Beef Production Medicine Flashcards
what are advantages of beef cattle?
convert unusable substances to human food
graze on ground that cannot be used for farming
use by-products
does not compete with humans for grain
how long is the cattle cycle?
8-12 years
define the cattle cycle
cattle producers’ decision to grow and decrease their herd size
what’s the cattle cycle affected by?
cattle prices
input costs
gestation period
time needed to raise calf to market weight
climates
what are the two sectors of beef cattle production?
cow-calf
fed-cattle
describe the cow-calf production of beef cattle
herd of beef cows, raising calves until weaning
some bulls/heifers may stay in herd, feedlot, sold to producers
require range/pasture forage
describe the fed-cattle production of beef
grain fed beef
steers and heifers from cow-calf = slaughter
*stocker, preconditioning, backgrounding
feedlot
what’s the ideal BCS for a breeding heifer?
6/9
what percent of mature BW do you breed a heifer?
65% mature BW
(715-845 lbs)
what percent of mature BW do you want a heifer to be at time of calving?
85% BW
how many calves is ideal for a female to calve out in her lifetime?
~7 calves
when is calving season?
spring +/- fall
list some challenges that occur during calving season
dystocia
neonate loss
what’s the stocker program?
graze on grass for 3-4 months post-weaning
cheap gains
generally then sold as a group at heavier weight to feedlots
what’s the preconditioning program?
30-60 days
deworm/dehome/vaccines/castrate
all prior to feedlot
what’s implanted into beef cattle once at feedlot?
anabolic implant
helps increase ADG
describe where the captive bolt should be placed for proper slaughter of beef?
describe beef grading system
