Beef production Flashcards
How many beef cattle in US?
95 million
34.4 million harvested in 1 year
Black angus
english
all around good meat cattle
also come in red
herefords
english
red/white
easily maintained
belted galloway
english
oreo cookie
brown outside, white in middle
charolais
continental
have horns
white
simmental
continental
various colors
very muscular
limousin
red or black
continental
brahma
indian
large hump, pendulous sheath
heat tolerant (thinner skinned)
various colors
Beef cattle production order
- cow/calf: breed cows, raise calves, product is weaned calf, smaller operators/producers, forage based feed
- grower: grow cows, prepare for feed lot
- feedlot
reproduction of beef cattle
mostly natural service
few artificial insemination
bulls for breeding
typically purchased at 1-2 years of age
1 bull for 30 cows
typically purebred
breeding season
goal: cow calves on same day every year
bulls turned out 80 days after calving (80+ 285 gestation= 365)
typical breeding season is 60 days (cows cycle every 21 days, 3 chances to get pregant, calves are relatively same size)
open cows
economic loss
culled
15% every year
birth weight
~80 pounds
bull calves
usually castrated (steer)
more fat in muscle (marbling)