WHERE BEEF CATTLE LIVE IN TEXAS

Scientific Classification of Cattle

Bos Taurus

Bos Indicus

The place of the beef cattle industry in U.S.

agriculture

The phrase “Beef is King”

The beef industry is the single largest money-generating commodity in agriculture

The gross annual income from U.S. beef

This $35 billion amounts

Cattle and calves rank in the top 5 commodities for 32 of the 50 states

The USA produces over 20% of the world’s beef

and veal

Purpose of the Beef Cattle Industry in the US

The purpose of the beef cattle industry in the United States

- Protein supply- Grass utilization into protein- Vast amounts of crop wastes and food

byproducts utilized

Beef have other advantages

- they are rugged and adaptable

- they can be fed excess grain

Cattle are the most numerous, most widely distributed, and most important

of all the livestock species

Historical Perspective

Probably domesticated by 6500 B.C.

Historical look at U.S. cattle

Numbers

- notice the cyclic ups and downs of the numbers

in that figure

- the cycles are roughly 10-year cycles

Columbus brought cattle to the West Indies on

his second voyage in 1493.

- Cortez

- Spanish missionaries distributed cattle across the American West

- By the middle of the 19th century

After World War II

Grain-fed beefRefrigerationBetter fences/BLM landA marketing revolution took placeA new industry segment

- during the 70’s- boxed beefConsumer DemandsBeef cow numbers first exceeded dairy cow

numbers in 1954

Per capita demand for beef has been

declining since 1975- quality issues began to plague the industry

- how the industry responds

STRUCTURE OF THE BEEF INDUSTRY

The various beef industry segments

- seedstock/purebred producers

- commercial cow-calf producers

- yearling or stocker operators

- the feedlot or finishing phase

Geographical location of beef cattle in the

U.S.

• Cow-calf production – Beef cows are found near ???– Stocker operations are drawn to ????– Finishing cattle in feedlots is a major economic

importance• Cattle are finished as secondary enterprises

• Over 95% of all cattle feeding is done in the twelve states

In simplest terms, two factors affect all the

economic traits in cattle

1) genetic progress is dependent on how

heritable the trait is

Tools are available to help producers make

genetic progress

- such practices as performance testing (discuss bull test station), sire summaries and EPD’s are examples

- seedstock producers and commercial cow-calf producers

Crossbreeding is the appropriate mating system of

choice for commercial cow-calf producers

- pounds of calf weaned per cow

- a big problem with the nation’s cowherd

- Crossbreeding is not fix all

The importations changed the face of the

American cattle industry since the 1970’s

- the British breeds had to make room for European breeds

- commercial cows in the U.S.

- Not one perfect breed

2) Reproductive management in beef cattle

- the goal of breeding herds of beef cattle

Each calf should be born

- 85-90 days of calving season

- the cow must recover from calving, start her

heat cycle again, and conceive

- good management is absolutely essential if this

goal is to be reached

The estual cycle for a cow is 19-21 days and

the duration of estrus (heat) is usually 13-17 hours.

Net calf crop – number of calves weaned and sold/number of Cows exposed

- it is the simplest and best way

Most beef cows are mated by natural service

- artificial insemination is more likely to be

used

Purebred or club calf situations

- approximately 15 to 20%

• Bulls should be evaluated before they are used in a breeding program

- evaluation

- major factors of a breeding soundness

exam

- a bad bull can do tremendous damage

- his presence is felt for generations

- bull selection is more important than the

selection of any single female

Good records are essential to managing reproductive issues in the cow herd

Nutrition in Beef Cattle

• Cattle are ruminants

Stocker feeding programs

- the first is to meet minimum requirements

of the calves

- the second is to graze calves on forage as long as we can

Feedlots - use high quality feeds to bring cattle to a suitable slaughter end point

- several types of feed programs

- Yet the endpoint is to produce beef that will fit in the box and satisfy the consumer

A Steer is not all steak

Nutritional benefits to humans from beef

• Beef provides high proportions of the

recommended daily dietary allowance for

several nutrients.

• Beef is a nutrient dense food– In light of the more recent medical findings

Trends in the beef cattle industry

The beef cattle industry is changing

Consumption- market share

- consumption in the 90’s was fairly stable- average per capita expenditures for meat

- beef expenditures as a percentage of total beef, pork and chicken- the industry cannot survive indefinitely under this trend

Nutrition and health consciousness

- beef is good food that is nutritious

-lean beef

- the problem is when beef is fat

- steps have been taken

- we trim and discard

- genetics

- cattle are being sent to market are

significantly leaner

- National Quality Beef Audit(s)

Convenient foods is also an issue related to

consumption

- beef doesn’t have enough good, convenience

foods

- three-fourths of the cooks

- beef must become more convenient

Exports. The export market for beef looks bright for the long term

- exports have been increasing since the early 1980’s- the U.S. has been a net exporter of beef since 1991- world-wide trade agreements

Food safety

• Food borne illnesses

• Bovine Spongiform Encephalophathy (BSE)

• Hormone implants and feed additives

• Antibiotics

Environmental concerns

- in 1998, the U.S. EPA announced it would

increase the attention given to concentrated animal

feeding operations (CAFO)

- final rules

- you can bet this means more money added to the

cost of production

Industry Integration

- vertical cooperation, vertical coordination

and alliances

- it amounts to vertical integration