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28-473: Amerifax is a breed of beef cattle , developed in the US in the 1970s. This breed is a combination of American Angus (5/8th) and Beef Friesian (3/8th). This cattle -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Beef cattle Besides breeding to meet the demand for beef production, owners also use selective breeding to attain specific traits in their beef cattle. An example of

56-483: A butcher or packing house, with the finished carcass resulting in approximately 430 lb (200 kg) of beef. Depending on what cuts of meat are desired, there is a scale of marbled meat used to determine the quality. Marbling is the fat that is within the muscle, not around it. The more marbled a cut is, the higher it will grade and be worth. Slaughtering of livestock has three distinct stages: preslaughter handling, stunning, and slaughtering. The biggest concern

84-415: A day, and approximately 82 L in hot weather. They need a constant supply of good quality feed and potable water according to the 5 Freedoms of Animal Welfare. Most Beef cattle are finished in feedlots. The first feedlots were constructed in the early 1950s. Some of these feedlots grew so large they warranted a new designation, " Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation " (CAFO). Most American beef cattle spend

112-546: A desired trait could be leaner meat or resistance to illness. Breeds known as dual-purpose are also used for beef production. These breeds have been selected for two purposes at once, such as both beef and dairy production, or both beef and draught . Dual-purpose breeds include many of the Zebu breeds of India such as Tharparkar and Ongole Cattle . There are multiple continental breeds that were bred for this purpose as well. The original Simmental / Fleckvieh from Switzerland

140-497: A high output of carbon dioxide . Multiple global agencies and governments, including the United Nations , have cited beef production as a primary driver of climate change, and advise that a global reduction in meat consumption should be pursued. Cattle farming has also been blamed as one of the primary reasons for rapid deforestation in countries such as Brazil and Indonesia , causing habitat loss when deforested land

168-426: Is a prime example. Not only are they a dual-purpose breed for beef and dairy, but in the past they were also used for draught. However, throughout the generations, the breed has diverged into two groups through selective breeding . Most beef cattle are mated naturally, whereby a bull is released into a herd of cows approximately 55 days after the calving period, depending on the cows' body condition score (BCS). If it

196-530: Is a range of types of feed available for these animals. The standard text in the United States, Nutrient Requirements of Beef Cattle , has been through eight editions over at least seventy years. The 1996 seventh edition substituted the concept of metabolizeable protein for the sixth edition's crude protein . In the 20th century, Canadian practice followed the American guidance. Already in 1970,

224-457: Is easily stored and transported with limited spoilage, unlike other agricultural products. Healthy grain supply and trade is important to many societies, providing a caloric base for most food systems as well as important role in animal feed for animal agriculture . The grain trade is as old as agricultural settlement, identified in many of the early cultures that adopted sedentary farming. Major societal changes have been directly connected to

252-677: Is infected or suspected to have an illness, it is the responsibility of the owners to report it immediately to a practicing veterinarian for either treatment or euthanasia. Depending on a multitude of factors (season, type of production system, stocking density, etc.), illness and disease can spread quickly through the herd from animal to animal. Owners are expected to monitor their cattle's condition regularly for early detection and treatment, as some cattle illnesses can threaten both cattle and human health (known as zoonotic ) as witnessed with Mad cow disease and Tuberculosis . On average, cattle will consume 1.4 to 4% of their body weight daily. There

280-541: Is limited. Once restrained the animal can be stunned in one of three methods: penetrating captive bolt , non-penetrating captive bolt, and gunshot. Most abattoirs use captive bolts instead of guns. Stunning ensures the animal feels no pain during slaughtering and reduces the animals stress, therefore increasing the quality of meat. The final step is slaughtering. Typically the animal will be hung by its back leg and its throat will be slit to allow exsanguination . The hide will be removed for further processing at this point and

308-406: Is preslaughter handling: how the animal is treated before it is stunned and slaughtered. Stress at this time can cause adverse effects on the meat, but water access and lower stocking densities have been allowed to minimize this. However, access to feed is restricted for 12–24 hours prior to slaughtering for ease of evisceration . Stunning is done when the animal is restrained in a chute so movement

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336-565: Is sometimes grown as a perennial . Winter varieties are hardy enough to be planted in the autumn, becoming dormant in the winter, and harvested in spring or early summer; spring varieties are planted in spring and harvested in late summer. The term cereal is derived from the name of the Roman goddess of grain crops and fertility, Ceres . Cereals were domesticated in the Neolithic , some 8,000 years ago. Wheat and barley were domesticated in

364-759: Is used either as pasture or to grow feed crop . Grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit ( caryopsis ) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legumes . After being harvested, dry grains are more durable than other staple foods , such as starchy fruits ( plantains , breadfruit , etc.) and tubers ( sweet potatoes , cassava , and more). This durability has made grains well suited to industrial agriculture , since they can be mechanically harvested , transported by rail or ship, stored for long periods in silos , and milled for flour or pressed for oil . Thus,

392-747: The Fertile Crescent ; rice was domesticated in East Asia, and sorghum and millet were domesticated in West Africa. Maize was domesticated by Indigenous peoples of the Americas in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago. In the 20th century, cereal productivity was greatly increased by the Green Revolution . This increase in production has accompanied a growing international trade , with some countries producing large portions of

420-460: The Food and Drug Administration was regulating pharmaceutical supplements in beef cattle feed such as hormones and prophylactic antibiotics . Some animals live on pasture their entire lives and therefore only experience fresh grass; these are typically cow-calf operations in more tropical climates. Backgrounded calves and feedlot animals tend to have different diets that contain more grain than

448-486: The grain market is a major global commodity market that includes crops such as maize , rice , soybeans , wheat and other grains. Grains and cereal are synonymous with caryopses , the fruits of the grass family . In agronomy and commerce, seeds or fruits from other plant families are called grains if they resemble caryopses. For example, amaranth is sold as " grain amaranth ", and amaranth products may be described as "whole grains". The pre-Hispanic civilizations of

476-685: The Andes had grain-based food systems, but at higher elevations none of the grains was a cereal . All three grains native to the Andes ( kaniwa , kiwicha , and quinoa ) are broad-leafed plants rather than grasses such as corn, rice, and wheat. A cereal is a grass cultivated for its edible grain. Cereals are the world's largest crops, and are therefore staple foods . They include rice , wheat , rye , oats , barley , millet , and maize . Edible grains from other plant families, such as buckwheat and quinoa , are pseudocereals . Most cereals are annuals , producing one crop from each planting, though rice

504-423: The animal will be broken down with evisceration and decapitation . The carcass will be placed in a cooler for 24–48 hours prior to the meat being cut. Cattle farming is one of the most emissive forms of food generation, and least effective uses of land and water as resources. Cattle emit large amounts of methane resulting from their digestive process, and the process of preparing and transporting beef results in

532-600: The breeding time based on a number of factors, including reproductive performance, seasonal cattle pricing and handling facilities. Cattle handlers are expected to maintain a low-stress environment for their herds, involving constant safety, health, comfort, nourishment and humane handling. According to the Canadian National Farm Animal Care Council, beef cattle must have access to shelter from extreme weather, safe handling and equipment, veterinary care and humane slaughter. If an animal

560-420: The cereal supply for other countries. Starchy grains from broadleaf (dicot) plant families: Pulses or grain legumes , members of the pea family , have a higher protein content than most other plant foods, at around 20%, while soybeans have as much as 35%. As is the case with all other whole plant foods, pulses also contain carbohydrates and fat. Common pulses include: Oilseed grains are grown primarily for

588-486: The creation of the first temporary settlements and the division of society into classes. This assumption that grain agriculture led to early settlements and social stratification has been challenged by James Scott in his book Against the Grain . He argues that the transition from hunter-gatherer societies to settled agrarian communities was not a voluntary choice driven by the benefits of increased food production due to

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616-454: The extraction of their edible oil . Vegetable oils provide dietary energy and some essential fatty acids . They are also used as fuel and lubricants. Ancient grains is a marketing term used to describe a category of grains and pseudocereals that are purported to have been minimally changed by selective breeding over recent millennia, as opposed to more widespread cereals such as corn , rice and modern varieties of wheat , which are

644-672: The grain trade, such as the fall of the Roman Empire . From the early modern period onward, grain trade has been an important part of colonial expansion and international power dynamics. The geopolitical dominance of countries like Australia, the United States, Canada and the Soviet Union during the 20th century was connected with their status as grain surplus countries. Those who handle grain at grain facilities may encounter numerous occupational hazards and exposures . Risks include grain entrapment , where workers are submerged in

672-405: The last half of their lives in a CAFO. A steer that weighs 1,000 lb (450 kg) when alive makes a carcass weighing approximately 615 lb (280 kg) once the blood, head, feet, skin, offal and guts are removed. The carcass is then hung in a cold room for between one and four weeks, during which time it loses some weight as water dries from the meat. It is then deboned and cut by

700-402: The long storage potential of grains, but rather that the shift towards settlements was a coerced transformation imposed by dominant members of a society seeking to expand control over labor and resources. The grain trade refers to the local and international trade in cereals such as wheat , barley , maize , and rice , and other food grains . Grain is an important trade item because it

728-403: The pasture type. Grain is more expensive than pasture but the animals grow faster with the higher protein levels. Since cattle are herbivores and need roughage in their diet, silage , hay and/or haylage are all viable feed options. Despite this, 3/4th of the 32 pounds (14.52 kg) of feed cattle consume each day will be corn. Cattle weighing 1000 lbs. will drink an average of 41 L

756-524: The product of thousands of years of selective breeding. Ancient grains are often marketed as being more nutritious than modern grains, though their health benefits over modern varieties have been disputed by some nutritionists . Because grains are small, hard and dry, they can be stored, measured, and transported more readily than can other kinds of food crops such as fresh fruits, roots and tubers. The development of grain agriculture allowed excess food to be produced and stored easily which could have led to

784-438: Was a cow's first time calving, she will take longer to re-breed by at least 10 days. However, beef cattle can also be bred through artificial insemination , depending on the cow and the size of the herd. Cattle are normally bred during the summer so that calving may occur the following spring. However, cattle breeding can occur at other times of year. Depending on the operation, calving may occur all year round. Owners can select

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