gain)
what is the appx feed to flesh conversion rate for cattle
7kg of feed:1kg of flesh/protein
why are highlands a not so successful breed in canada
-give a calf ever 3-4 years
-breed that has evolved in the environment its been exposed too
-you many have the phenotypical potential but if you dont provide the environment it wont thrive
-repo was not a big thing selected for creating the breed-survivability was
cattle coat colours in breeds
they vary widely between breeds but less within a breed
what are the dominant cattle breeds in north america
-angus
-simmental
-hereford
-charolais
-limousin
what were the first cattle breeds brought to north america
angus and hereford
what happens when you cross a british bred cow to a continental breed bull
dystocia
angus
-scotland
-red or black
-polled
-med size frame
-mature early
why were other cattle breeds turning bulls back
because angus hit yield grades and terminal program faster then other breeds meaning angus bull prices went up and people started breeding other breeds black
this wont make a difference because you dont eat the coat
hereford
-england
-red white face and and underline
-medium frame
-horned or polled
charolais
-france
-dilute red, now black
-large frame-matures later
-horns or polled
limousin
-france
-medium size
-red, black now too
-horned or polled
simmental
-Switzerland
-dual purpose (milk and meat)
-large frame (later maturing)
-red and white but now black
gelbvieh
-germany
-yellow but can be red, back
-horned or polled
-medium to large
dexter
-ireland
-also black or red, plus brown
-very small (proportional and short types)
-lethal dominant if disproportion animals mated (dwarfism)
-dual purpose
-good for a forage based program
braunvieh
-brown cow
-switzerland
-dual purpose
-horned or polled
-dairy strain called brown swiss
galloway
-scotland
-only this breed and angus have been polled for generations
-most are black
-medium size
-there is belted Galloway (beef) and Dutch belted (dairy)
belgian blue
-spots fixed
-solid/roan/white
-white heifer disease ‘sterile’
-also shorthorn
-double muscled
-rr=larger black patches
-Rr=smaller more dappled black speckes
-RR=completely white
pinzgauer
-color sided or lineback
-austria-pinzgau region, salzburg austria
-triple purpose breed; raised for meat, milk, draught use polled
speckled park
-developed in canada (sk)
-shorthorn
-angus
-cattle with white park pattern
fullblood
born to animals that have only “breed” in ancestory
purebred
born to registered parents
“percentage animals”
“composites”
graded up to some level
straightbred
“purebred” but not registered
beef grading in north america
-in canada all beef recives a grade that determines price, based on visual assessment by a grader of camera
-in the US not all beef recives a grade
-in both countries all beef is inspected for food safety reasons
-brahmen might not have good influence over grade
grading and age of cattle (can)
-youthful cattle receive the good grades in A category
-or B category if no marbling
-cows(D) and bulls(E) end up mostly in hamburger, sausage, etc
quality grade and marbling (can)
-can prime=must have slightly abundant marbling or higher
-can AAA= must have small marbling or higher
-can AA= must have at least slight marbling but less then small
-can A must have at least trace marbling but less then small
-B1-4 (devoid marbling)
-D1-4 (mature)
-E (masculinity)
yield grade (USA)
-in the us the yield is determined by placing the value of variables into and equation. these are:
-amount of external fat
-amount of kidney, pelvic, heart fat (KPH)
-area of the rib-eye muscle
-carcass weight
the carcass is then assigned a yield grade of:
YG 1 (>52.3%); YG 2 (50-52.3%; YG 3 (47.7-50%); YG 4 (45.4-47.7%); YG 5 (<45.4%)with the highest yield carcasses receiving the 1 grade
yield grade (canada)
in canada three measurements are used to determine yield (ribeye most heritable)
-rib-eye length
-rib-eye width
-fat depth of the rib-eye
(cut between 12-13 rib)
-estimate of the precent of the carcass that is red meat
-can 1 >/= 59%
-can 2 54-58%
-can 3<=53%
what is camera grading
measures:
-grade fat
-rib eye length
-rib eye width
calculates
-lean meat protein
what is dark cutting beef
-about 2% of carcasses downgraded to B or lower
-stressed cattle have a change in
-dec glycogen
-dec lactic acid
-inc of pH >5.9
-myoglobin–>oxymoyglobin
-due to horned or stressed cattle
what are the different kind of weaned calve sales
-selling in groups through auction mart to feedlot buyers (sale barns)
-internet/video sales
-forward contract with feedlot and deliver calves there for pre-arranges price
-retain ownership in a custom-feed feedlot and receive % price or total price and pay for feed/board
what are the characteristics of internet/video sales
-manages risk for producer
-no auction mart
-direct livestock marketing system
what is farm gate beef
-rancher/farmer custom markets for consumer
-typically delivered to a butcher or abattoir
-family chooses the cuts and package sizes desired
-family pays $/lb to rancher and cents/lb to the butcher based of the weight of a “side” or “quarter”
see markets arise:
-natural beef
-forage finished beef
what is grid pricing
-packing plants negotiate a “grid” pricing scheme with the owner
-for example:
-owner/feedlot states they will deliver cattle, >50% of which will grade AAA
-for this the packer says well pay 4 cents/lb above for the going price (premium)… but if you dont make this target, 4 cents/lb less (discount)
how do packing plants buy cattle
on live weight
for example $148 per 100lb 2017
336 per 100lb nov 2023
what is branded beef carcass alliances
-ranchers form a cooperative to provide a specific type of beef to a specific market
-for example
-lauras lean beef
-certified angus beef
-sterling silvers premium meats
ab beef, sk beef
how do bread heifers work
-breed heifers at 14-15 months
-have preg checked
-sell as bred heifers in fall/winter
-some companies of operations are trying to market these-bred heifers
what is CCIA
-canadian cattle identification agency
-canadas traceability program
-based on 3 factors:
-animal ID
-premise ID
-animal movement
what is RFID
-radio frequency identification tags
-individual ID
-remise ID
-cattle must have these tags on if leaving the property
