Exam 1: Beef Cattle Production System

When and what was the Breeds Revolution?

1965

• People were not breeding cattle for a purpose

How were cattle organized prior to 1880?

Beef and dairy cattle were together

When and why was there a decrease in demand for beef cattle?

Health issues

• Some studies started to shed light on the impact that saturated fat had on health

• Marketing took off and focused on healthier meat

Significance of 2010 and 2012 in the beef cattle industry?

2010: ready-to-eat products

2012: Supply/Feed

Order of the beef cattle industry:

Cow-Calf —> Stocker —→ Feedlot

Cow-Calf

Cow coverts low quality forage into high quality product- the calf

• Weaned calf

• Roughage based diet

Stocker

• The growing phase after calves are weaned, and before the feedlot

• Starts with a small calf, then grows until it is ready to finish

• “teenagers”

• “middle man”

Feedlot

• Animals are confined and fed a high-energy diet

• Deposit fat —→ intramuscular fat (especially if you skip the stocker phase)

  • Also called “finishing”

Seedstock

Bulls and heifers of high quality

• Provided genetics for commercial producers

What is efficiency based on in Cow-Calf?

Pounds of product (calf) per cow

Are bulls or AI used in Cow-Calf?

Over 90% of producers use bulls instead of AI

• Genetics are blended, leading to a lack of uniformity

What are range conditions like in Cow-Calf?

Large range production (pasture with little supplementation)

• producers maintain cow herd year-round

How are the selection goals of cow-calf?

• fertility

• weaning weight

• cow efficiency (cow that can eat less but still get pregnant, make milk for a calf, and get pregnant)

• Adaptability

• Quality of product produced efficiently (healthy, heavy calf with minimal resources)

What is the diet of cattle in stocker?

Roughage-based diet (pasture)

• Cheap gain (wheat pasture, improved pasture, silage)

What determined where cattle go after stocker?

Weaning weight, weather, and grain prices

What are the selection factors of stocker?

Price, growth potential (the more the calf can grow, the better), health (the closer to weaning, the more at risk/vulnerable)

How are cattle in the feedlot fed?

High energy diet (corn or milo, which are high in starch/carbs)

• Fed by-products to keep prices down

Where are feedlot cattle located?

Dry areas close to resources (the Panhandle of Texas)

Profit potential of feedlots:

• ADG (Average daily gain)

• Feed efficiency

• Health- death loss (reduce death loss and contraction of illnesses)

Factors influencing feedlot values:

• Quality (prime/choice)

• Yield (amount of muscle)

• Dressing % (weight of carcass/body mass)

Does Seedtock use natural mating or AI?

Develops emphasis on particular traits of selection (AI, embryo transfer)

Beef cattle issues and misconceptions

• Food safety

• Mad cow disease (BSE)

• Hormonal implants/ growth promotants

• feed additives

• antibiotics

• organic vs normal

• grain vs grass-fed

• industry integration

• imports