Beef Industry

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Beef Industry
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An Overview of the Beef Industry
Commercial Cow-calf
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Commercial Cow-Calf

• Primary segment of beef production in Florida

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Optimum female for the management environment
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Rank of Major States Beef Cows January 1, 2005
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1) TX 5.5 mil 2) MO 2.1 mil 3) OK
2.0 mil 12) FL 1
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Florida Ag Stats
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Commercial Cow-Calf

• Products sold
• sell weaned calves as stockers or feeders
• weigh 400-600 lbs (6 mo)
• market cull cows and bulls
• Production factors of importance
• calf crop Reproduction
• produce a calf every 365 days
• weaning weights mothering, milk

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Destination of Florida Feeder Calves
Southeast 14
Texas38
Other States 7
Kansas 13
Oklahoma 28
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Stocker Cattle Management

• Also known as backgrounding
• Growing program using forage (grass)
• Initial weight of calves 400-600 lbs
• grazed on pasture for 100-200 days
• cattle gain 1-3 lbs/d during grazing period
• cattle sold to feedlots when weigh 700-900 lbs
• ? skeletal size, minimal fat deposition
• Texas/Oklahoma/Kansas (Wheat pastures)
• Flint Hills and Osage Hills (Native Grass)

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Feedlot Industry

• Commercial feeders
• Centralized Texas, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado,
  Oklahoma
• Dry climate -- no mud low humidity
• sparse population of people
• feed availability corn milo, grain and silage
• Large capacity 20,000 head some 100,000
• Feed 87 of the cattle

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Feedlot Industry

• Farmer-feeders
• Midwest Iowa, eastern Nebraska, South Dakota,
  southern Minnesota
• Feed their own calves postweaning or buy calves
• Feed home-grown feedstuffs (corn)
• Small capacity

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Major Cattle Feeding Areas
TX 2.65 mil KS 2.25 mil NE 2.25 mil CO
1.0 mil IA 0.98 mil Nobody else 500,000
Florida Ag Stats
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Feedyard Industry

• Production factors of importance
• ? average daily gain (ADG) 3-4 lb/d
• Feed conversion (lbs of dry feed / lb of gain)
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• Product sold
• finished cattle (1000 - 1300 lbs)
• 14-20 mo of age with adequate fat cover
• most want cattle to grade Choice
• want high-yielding cattle (YG 1, 2)

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Selection

• Important tool for genetic improvement
• Differential Reproduction
• prevent some from reproducing
• use others to become parents of many offspring
• Change gene frequency in the population
• increase frequency of desirable genes (alleles)
• decrease frequency of undesirable genes

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Selection

• Selection is based on phenotype
• P G E
• thus, proper selection of phenotype will change
  genotype of population slowly over time.

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Selection

• Traits of Economic Importance
• Reproduction - low heritability
• must use crossbred animals -- get heterosis
• Weaning Weight
• use adjusted values (fair comparison)
• Postweaning Growth
• feedlot performance
• Feed Efficiency
• feed 50 of costs

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Selection

• Traits of Economic Importance
• Carcass Merit
• collect data on the progeny, use ultrasound
• of increasing importance
• Longevity
• Avg cow 8 yrs
• Avg bull 3-5 yrs
• Conformation
• Freedom from genetic defects

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Expected Progeny Difference

• the amount by which the average progeny of the
  animal is expected to exceed the average of the
  herd or population.

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EPDs

• Our best tool for genetic selection
• Used to compare genetic potential
• Available for cattle, sheep, and swine
• Theoretical average 0

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Usage of EPDs

• Weaning weight EPD
• Sire A 14 lbs of calf
• Sire B 32 lbs of calf
• Sire C 0 lbs of calf
• Calves from which sire would be heavier (on
  average) than those from the other two sires and
  by how much in each case?

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Breeding
Breeds
Beef Cattle
Management
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Categorizing Cattle Breeds

• Bos indicus vs. Bos taurus
• Ability to produce milk and meat
• Beef selected for meat production
• Dairy selected for milk production
• Dual purpose
• selected to optimize both milk meat production
  for a given environment.

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Bos indicus/Bos taurus
Brahman (Bos indicus) Angus Bos
taurus) www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds

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Categorizing U.S. Beef Breeds(including Dual
Purpose Breeds)

• British or English
• Exotic or Continental
• American (Bos indicus influenced)

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British, Continental, American
Continental (Charolais)
British (Hereford) American Breed
(Brangus)
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General Characteristics British

• High reproductive rate ()
• Early sexual maturity ()
• High marbling scores -- quality grades ()
• Docile ()
• Moderate mature size
• Average carcass cutability (-)
• Poor adaptation to hot, humid environments
• For Florida (-)

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Angus / Red Angus

• Black (dominant)
• Polled (no horns)
• dominant

• Red (recessive)
• Polled (no horns)
• dominant

Desired for mothering ability, carcass quality
(CAB)
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Hereford

• Red body
• white face
• horned or polled
• Range Cattle

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General Characteristics Exotic

• Imported late 1960s to 1970s
• Large mature size (debatable)
• primary reason for importation
• Rapid growth rates ()
• Heavily muscled desirable Yield Grades ()

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General Characteristics Exotic

• Lower reproductive rates (-)
• Later onset of puberty (-)except dual purpose
  breeds
• Low marbling or quality grade (-)
• Poor adaptation to minimal management the
  tropical/sub-tropical environment (- -)

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Charolais

• White, horned or polled
• white extremities
• heavily muscled
• 1st imported breed

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Gelbvieh

• Solid golden red
• may be horned or polled
• developed as dual purpose
• heavy muscled (meat)
• good milk prodn (mothering)

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Limousin

• Solid golden red
• today, many are solid black
• heavy muscled
• Lean (low fat)

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Simmental

• Red White
• Today, many blacks
• Originally dual purpose
• Good milking ability
• Early Puberty

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General Characteristics American

• Adapted to tropics () -- especially for FL
• Adapted to minimal mgmt ()
• resistance to parasites ()
• good milking ability ( or -)
• low dystocia (calving problems) ()

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General Characteristics American

• LATE onset of puberty (BIG -)
• Poor marbling or quality grade (-)
• Light muscled, poor yield grade (-)
• tenderness problems (-)
• nervous temperament (-)

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Brahman

• Bos indicus
• Gray or Red Brahman
• Heat tolerant
• Parasite tolerant
• American breed

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Beefmaster

• 1/2 Brahman, 1/4 Hereford, 1/4 Shorthorn
• Various colors, horned
• Selected for its ability to reproduce, produce
  milk, and grow under range conditions.

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Braford

• 3/8 Brahman, 5/8 Hereford
• Developed at the Adams Ranch, Florida

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Brangus / Red Brangus

• 3/8 Brahman, 5/8 Angus (Red Angus)
• Black (red), polled

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Santa Gertrudis

• 3/8 Brahman, 5/8 Shorthorn
• Solid red color, horned
• Developed at the King Ranch, Texas

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Crossbreeding Programs

• Terminal (Static)
• all progeny are marketed (sold) to produce meat
• buy replacement breeding stock
• Two-breed terminal example
• Charolais Angus ? mkt
• Three-breed terminal example
• Charolais Angus/Brahman F1 ? mkt
• the crossbred F1 female provides heterosis
• important for reproductive performance

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Development Use of Composites

• Advantages
• maintain a high degree of heterosis
• combined breeds to fit a specific environment
• breed them as if they were straightbreds
• Disadvantages
• long time to develop, must avoid inbreeding
• availability of unrelated replacements?
• No seedstock companies as for swine
• Slower adoption than for poultry swine

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Reproductive Managementof Beef Cattle
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Bull Reproductive Tract
Produce 8-10 ml of semen 1 billion sperm /
ml With AI, could inseminate 100-500 cows Natural
service -- 30 cows
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Scrotal Circumference

• Selection tool used for reproductive mgmt
• Used primarily in cattle, but applicable to all
• Good indicator of
• age at puberty (larger size indicates early
  puberty)
• overall fertility
• in general, the larger, the better
• cattle 12-14 months of age - want 32 cm
• easy to measure, repeatable, highly heritable

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Cow Reproductive Tract
Rectum
Ovary
Vagina
Oviduct
Uterus
Cervix
Mammary
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Cow Reproductive Information
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Estrus Detection in the Cow

• Signs of estrus
• stand to be mounted by others
• mucus smeared on the buttocks
• nervous
• seek the bull

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Estrus Detection in the Cow

• Methods of estrus detection
• Visual observation of cows
• check twice daily -- AM PM
• 30-60 minutes
• Markers - based on estrous behavior
• K-mar patches -- break spill ink
• paint sticks -- rub paint off
• chin ball marker attached to a gomer
• Heat Watch -- computer transmission

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Artificial Insemination
Increases Genetic Potential
Cows usually inseminated 12 h after the
observanceof standing heat -- WHY?