Beef Industry

Question 1

Agriculture contributes what percent of the US GNP?

Answer 1

17.5%

Question 2

Of all the receipts from agriculture, how much is attributed to beef cattle?

Answer 2

1/5

Question 3

Of all animal agriculture, what percent is from the beef industry?

Answer 3

40-45%

Question 4

Cattle and calves rank in the top 5 commodities of _______ of the 50 states.

Answer 4

32

Question 5

How many cattle operations are in the US?

Answer 5

788,000

Question 6

How many beef operations are in the US?

Answer 6

727,906

Question 7

How many dairy cow operations are in the US?

Answer 7

60,000 (<4% from 2010)

Question 8

Total herd (beef and dairy) in the US as of 2015?

Answer 8

92 million head

Question 9

Feedlot inventory of US as of 2015?

Answer 9

10.7 million head

Question 10

US has less than ____ percent of the world’s cattle inventory but produces almost ____ percent of the world’s beef supply.

Answer 10

10, 25

Question 11

Beef is the #1 food source of ____, ____, and ____.

Answer 11

Protein, vitamin B12, zinc.

Question 12

Beef is the #3 food source of ____.

Answer 12

Iron

Question 13

$1 in cattle sales generates approximately how much in additional business activity?

Answer 13

$5

Question 14

Cattle consume less than ____ of 1% of all water in the US.

Answer 14

0.2

Question 15

Cattle outnumber humans in what states?

Answer 15

Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wyoming.

Question 16

Cattle by products are used for what?

Answer 16

Leather, gelatin, adhesive, laundry and dish soap, cosmetics, contact lenses cleaner, antifreeze, lubricant, tires, toilet paper, candles, crayons, and ink.

Question 17

Cattle contribute to more than 100 medicines including what?

Answer 17

Collagen, cortisol, estrogen, glucagen, heparin, insulin, pancreatin, thrombin.

Question 18

Why are beef cattle so influential?

Answer 18

Utilize resources otherwise wasted.
Land-grass is harvested by cattle and converted to protein.
1.2 billion acres of ag land–2/3 is grazing land.
Waste from ag crops used–corn stalks, stubble.
Food by-products–distillers, cannery waste, sugar beet pulp, citrus pulp, blood meal.
Can be managed extensively or intensively.

Question 19

“Chattel” or “capitale” meant what?

Answer 19

Wealth or property.

Question 20

Cattle was synonymous for what?

Answer 20

All domestic species.

Question 21

Cattle in the US was used for?

Answer 21

Draft and milk. Value on longevity and strength.

Question 22

Spanish cattle: ?
British cattle: ?
Continentals: ?
What is the big challenge today with beef?

Answer 22

Longhorns
Shorthorns, Herefords, Angus
Charolais, Simmental, Limousin
CONSISTENCY of the product.

Question 23

What allows the number of cattle (92 million head) to produce the same amount of meat per year as they did in 1975 with 132 million head?

Answer 23

Genetics, nutrition, management.

Question 24

Demand for beef (per capita) is ____________ since 1976. Quality and lower cost alternatives are the major challenges (such as?)

Answer 24

Declining. Chicken.

Question 25

What are the annual cash receipts of 2015?

Answer 25

$76.6 billion

Question 26

US beef exports in 2015 of

Answer 26

$5.4 billion

Question 27

Top beef export countries?

Answer 27

Canada, Mexico, Korea, Japan. | They're getting the cuts we don't eat much of.

Question 28

States with the most cattle as of 2015

Answer 28

Texas, Nebraska, Kansas, California, Oklahoma.

Question 29

States with the most cattle farms as of 2015

Answer 29

Texas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Tennessee. KY and Tennessee have small head counts but most farms.

Question 30

Cattle species

Answer 30

Bovine; Bos taurus or Bos indicus

Question 31

What is a bull?

Answer 31

Intact male bovine

Question 32

What is a cow?

Answer 32

Female bovine that has calved.

Question 33

What is a steer?

Answer 33

Castrated male bovine.

Question 34

What is a heifer?

Answer 34

Female bovine that has NOT calved.

Question 35

What is a stag?

Answer 35

Male bovine castrated after sexual maturity.

Question 36

What is calving

Answer 36

The act of a bovine giving birth (parturition)

Question 37

What is a calf?

Answer 37

Young bovine that hasn't reached sexual maturity.

Question 38

Gestation of bovine?

Answer 38

283-285 days.

Question 39

Estrus cycle of bovine?

Answer 39

21 days. Cycles year round.

Question 40

Calf birth weights?

Answer 40

82-85 pounds.

Question 41

Mature bull weights

Answer 41

1,800-3,000+ pounds.

Question 42

Mature cow weights

Answer 42

900-1,800+ pounds.

Question 43

Calf weaning weight

Answer 43

Ideally, 50% of cow's weight at 205 days (7 months)

Question 44

Bull and heifer age at puberty

Answer 44

8-12 months

Question 45

Heifer calving for the first time should be how old?

Answer 45

2 years old

Question 46

Dystocia means?

Answer 46

Calving problems.

Question 47

Harvest weight of market steers/heifers?

Answer 47

1,300 pounds.

Question 48

Age at harvest?

Answer 48

15-18 months

Question 49

Average daily gain in the feed yard?

Answer 49

3-3.5 pounds/day.

Question 50

Feed conversion?

Answer 50

5 pounds of feed/1 pound of gain.

Question 51

Cattle will eat what percent of their body weight in grain per day? Cattle will drink how many gallons of water per day?

Answer 51

2-3% | 5-10 gallons.

Question 52

Average life span of a cow?

Answer 52

8-12 years.

Question 53

Breakeven cost to keep a replacement heifer is how many years? Annual cost to maintain a cow?

Answer 53

6 | $1.50+ per day.

Question 54

What are the sections of the industry?

Answer 54

Seedstock, commercial cow/calf operations, AI Stud, stocker/backgrounder, feedlot, slaughtered and packaging houses, and freezer beef/value-added

Question 55

What cross breeds are very common? Which are the "mommas" and which are the bulls they're bred to? Resulting calves are called what?

Answer 55

British X Continental British blood cattle are generally the mommas. F1 hybrids. May be considered terminal crosses as the calves are all marketed for beef.

Question 56

Over 40 breeds are used in the US. Many crosses have created many different phenotypes. This results in what issue?

Answer 56

Quality. A uniform product is difficult to get across all breeds and combinations (quality and yield grades). Given rise to branded beef--Angus, Hereford, Limousin, Laura's Lean, KeyLite, etc.

Question 57

Calf born every ____ months. Each cow must be safe in calf within how many days of calving? Calving and the first ____ months of ______ are most critical for beef cow/calf producers.

Answer 57

12 months. 85 days 2 months of lactation

Question 58

What percent of beef cows are bred AI?

Answer 58

15-20%

Question 59

Pros and cons of spring calving

Answer 59

Pros: getting ready to move into lush green grass--don't have to spend as much money on feed. Row crop farmers are not worried about planting. Flies aren't an issue. You know you'll get a decent market for your calves Cons: supply and demand. It's cold, need to have facilities necessary to calve. Most people calve in the spring.

Question 60

Fall calving pros/cons

Answer 60

Pros: Warmer. Markets higher bc there's not a supply of them. Weather is usually decent during calving time. Cons: bc it's warmer flies and parasites are problematic. Grass dies out. Dealing with mud.

Question 61

What percentage of cows are calved in the spring vs fall?

Answer 61

60-65% spring | 35-40% fall

Question 62

Quality grades are

Answer 62

Prime, choice, select, standard. A (9-30 months old), B (30-42 months old)

Question 63

Yield grades are

Answer 63

1-5 | 1 being very lean and heavy muscled. 5 being very fat and light muscled.

Question 64

Consumer demand (beef grading)?

Answer 64

Low Choice, Yield grade 2 | 1,250-1,400 pound live weight.

Question 65

Grain (corn) fed beef cs Grass fed beef

Answer 65

Grass fed beef: raised more humanely. No antibiotic chemicals. Health benefit. Different flavor profile. Difficult to get good marbling. Grain fed: tastes better. Feed efficient. Less time to feed out.

Question 66

Dressed weight is what? Which is the most produced quality grade? Which is the most produced yield grade?

Answer 66

Carcass weight. Choice 2 and 3.

Question 67

Two challenges in the beef industry are

Answer 67

Public perception and consumer satisfaction.