Beef Cattle Breeds Lesson Plan
Objectives
Materials
Procedure
o
o
o
Teach students the differences between common cattle breeds
Improve memorization skills
Improve their ability to distinguish between different breeds and
their backgrounds
 PowerPoint with pictures of the breeds and their different
characteristics
 Colored markers
 Colored paper
o Ask the students if they know any cattle breeds
o Discuss some attributes of these breeds that set them apart from
others
o
o
Present PowerPoint of breeds
After every breed talk about with the students the different
aspects of that breed
 After discussing the PowerPoint talk with students about how
they too are each a breed of their own
 Have them create their own breed information sheet
about themselves
 Handout colored paper and markers for this
 Allow 15 mins.
 After the activity, do a discussion type quiz with the students
 Show a picture of a breed of cattle and have the students
list its specific characteristics
 Or show a characteristic of a breed and have them name
that breed of cattle
 Then have a formal quiz, where you show a breed picture or
attribute and the students write down the answers on a piece of
paper.
 Grade these accordingly.
Information
Angus:
Originated in Scotland
Color- solid black
Pros- good carcass, efficient feeders, moderate size
Cons- They sometimes can be too small to cross with other breeds and
they are lighter muscled
Size:
Cows- 1200 lbs
Bulls- 1800 lbs
Official Name: Aberdeen Angus
Charolais
Originated in France
Color- White, but there is a variation in shades of white
Pros: heavy muscled and they adapt well to most areas
Cons: high feed efficiency ratio and they are typically horned
Size:
Cows- 1500lbs
Bulls- 2200lbs
Chianina (pronunciation: key-a-nee-na)
Origin: Italy
Color: (purebred) White, Black and Red, with or without white
Pros: very useable in crossbred programs, no color standards in their
association, and good mothers
Cons: size, color, and type vary a lot and aren’t consistent
Size (purebred): up to...
Cows: 2400lbs
Bulls: 4000lbs
Hereford
Origin: England
Color: shades of red with white
Pros: docile, efficient feeders, hardy, and easily crossed up
Cons: horned, and their typical white color pattern is dominant and hard
to breed out
Size:
Cows: 1200 lbs
Bulls: 1800 lbs
Polled Hereford
Origin- Iowa
Color- same as horned Hereford
Pros: no horns
Cons: Slightly less muscled.
Limousin
Origin: France
Color: light yellow to dark red, brown, and black
Pros: heavy muscled, lean carcass, and large loins
Cons: they are hard to cross with and they can be horned
Size:
Cows: 1400 lbs
Bulls: 2200 lbs
Maine-Anjou
Origin: France
Color: red and black, with or without white
Pros: they are great breed producers, they are also docile and crossable
Cons: they can be horned and their coloring isn’t consistent
Size:
Cows 1500lbs
Bulls 2500lbs
Shorthorn
Origin: England
Color: red, white, and a mixture of red and white known as roan
Pros: they are docile, crossable with mostly anything, very adaptable, and
good carcass and mothers.
Cons: can be horned
Size:
Cows 1500lbs
Bulls 2400lbs
Simmental
Origin: Switzerland
Color: black, red, brown, tan, yellow, all with or without white
Pros: fast growers, heavy muscled, and they adapt well to any climate
Cons: horned, can be too big and their coloring is inconsistent
Size
Cows 1800lbs
Bulls 2600lbs
Brahman
Origin: Southwest U.S.
Color: light gray to red to black, the most common color is light to
medium gray
Pros: Crossed to create new breeds in the U.S, they are heat, insect, and
disease tolerant, and they are good mothers
Cons: unpredictable dispositions
Size:
Cows 1200lbs
Bulls 2000lbs
Santa Gertrudis
Origin: King Ranch in Texas
Color: cherry red
Pros: efficient feeders, little waste of fat, disease and insect resistant
Cons: lots of extra skin and they are horned
The size of bulls and cows varies.
Activity
After presenting the PowerPoint talk with the students about what
distinguishes them as who they are.
 Examples are hair color, eye color, where they live, what they do and
don’t like to do. Then show the connection between breed
characteristics and personality, they are each like a different breed.
Then have the students make their own “breed” information sheet about
themselves.
Handout markers and colored paper for them to use
Make sure they know to include:
•
Name
•
Origin
•
Hair and Eye color
•
Pros
•
Cons
•
Size
•
Official Name
Assessment
Give 15 mins for this
Do a discussion type quiz:
1. Show a picture of a breed of cattle
2. Have the students name off different attributes of that breed
3. Show a characteristic of a breed
4. Have the students name that breed and then more characteristics
Finally, do a formal quiz:
1. Have the students get out paper and pencil and explain that this
is by yourself
2. Repeat steps 1-4 in discussion quiz
Credit
 Grade quizzes on accuracy of answers
“Ideas-4-Ag-Ed” http://www.ideas4ag-ed.com/animal-science--livestockmanagement.html Amanda_mullins_beef_cattle_breeds_ppt