Beef Cattle Industry Overview

These flashcards cover key terms and concepts related to the beef cattle industry, including its economic significance, reproductive practices, and health challenges.

Beef Industry

The single largest money-generating commodity in all of agriculture, with a gross annual income of around $68 billion in the United States.

Ruminant

An animal that has a stomach divided into four compartments, allowing for the digestion of fibrous plant material, such as grass.

Hybrid Vigor

The phenomenon where crossbred animals show superior qualities compared to their purebred parents.

Artificial Insemination (AI)

A reproductive technology that involves collecting sperm from a bull and using it to inseminate cows, allowing for genetic selection.

Calving

The process of giving birth in cattle, which ideally occurs within a 40 to 60-day period.

Creep-feeding

A method of feeding calves supplemental feed that is available for them to eat but not for their mothers.

Stockers

Operators that purchase lighter calves from cow-calf producers and feed them until they reach heavier weights before sending them to feedlots.

Feedlot

A type of livestock operation that specializes in the final growing phase of cattle before slaughter.

Bovine Respiratory Disease

The leading disease affecting stocker and feedlot cattle, often resulting from environmental stressors and infectious pathogens.

Prolapse

An abnormal protrusion of a body part from its normal anatomical position, commonly observed in cattle during late pregnancy.