B&J Cattle
Cattle are domesticated and bred for their specific qualities. Whether for feedlot or cow-calf operations, the cattle breeding markets in the USA are flourishing due to amazing farm advantages.
Breed selection can be a source of debate. Some breeds have characteristics better suited to certain feed conditions or particular environments than have others. No one breed is the best for all environments and all markets.
Brahman
The Brahman breed (also known as Brahma) originated from Bos indicus cattle from India, the “sacred cattle of India.”. Through centuries of exposure to inadequate food supplies, insect pests, parasites, diseases, and the weather extremes of tropical India, the native cattle developed some remarkable adaptations for survival that cattle producers in the USA found useful and advantageous.
Today, its use in crossbreeding has become a great tool for the production of steers for various purposes. Its meat is highly appreciated in the five continents.
The Brahman has become so essential in the tropics that many British and Continental breeds have “adapted” to such zones by incorporating a relevant percentage of Brahman blood. Synthetic breeds have resulted from such crossings: Brangus – Braford – SimBrah – ChaBray, – BeefMaster. These are just a few examples of Brahman’s popularity.
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United States Cattle breeds are born and raised on farms, two-thirds of cattle and almost all sheep and lambs spend their entire lives in this pasture-based environment. While the remaining one-third of cattle are grain-fed, they spend the majority of their lives on farms.
Brahman Cross
The Brahman is suitable for crossbreeding, giving excellent hybrid vigour in the progeny. It has been involved in the development of stabilised crossbreeds including Braford, Brangus, Droughtmaster, Charbray and Santa Gertrudis.
Angus
Aberdeen Angus cattle are naturally polled and can be black or red in colour although black is the dominant colour, white may occasionally appear on the udder.
They are resistant to harsh weather, undemanding, adaptable, good natured, mature extremely early and have a high carcass yield with nicely marbled meat. Angus are renowned as a carcass breed. They are used widely in crossbreeding to improve carcass quality and milking ability. Angus females calve easily and have good calf rearing ability. They are also used as a genetic dehorner as the polled gene is passed on as a dominant characteristic.
Black Angus are now the most popular beef breed of cattle in the United States with 324,266 animals registered in 2005.
Hereford
The modern Hereford is coloured dark red to red-yellow, with a white face, crest, dewlap, and underline. Herefords with white flanks and white markings below the knees and hocks are also common. Most animals have short thick horns that typically curve down at the sides of the head, but there is a polled strain in North America and UK (Polled Hereford).
These cattle are known for their vigor and foraging ability and for their longevity, many females live and produce calves beyond the age of 15 years. Bulls are capable of remaining profitable at stud to the age of 12 or more. Many breeders keep their elderly cattle until they die of natural causes.
Herefords are generally docile and fast growing cattle with good beef quality.