Beef Cattle Flashcards
Parturition of cattle?
calving
Intact male cattle?
Bull
Castrated male cattle?
steer
Mature female cattle?
cow
Young male cattle?
bull calf/bullock
Young female cattle?
heifer
All young cattle?
calves
Are cattle native to the US?
no
Who is the “father of Animal breeding”?
Robert Bakewell
What did Robert Bakewell do?
pushed the principle of selective breeding (in cattle, sheep, and horses); doesn’t believe you need to mix breeds, believes in purebreds
What resulted from the Civil War?
movement of cattle
Why were there cattle importations?
if they were thought to increase production, they were brought in
What are composites?
crossbreeds
What is the purpose of synthetics (composites)?
features are fixed and can be used for different functions
What was the first cattle introduced to the US? How?
Corriente; are hardy animals as they had to survive travel and were well adapted to the new land
Where were Corrientes introduced?
West Indies, South Florida, and South America
What was the order of beef cattle introductions?
Corriente, Shorthorn, Hereford, Angus, Synthetics
What are the 4 types of US breeds?
British, Continental (European/exotics), Zebu, Synthetic
What is the scientific name for British breeds?
Bos taurus
What is the scientific name for Continental breeds?
Bos taurus
What is the scientific name for Zebu?
Bos indicus
What is the scientific name for Synthetics?
yes?
What was the Trail Driving Era?
move cattle from Texas to Louisiana, could be moved for many miles (15) a day, but couldn’t move them too long or they could lose weight
What breeds replaced the Shorthorn?
Angus and Hereford
What are British breeds?
Hereford, Shorthorn, Angus
What are Continental breeds?
Charolais, Simmental, Chianina, Limousin
What makes Zebu cattle different than British?
extended dewlap, hump on back
What is purebred?
defined set of characteristics passed from parent to offspring
How many cattle breeds are recognized?
250
How many variations and types of cattle exist that aren’t given “names”?
> 300
What products do continental breeds provide?
Dual purpose- milk, meat, and draft
What are Zebu cattle good in?
More heat tolerant and tolerant to diseases
What is a composite?
Breeds created from cross breeding other breeds
What is another name for composites?
Synthetics
What are examples of composites?
Santa Gertrudis, Brangus, Beefalo, Barazona, (and more look at slides)
What are Santa Gertrudis made of? What method used?
5/8 Shorthorn and 3/8 Brahman; back cross female 50/50 with full Shorthorn
What are Brangus made of?
3/8 Brahman and 5/8 Angus
Does breeding a Bos taurus and Bos indicus increase or decrease heterosis?
Increase
What is a Beefalo made of?
5/8 cattle and 3/8 bison
What is the scientific name of American Bison?
Bison bison
What are Barazona made of?
Afrikander x Hereford, Shorthorn x Angus, then do Afrikander Hereford c Shorthorn Angus
Why was the Barazona bred?
Survive in desert, increased reproduction rate, increase hardiness
How has cattle inventory changed over time in the US?
Number went up in the 70’s but now is in a decline
What affects cattle numbers?
People moving away from eating red meat, increase in vegans and vegetarians
What are the leading states in beef cattle?
Texas, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, California
What is the order of the beef supply chain?
Draw it and look at notes
What is the purpose of custom genetics?
Determine what breeds are available if needed
What is the purpose of cow/calf ranches?
Produce at least 1 calf a year
What is a feedlot?
When animals are fed a lot of grain and conditioned
What is the function of seedstock?
Provide the genetic material to beef supply chain
What genetic material is provided to the beef supply chain from seedstock?
Breeding animals, semen (<10% of all beef cattle AI), embryos (<3%)
What is seedstock?
Specialized cow-calf producers
What is another name for specialized cow-calf producers?
Purebred breeders or registered breeders
What is wanted to be used when doing embryo transfer?
A super male and female
What are examples of purebreds?
Longhorn, Scottish Highlander, Miniature Cattle
What is the function of commercial cow-calf?
maintain cow herds and raise calves from birth to weaning
How many calves and how often is ideal for commercial cow-calf?
each cow produce 1 calf a year
When do most cows calve? Why?
February, March, and April; moving toward spring, warmer, pasture
When do some cows calve in the south?
year round
What are most cows maintained on?
forages with stored forages (hay) or crop residue fed when forage is not available
When are calves weaned?
between 5-7 months of age (400-600 lbs)
Are commercial cow-calf more crossbred or purebred?
high level of crossbreeding
What percent of beef cows are purebred?
20%
What percent of beef cows are 2 breed cross?
> 60%
What percent of beef cows are 3 or more breeds?
20%
What breed type of beef cows is supperior?
3 or more breed
What makes up half of 2 breed cross cattle?
black/white face
What is heterosis?
average of the crossbred offspring is superior to the average of the parental breeds for a particular trait
What is complementarity?
combining the desirable characteristics (traits) from two or more breeds
Are all cattle complementary to each other? example?
no, some are more complementary than the other (Afrikaners x Hereford is more complementary than Afrikaners x Shorthorn)
Be able to do a crossbreeding rotation (at least 5 years)
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What is a problem with breed rotations?
differing ages of the females
What do stockers do?
when cows calve out of season, Stockers buy the calves because farmer is low on feed
What other stage of production might use stockers?
commercial cow-calf
What do stockers do once cow is maintained?
natural maturation and add weight to weaned calves prior to entering feedlot
What do stockers primarily use for weight gain in calves?
forages
What results from natural maturation?
increase in frame size and increase muscle development
At what age and weight are calves weaned?
400-600 lbs and 5-7 months
At what weight and age do calves enter feedlot?
800-900 lbs and 9-11 months
What forage do stockers feed calves?
pasture and crop residue
What is a feedlot?
confined feeding operations where cattle are fed a finishing (high energy) diet
What is the feedlot process?
90d-150d, Roughages + energy concentrate
What is the objective of a feedlot?
increase intramuscular fat, influence taste of fat, influence color of fat
What color fat is preferred?
white
Are there cows who don’t eat grass?
no, the uninformed public is taken advantage of and make them think there are cows who don’t eat grass
know difference between feedlot and grass finished
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What does a higher connective tissue result in?
tougher meat
Do grass fed or feedlot cows have a higher carbon footprint? Why?
grass fed; takes longer for them to mature
Is meat a good source of omega-3 fatty acid?
no
Is there more vitamin E and omega-3 fatty acid in grass fed or feedlot?
grass fed, but only by a small amount
What is the purpose of a packer?
slaughter and process the cattle
How many packers are there?
very few, very large
what size carcass best fits in the box?
650-850 lb (1050-1300) best fits - this is dressed weight
What is dressed weight?
weight of carcass with organs removed
How do you calculate dressing percentage?
dressed weight / live weight x 100
How many companies process most of beef produced? what percent?
4; 85%
How many heads of cattle are produced annually?
35 million head
Do any parts of the cow go to waste?
no
What is quality grade?
eating quality (palatability, eating experience)
What is yield grade?
amount of meat
What is quality grade determined by?
age and intramuscular fat
How do they test for quality grade?
sensory evaluation and palatability test
Are younger or older animals better quality grade?
younger
Is more or less intramuscular fat better quality grade?
more
label fat location
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What live age is A carcass maturity?
9-30 months
What live age is B carcass maturity?
30-42 months
What live age is C carcass maturity?
42-72 months
What live age is D carcass maturity?
72-96 months
What live age is E carcass maturity?
> 96 months
What does a 1 yield quality mean?
highest meat yield but low fat
What are examples of expensive meat?
wagyu beef rib eye steak, Japanese wagyu beef boneless striploin
What are challenges to beef improvement?
- genotype x environment interaction
- conflicting traits within sectors
- technology challenges
- small producers
What technology challenges are there?
AI improvement
Why genotype x environment interaction a challenge?
many breeds of beef cows are developed because the same breed is not suitable for all environments, like dairy
Why is conflicting traits within sectors a challenge?
because beef cows are selected for many traits, genetic growth is slow
What traits are beef cattle selected for?
growth, maturity, fertility, temperature tolerance
Why are small producers a challenge?
no vertical integration, so no cohesion and therefore hard to adapt
What is vertical integration?
one company controls all sections of productions
What is the estrous cycle of beef cattle?
21 days
What is the estrus cycle of beef cattle?
12 hours
What is the gestation length of beef cattle?
285 days
What are non-seasonal breeding animals called ?
polyestrous
know life cycle
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