Beef Flashcards
Beef agricultural output shares
2.2/2.5 million
What % of agricultural output shares comes from milk and beef together?
65%
What % of farmers in Irish beef enterprise?
60% (100,000)
What % of beef farmers are part-time?
50%
What is the most dominant system in farming in Ireland?
Beef enterprise
What % of beef farms are located in the BMW region?
60%
Avg beef herd size?
18 cows
Avg beef farm size?
27.5 hectares
Avg farm size in Ireland?
32.7ha (83 acres)
How many breeding cows in Ireland?
~2.5 million
900,000 suckler cows, 1.5 million dairy cows
From 2008 to 2020, by what % has the suckler cow population in Ireland dropped by?
12-15%
What country has Europe’s longest season of grass growth?
Ireland
What % of the diet relies on grass?
60-85%
How many times cheaper is grass compared to silage?
Grass is 2 times cheaper than the cost of silage
Cost of grass per tonne of DM?
€100/tonne DM
What % of suckler calvings in Ireland occur between January and May?
70%
What % of Ireland’s agricultural land area is devoted to grass?
80%
The Irish beef supply chain can be analysed through what 5 key stages?
Farm inputs
Production/farming
Processing & packaging
Branding, marketing and distribution
Sales and retail
How much do specialist cattle farms spend including both direct and overhead costs each year?
€1.6 billion on farm inputs
Beef farm viability in Ireland?
20% viable
40% sustainable
40% vulnerable
What % did direct payments of average farm incomes for cattle rearing and cattle other account for?
Cattle rearing – 158%
Cattle other – 111%
Pillar 1
Direct Payment €1.2 billion – beef and tillage support payments
Pillar 2
Rural Environmental Schemes (eg. GLAS, ACRES)
On what conditions must an abbatoir require an EU export licence?
Any abbatoir slaughtering in excess of 1000 cattle per annum
AIBP, Dawn Meats and Kepak control what % of the kill in Ireland?
60%
Liffey Meats, Slaney, Dunbia, and Donegal Meats control what % of the kill in Ireland?
25%
MII
Meat Industry Ireland – processed ~85% of the total beef production
Weekly cattle availability ranges from…
25,000 to 38,000
How many cattle is slaughtered per year?
1.6-1.7 million
What country is the largest net exporter in the Northern Hemisphere?
Ireland
Beef production in Ireland (tonnes) per annum?
560,000-580,000
Beef production in USA p.a.?
12 million tonnes
Beef production in Brazil p.a.?
10 million tonnes
Global beef production p.a.?
Just under 70 million tonnes
What % of Irish beef is available for trading/sold to the global market?
12%
What % of Irish beef is consumed domestically?
10%
What amount of Irish beef is traded annually?
9 million tonnes
Where is Ireland in terms of beef exports in the world?
5th largest beef exporter in the world
Beef exports valued at…?
560-580,000 tonnes valued at €2.5 billion
Live exports and value?
200,000 head live worth €200-250 million
Value of industry combined of beef and live animals?
€3 billion
Beef price has increased by what % in the last 10 years?
70%, 33% increase in 5 years
Rise in beef per head in past 5 years?
€350/head
Self-sufficiency of Ireland in relation to beef?
~700%, therefore there’s a need for export
Calf exports 2023?
208,000 (+21% in 2023)
What % of Irish calf exports do the Netherlands take?
51%
White veal market locations?
Belgium and Netherlands
Slaughter under 6 months of age
Rosé veal market locations?
Spain
Slaughter 6-12 months
What % of national steers production are O and P grade?
60%
2023 Average beef price Ireland & EU
€4.96/kg (+4%)
Who buys Irish beef exports?
UK 47%, EU 45% - total 92-95% between EU and UK
When did US market open to Irish beef exports again?
2015 after the 15 year bam caused by the BSE crisis
Continued fall in EU beef output?
2023: -3.6%
2024: -1.3%
Carbon sequestration
With the help of grazing animals, carbon is taken from the air by plants and pumped into the soil, providing energy for soil microbes to build humus and store carbon
GAEC
Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition
Ireland’s GHG per kg of beef
17-18kg CO2 per kg beef
Average Nitrogen balance for suckler farms
38.1kg/ha
What % of consumers in Ireland are vegetarians?
6%
Beef farming only accounts for what % of global GHG’s?
6%
2017 EU suckler cow herd size
12.4 million heads
Beef imports have increased by what %?
11.3%
Mercorsur EU Beef Deal: To import to EU you need:
Full traceability from weaning to slaughter
Animals have to be slaughtered less than 36 months of age
Fed on grass-based diet only
Min. carcass weight 260kg steers, heifers 210kg
Asia accounts for what % of the global beef trade?
35%
Total Global Exports increasing by what %
2.7%
The objective of growth and carcass development is:
High lean tissue
Minimum bone
Market-suitable fat
Growth rate and point of decline are influenced by…?
Breed and sex
Growth rate in cattle is linear until they reach…?
Mature size
FCR = ?
DM Intake/ADG = FCR
Fat is deposited in carcass in what order?
Kidney channel fat
Intermuscular fat
Subcut fat
Intramuscular fat
Kill Out % Calculation
(Cold carcass weight/Unfasted final weight) x 100
Key anabolic growth hormone that impacts muscle growth
IGF-1
Role of insulin in the body
Glucose metabolism, fat deposition
Rise in stress and cortisol leads to..
A weakened immune system
Hypertrophy definition
Increase in tissue size
Hyperplasia definition
Increase in cell numbers (muscle, fat, skeletal cell numbers)
Androgen
Male sex hormone
Oestrogen
Female sex hormone
Anabolic
Constructive metabolism, eg. adding muscle and bone
Endogenous
Produced by the body
Exogenous
Derived from outside the body
Xenobiotic
Synthetic hormone
When was the European Union Beef Classification Scheme introduced and what are its functions?
1982
- Provides a common beef classification system for farmers, meat plants, and retailers across the EU
- Acts as the basis for payment for different carcass types
Cold carcass weight calculation
Hot carcass weight x 0.98
What is the average carcass weight?
338.3kg (280-400kg)
How many extra kg carcass weight will improve conformation by one score (eg. O to an R)
70kg
Carcass value definition
The sum of wholesale values of individual meat cuts & lean trim with a small deduction for bone
When was the mechanical grading system introduced for carcass classification?
2004
Dairy farm mortality rate
3-5% but can reach up to 8%
Growth rate expected of a beef calf suckling a dam
1.2-1.3kg LWG/day
Ideal calving interval
Calf per cow per year
What % of breeding is by stock bull vs AI?
Stock bull 82%
AI 18%
Hybrid Vigour
Ability of crossbred animals to surpass average performance of their purebred parents
Typical slaughtering age of bulls
15 months
Typical slaughtering age of heifers
20 months
What % cows culled annually as barren
<5%
Compact calving
80% of cows calved in 6 weeks
Replacement rates
16-18%
National Mean Calving Interval
400 days
Mean calving date of Irish suckler herd
2nd week in March
Gestation length
283 days
How much of a window to breed and conceive to maintain reproductive efficiency?
50 days (2-3 cycles)
Allow how long for involution?
First 30 days
Two main factors that affect the post partum anoestrus interval are…?
Maternal offspring bonding
Nutrition (BCS and plane of nutrition)
Target conception rate of beef cows
60%
Post partum interval in dairy vs beef cows
Dairy = 30 days avg (20-50 days)
Beef = 60 days avg (20-120 days)
Positive feedback from what hormone?
FSH growth
Negative feedback from what hormone?
Oestradiol
What hormone drives ovulation?
LH
How many LH pulse waves in a cycle?
3
Atresia meaning
Follicle dies off
A spike in what hormone can lead to a successful heat?
Oestradiol
What substance can lead to a bigger, more mature dominant follicle?
Higher IGF-1 or insulin
One large follicle develops in all cows by how many days postpartum
6-8 days
Which cycles tend to be silent heats?
First cycle post partum and short cycles
How many LH pulses are needed to ovulate the dominant follicle
1 LH pulses per hour
Maintenance of a cow
60-65%
What % of cows ovulate by Day 36
85-90% (Silent ovulation)
What % of cows fail to ovulate in response to calf separation?
10-15%
Deep nutritional anoestrus
Thin cows -> delayed post-partum and oestrus interval
What % of cows exhibited fertile heat by Day 45?
80%
After standing heat, ovulation happens after how many hours
28-31 hours
At what stage of heat are cows inseminated?
Before ovulation happens as semen has to go through capacitation first before getting to the egg
How much of a reduction is oestrus on slats compared to pasture?
50% reduction
% of infertile and sub-fertile bull
3-5% infertile
10-25% sub-fertile
What hormone administered in non-cycling cows increases expression of heat activity and also increases the conception rate by about 7%?
eCG
Conception rate for cows <35 days post-partum
40%
Delaying age at first calving from 24 to 36 months caused what regarding net margin?
Decreased net margin per ha by 20-30% (was 50%)
Recommended weight % for beef heifers at: 13.5-14 months, first breeding(15mths), at calving (24mths)
60 to 65% of mature weight at 13.5-14 months
65 to 70% at time of first breeding (15 months)
85-90% of mature weight at calving (24 months)
Target BCS at calving
BCS 3
What % of grass growth has take place between May and early July?
60%
