Module 1 Assignment  

                                                                                            January 25 202

1. How do your buying decisions regarding beef align with or differ from this week's
learning module?

My buying decision regarding beef align with the week’s learning module that beef consumption
and buying has been affected by both the availability of cheaper protein sources and the
difference of quality and pricing in the market. This is primarily due to the price of beef being
much than other protein sources such as chicken and turkey in Austria. In addition, there are
significant quality and specification that I am looking for when purchasing beef, and this usually
come with a higher price tag than the cheap available beef imported into the country.

2. What are some common misconceptions that the American public sometimes holds
regarding beef?  How would you, as an educated agriculturalist, respond to people
who believe these myths?

There are a couple of misconceptions regarding beef with the American Public. First is the
numerous safety scares to beef with regards to specific outbreak of diseases including E. Coli
and Mad Cow Disease. Studies have already show for example that green vegetable is a major
distributor of E Coli rather than meat, where more than one fifth of all food borne illnesses.
Second is the trend in the health and safety of consumers where beef has been linked to heart
disease and obesity. The trend is to push for leaner meat such as poultry. This has lead
consumers to reduce the consumption of fat. What I can promote as an educated agriculturalist is
proper education and information sharing to others. There are a lot of misconceptions being
portrayed by the media, the only way to negate this trend is to educate and share factual
information to others to ensure that misconceptions are kept to a minimum. This include sharing
only government approved reports of outbreaks, sharing of studies conducted by reputable
sources and ensuring people around me are informed how illnesses such as E coli, are spread.

3. The peak number of cattle in the U.S. occurred in 1975 with 132 million. What
accounts for the drop-off in the past several decades beyond the reasons listed in
this week's learning module? 

There are two main factors that attributed to the decline and drop-off of number of cattle in the
United States, namely the lack of consistency in the quality of beef and cheaper sources of
protein became easily available. The first one is attributed to the wide variety of breeds and
producer preferences in the industry. The difference of quality started to turn away consumers
due to different attributes such as taste and tenderness. The second cause is the beef consumption
to decline due to the entrance of poultry as a cheaper protein source. The poultry industry was
able to meet the specifications that consumers wanted and integrated them in the process.
Chicken was aggressively advertised and the consumers were satisfied. Additionally, the
production cost of chicken was considerably lower and you are able to produce a product within
less than a few months.

4. What is the optimal calving season in your region? Identify your location in your
answer and justify your response.
Within the area I am living in Austria, the optimal calving season is spring time. This is to the
fact that the area has a considerable four season climate that has a direct effect to the forage
available and the nutritional value of the forage. During spring, the environment is producing the
most nutritional forage and is able to meet the demand for a lactating cow. Additionally, some
breeds are also provided with hay and other supplements to ensure that the body conditioning
score of the cow is at optimal level while she is lactating.

5. Briefly describe the segments of the beef industry.

The beef industry is divided into phases based on number, size and activity. These segments
include the seedstock producers, commercial/cow-calf producers, yearling operations, feedlot
phase and the processing phase. The seedstock producers provide the breeding stock for the cow-
calf/commercial producers. The cow-calf/commercial producers has the highest number of man
power involved. The calves from the commercial producers are then sent to the feedlot phase or
are grown in stocker/yearling operation. Once they are ready, they are sent to the last segment
which is the processing segment where the slaughter and packer facilities will process the
animals to products.

6. What are the differences in Bos Taurus & Bos Indicuscattle?

The main difference between Bos Taurus and Bos Indicus cattle is the breed of cattle and their
attributes. The Bos Taurus cattle are European decent that are well suited for cooler climstes and
produce high quality beef. The Bos Indicus cattle are considered tropical breeds that are able to
tolerate heat and insects better. They generally produce a lower quality meat in terms of
tenderness.

7. What is meant by the phrase, "match the cattle type to the environment"?

The phrase match the cattle type to the environment talks about how it is important to match the
cow type to the environment to decrease cost or prevent additional input cost. This talks about
how we must understand that some cow types will have a higher input rate on each environment
type and it is essential to lower these cost by knowing what is the most suitable one.

8. Search for an online resource that outlines the differences between cattle breeds.
List the link and then evaluate its effectiveness as a tool for a ranch manager.

 http://agriculture.vic.gov.au/agriculture/livestock/beef/breeds/breeds-of-beef-cattle

One online resource I have found is the comparison of breeds of beef cattle by the Victoria State
Government Ministry of Agriculture website in Australia. The tool basically show cases the
different attributes and information about the breed and puts them in a tabular form highlighting
the key characteristics such as calf size, milking ability, cold tolerance and so forth. I found this
tool to be extremely effective for a ranch manager as it will enable you to understand, compare
and contrast the different types of breed that can be suitable for your environment. This is
important as the overall goal of the farmer is to maximize profit, and to do so by being informed
about the most suitable breed for your environment and market.
 9. Visit the National Cattlemen's Beef Association Website to view statistics about the
beef industry(Links to an external site.): Answer the questions below regarding the
webpage (20 points)
a) How many pounds of beef did the US export last year? Who are the main  
buyers?

In 2018, the total volume of beef export was 1.35 million metric tons. The main buyers include
Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Hong Kong, Canada and Taiwan.

b) What is the average age of the beef producer and what may be some reasons
contributing to this?

The average age of a principle beef cattle rancher is 57.4 years old. This can be attributed to the
decreasing number of people going into the cattle industry as well as a very competitive markets.
Majority of the beef farmers and ranchers are family owned farms where second and third
generation of the family are not so interested in going into the family business.

c) What is the average size of a cow herd? Explain why you think they are
relatively small.

The average size of cow hers in the US are less than 1,000 head capacity, where this compose of
85.8% of the US feedlots. This can be attributed to the fact that most of the ranch and farms are
family owned. There is a clear limitation in managing such a big head herd, and the cost
associated with it.

10. What are the performance measures producers strive to meet in their cow herd?

The performance measures producers strive to meet in their cow herd are directly connected to
the overall profitability of the of the animals. This include high conception rates of at least 95%,
95% percent of calves weaned, calf weaning weight of 550-600 pounds, high production
efficiency that leads to a low variable and fixed costs, and high grade calves to ensure top market
prices.

11. What does preconditioning of calves for sale usually include?

The preconditioning of the calves is preparing feeder claves for movement from their home
ranch or farm to a feedlot by weaning, vaccinating and other postweaning practices. This is
basically a system to prepare calves to the feedlot in a much shorter time period. These include
the castration and dehorning if needed, worming, treatment for grubs, implanting with a growth
stimulant, pen or lot branding as directed by the buyer, vaccination for diseases such as
infectious bovine rhinotracheitis, bovine virus diarrhea, bovine respiratory syncytial virus,
leptospirosis, Pasteurella infection and blackleg, adapting to a feedlot finishing ration.

12. List the unique features of feeder cattle production in the Southeast U.S.?
The unique features of feeder cattle production in the southeastern states of the US is that cows
and calves are often maintained on grass ten months or more annually. The cool season grasses
are productive in the spring and fall, while Bermuda grass grows well during the summer heat.
Additionally, the prices of feeder cattle from the south east is generally lower  due to the lower
production and input cost as they are able to graze much longer due to its better grazing season.