Breeds of Beef Cattle
Cattle
are considered to have been one of the first animals domesticated
by man for agricultural purposes. They were tamed
to provide milk, meat and hides and for draft purposes. The
exact time and place this happened is hidden in the mists
of antiquity, but it is thought they were probably first
domesticated in Europe and Asia about 8500 years ago.
Domesticated cattle are in the family Bovidae which includes ruminates with paired, hollow, unbranched horns that do not shed and an even number of toes. They belong to the genus Bos and the subgenera Taurine which includes the two species tarus and indicus.
Cattle are ruminants (as are sheep, goats, deer, and giraffes), which gives them a unique digestive system that allows the digestion of otherwise unuseable foods by regurgitating and rechewing them as cud. They thrive on grasses and other low quality plants built predominantly of cellulose. Cattle have one stomach that has four compartments. They are named the rumen, reticulum, omasum, and abomasum. The rumen is the largest compartment and is like a fermentation tank, providing the anaerobic environment, constant temperature and pH, and constant mixing that allows microbes to break down the cellulolse. The reticulum, known as the "Honeycomb", is is the smallest compartment. The omasum's main function is to absorb water and nutrients and is known as the "Many Plies." The abomasum is most like the human stomach; this is why it is known as the "True Stomach."
All breeds of British and European cattle like Angus, Hereford, Charolais and Simmental belong to the tarus species. The humped cattle of the tropical countries like Brahman and Africander belong to the indicus species. Many contemporary breeds are the result of crossing two or more of the older breeds. Most of the new breeds originating in the United States were developed in the Southern states where the standard breeds lacked resistance to heat and insects and did not thrive on the native grasses. Other Bovidae that are so closely related to true cattle that they can interbreed include the bison, buffalo, and yak.
Purebred cattle breeds have been selectively bred over a long period of time to possess a distinctive identity in color, size, conformation, and function and have the prepotency to pass these traits to their progeny.
The world cattle population is estimated to be about 1.3 billion head, with about 30 percent in Asia, 20 percent in South America, 15 percent in Africa, 14 percent in North and Central America, and 10 percent in Europe. The 10 states in the US with the largest cattle populations are Texas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Nebraska, South Dakota, Montana, Kansas, Iowa, Kentucky, and Florida.
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The Last One.
by inyati13 (Posted Sat, 25 May 2013 15:56:57 GMT)
Your message was very precious to me. I have no Aunts or uncles alive and once upon a time I had 14, your message was magic. Your words pay a nice tribute to him. He was rich but so are you. May his memory always be a safe harbor. Thanks for posting this.
Fencing Livestock
by Richardin52 (Posted Sat, 25 May 2013 15:55:05 GMT)
I have kept pigs on pasture with a single electric wire and have never had one get out. All you have to do is train them to the fence. Put them in a small area with several strands and hook it to a good hot charger, then let them learn what an electric fence feels like.
After they know what it is you will have no problem with a single wire fence. Pigs can't jump and they will know better than to touch it.
Make sure the fence is hot so if they test it from time to time that wet little nose get a good jolt.
Well .... Now what do we talk about
by bhooper (Posted Sat, 25 May 2013 15:49:42 GMT)
highgrit wrote:I' am going to be raking and baling, and I don't like to work on Sunday but Oh well. And on Monday we plan to knock 115ac of wheat hay down. The worst part of that is I have to deliver it 35 miles one way.
Is the wheat you plant for wheat hay the same as what you plant for grain? I've always wondered why more people in my area don't plant wheat for hay or pasture. In your opinion what would be the pros and cons of planting wheat for hay?
Thanks
E Texas--when and how do ya plant sugar cane?
by ga.prime (Posted Sat, 25 May 2013 15:38:29 GMT)
greybeard wrote:Deer and/or hogs ate mine, including what was under the soil.
Must have been hogs. I've been growing sugar cane for years and have never seen any deer damage.
High Tensile Wire Crimp Tool
by ga.prime (Posted Sat, 25 May 2013 15:31:20 GMT)
You'll get a lot better price at agri supply.
Jergenson bulls
by hooknline (Posted Sat, 25 May 2013 15:21:06 GMT)
I'm looking at buying some good Brangus breds from a ranch tomorrow. They're all bred to the jergenson bulls out of somewhere in the Dakotas. Seing as I don't know much about the bulls I figured I'd ask here.
May Fleckvieh Pics
by BRAFORDMAN (Posted Sat, 25 May 2013 15:20:10 GMT)
Thanks for the comments.
Having these girls AI'd again next week. Hopefully they stick the first time. Only doing one round of AI this year and will turn them out with a brahman bull after they are AI'd.
I made the mistake of not breeding them to fleckvieh after I bought them. I bought three. @ bred the biggest cow was open. I kept the heifer from one of the cows an dsold the bull. I bred them to a british white bull. Good stout bull calves but as far as profitable they were not. Hopefully these fleckvieh calves will be good enough to go into fleckvieh sale and atleast pay for their moms.
TennesseeTuxedo
by TennesseeTuxedo (Posted Sat, 25 May 2013 15:18:22 GMT)
cross_7 wrote:TennesseeTuxedo wrote:Cross7,
My primary occupation is as a mortgage banker and I have a heck of a time trying to keep up with the volatility in mortgage rates much less trying to predict corn and cattle futures. We'll wean off and precondition around 60 calves this fall and they'll all go to market no matter the price.
Do you sell at the sale barn or market thru someone like Superior ?
We sell at the Wednesday auction at the Owennton, KY sale barn.
Ultimately I'd like to carry the all the way through to slaughter byt that's years away.
For all the wives that are husband/wife teams on the ranch
by Cowgirl Brit (Posted Sat, 25 May 2013 15:13:58 GMT)
Love this poem it is exactly how my husband and I are. We just read it 2gether and thinking about framing it LOL
prayers please
by Kathie in Thorp (Posted Sat, 25 May 2013 14:50:28 GMT)
Still sending prayers, NMV, for all of you.
Posting calf pics for Kathie ....
by Kathie in Thorp (Posted Sat, 25 May 2013 14:32:39 GMT)
Thanks, Hillsdown!
The Way People Say Things
by Kingfisher (Posted Sat, 25 May 2013 14:21:17 GMT)
greybeard wrote:dgeetyet?. Here it's " Jet? Jhanttoo?
Brahma F-1
by cowboy43 (Posted Sat, 25 May 2013 14:07:58 GMT)
Breeding a Brahma cow to a Herford Bull a F-1 Tiger Stripe is produced. Why can't a F-1 Tiger strip bull be bred to the heifers and produce F-1 calves, this must not work , because it is not done, What would be the end result if this cross was carried out.
Brangus
by Brute 23 (Posted Sat, 25 May 2013 13:01:54 GMT)
Lucky guy. All the Steiner stuff I have seen are top notch.
Cow down question
by Chris H (Posted Sat, 25 May 2013 12:59:04 GMT)
bbf wrote:No squeze on our chute its old school 6 ft high wood sides with a headgate at the end. We have pannels that go inside when we work smaller cows and calves. Normaly we put a bar under them at the hips but never for just tagging. Guess we will start now.
We drug her out of the mud and are going to try and pick her up with the skid steer to get a better look. How long would you giver her before a bullet? Im thinking if she dosnt stand by Monday shes a gonner.
How long you give her is tough to say at this point. But if she does get back up she ought to be shipped. She won't hold up under a bull at this point.