Most Used Beef Breed in Usa
Dwelling house » Posts »
In function 2 of our "What's Your Beef?" series on raising cattle on small-scale farms, we help you answer the questions of what breed of beefiness cattle you lot should get .
The author'due south herd of mixed Hereford, Black Angus, and Red Angus cattle.
Rich Taber / CCE Chenango
In the first article in this serial in the summer edition of SFQ , I outlined several of the many topics with which you need to become familiar with if yous wish to have a successful beef cattle enterprise. This article installment's purpose is to discuss the several breeds that are available from which you can cull. Even more of import is to select animals that have good genetic qualities, which is probably more important than the item breed that yous might stop upwards with.
First, I will mention some of the many breeds that are available. Beefiness cattle breeds, at least here in the Northeast, have their origins from two different parts of Europe. The starting time and nigh common are the British breeds. Black Angus, Cherry Angus, and Herefords are the Fords, Chevys, and Dodges of the beef cattle world and are the most common and popular. There are innumerable sources of these animals available in our function of the globe. Some other popular British breeds are Devons, Dexters, Belted Galloways, Red Polls, Beef Shorthorns, and Scotch Highlands. The other beef breeds originated in mainland Europe and are referred to every bit the continental breeds. Blond d'Aquitaine, Charolais, Chinanina, Gelbvieh, Limousin, Maine Anjou, Normande, Piemontese, Pinzgauer, and Simmentals all accept their corresponding followings. In many or the hotter parts of the land you find a number of breeds that take Brahman genetics in their makeup; in brutally hot climates they exercise fine but are non all that common here in the northeast.
A young, purebred Angus cow.
Courtesy of Rich Taber / CCE Chenango
In selecting a breed , I would advise that you get-go option a breed that is common in your area; that way you lot volition find an infrastructure of farmers and breeders that tin can answer many of your questions. Y'all might desire to consider having crossbred cattle too. Why crossbreds? In nature there is a holding known as "hybrid vigor , " pregnant that crossbred animals, particularly first-generation crosses, tend to be healthier, stronger, and out produce the pure breeds that they were derived from. A very popular cross hither in the Northeast in the "Black Baldie , " a Hereford and Blackness Angus cross. They look like a Hereford with more often than not white heads and faces but their body colour in usually black. Another pop cross is the Hereford and the Scarlet Angus; the cows tend to expect similar Herefords with a lot of blood-red on their heads. If you lot intend to take a moo-cow/calf herd and plan on selling calves as feeders, or finishing them yourself, crossbreds are a very viable alternative.
Should you consider purebred/registered stock? If yous have plans on being a purebred breeder with the intent to sell pure stock to other people , this might stop up being a good culling. However, if y'all are a beginner, I would suggest getting your hands on some practiced commercial (unregistered) stock to get your feet wet and to learn the ropes with. The herd on my home subcontract has historically been a serial of crosses of the "large Three"; Herefords, Black Angus, and Red Angus. I recommend these breeds every bit yous can find expert animals in many dissimilar parts of the state. Black Angus are very popular , and the Angus Association has done an first-class job in recent years in promoting their breed. Black hided cattle tend to bring a premium price, so much so that several other breeds of cattle have developed lines of blackness cattle to greenbacks in on that premium. The Simmental breed is a prime example of this, and " SimmAngus " crosses take become very popular in recent years.
I personally tend to favor a lot of Hereford claret in my herd, and their crosses, in particular because the animals are quite docile and easy to work with. This twelvemonth I replaced my Hereford bull with a Crimson Angus to keep up the hybrid vigor in succeeding generations.
The author's erstwhile herd sire, a purebred Hereford now on duty at a neighboring subcontract.
Courtesy of Rich Taber / CCE Chenango
You lot might discover that I have not mentioned any dairy cattle breeds. You lot tin indeed raise dairy beef, and I won't discourage you if you are so inclined, merely they take a bit longer to finish, and generally bring lower prices at the cattle markets. For home utilize you can exercise well with a few of these as well equally with crosses of some of the other dairy breeds. In some parts of the country, a certain percent of Holstein dairy cattle are being crossed with Black Angus due to a number of factors. These brand a good cross and if you can discover a source of calves yous might do well with them.
As I alluded to earlier, where yous become your animals from is FAR more important that what the particular brood is. A few years ago , in some farm machinery articles that I wrote for this publication, I warned people to stay away from "tractor jockeys" as a source of a practiced used tractor — some of them tend to be the equivalent of a used auto salesman. In a like vein, I would caution y'all to stay away from cattle sale barns as a source of convenance stock. I spend my share of time at cattle sale barns, but much of this time is to network with other farmers and to stay abreast of markets. If information technology's a dispersal auction, and the farmer is getting rid of all of their cattle that might be acceptable. But many times , an animal consigned to a auction barn is destined for the slaughterhouse. Another thing that I have noticed, even when the animals are being sold as "breeding stock", you lot take no idea how former the animal is. I prefer to purchase bred heifers, or younger cows that are 2-3 years old and are going to be around for many years. A beef cow can final for upward of ten years or so, and practise you want to pay the same price for a ten-twelvemonth-old every bit yous would a ii-year-onetime ?
This book is an excellent reference for beginning beefiness producers.
Courtesy of Rich Taber / CCE Chenango
When it comes to selecting a bull, I ever suggest that you purchase your bulls from a reputable breeder and avert 'Sale Barn Taurus . " A bull that comes from stock that has been selected for having depression birth weights is of import too. Taurus, the undiscriminating bull of no known genetics, may only happen to sire huge calves that you terminate up having to pull from cows in the balmy month of Feb during a blizzard! Many of your better breeders use artificial insemination, and the best genetics are available by doing then. Practice not take shortcuts in balderdash choice!
Yous tin source skillful cattle in the classified ad sections of subcontract papers, such as Country Folks, the newspaper in which many of you receive Small Farm Quarterly. The New York Beef Producers Association is well worth joining, equally they put out an excellent magazine with ads throughout information technology. Each year they too produce a breeder's directory of producers from all over NY Land. Remember, you become what you pay for and if its good breeding stock that y ou are looking for practice your homework and don't take shortcuts!
westacottthaskilly.blogspot.com
Source: https://smallfarms.cornell.edu/2020/10/selecting-a-beef-cattle-breed/
0 Response to "Most Used Beef Breed in Usa"
Post a Comment