Four Types of Beef Breeds:
 British
 Continental
 American/Improved
 Exotic
Beef Cattle Operations:
Backgrounding:
Taking an animal and feeding it
pasture to increase its weight and frame
size to then put on concentrated feed
(into a feedlot)
Birth – 85-110 lbs
Weaning – 350-400 lbs
Background to 800 lbs.
Finish at 1350 lbs
Cow - Calf Operators – Cows have
babies, keep or sell babies - #1 in VA
Backgrounder – Buy weaned calves and
feed to feedlot weight
Finishing Operation – Buy steers/heifers
and feed to finish
Estrus Cycle – 21 days
Heat – Body prepares for ovulation
Ovulation – 2 days (30hrs) after start of
heat
Quality Grades: Amount of
intramuscular fat (marbling)
1. Utility
2. Standard
3. Select
4. Choice
5. Prime
Bos indicus vs. Bos taurus
B. taurus – Common Beef cattle
B. indicus – Zebu cattle – From India
Angus
Angus
Brahman
½A½B
¾A¼B
F3
½A½B
5/8 A 3/8B
Brangus
Pedigree – Record or chart of parentage
or lineage
Sheep
Niche – Special Market
Ex. Ethnic food for Jewish, Muslim
people in the Northeast U.S.
125lb lamb by mid-March
Born in October
F1
F2
F4
Seasonal Breeders – Breed in spring,
give birth in fall when it’s cool.
Wool – No market in U.S.
Maybe 5 cents per pound
Swine Industry
Vertical Integration – One company
owns and controls all inputs from farm
all the way to the store
Most swine are raised in a confinement
facility – Barn with concrete floor, never
go outside.
Manure removal – Slats in floor, manure
is washed through, collected in a lagoon.
White Breeds are good mothers
Dressing Percentage – Amount of usable
product in lbs after an animal is
slaughtered.
Sheep: 50%
Cattle: 60%
Hogs: 70%
Live wt – 1000 lb steer
Carcass wt – 600 lb usable beef
1000 x 60% = 600
300 lb hog
What is the amount of meat after
slaughter?
300 x 70% = 210 lbs
BSE – Bovine Spongiform
Encephalopathy – “Mad Cow Disease”
Prion – Protein in the nervous tissues
Irradiation – Using radiation to sterilize
food and make it safe to eat.
1. Gamma Rays
2. Microwaves
3. X-rays
Bottom Line on BSE: Do not eat nervous
tissue and you’re safe.
Only 1 case of BSE in the U.S. has been
detected in BEEF cattle. (Alabama) All
of the others have been dairy cattle,
which we don’t usually eat.
USDA implemented laws that required
no animal over 30 months of age could
be slaughtered for human consumption.
BSE – does not show symptoms until
about 3-5 years of age
Much beef is imported from Brazil,
Argentina, Chile, and Canada.
1997 – USDA law that no animals for
food consumption may be fed byproducts of other animals
This has recently been revised to allow
for poultry litter.