الأحد، 25 مايو 2014

The Wide Diversity Of Beef Cattle Genetics

By Marci Glover


When you think of cattle, you think of herds of magnificent beasts thundering on the range. Think Ponderosa Ranch. Think Rawhide. The year 2009 saw the beef cattle genetics mapped, the first such livestock for which this remarkable milestone in molecular biological research was met. We eat their muscle as beef. We drink their milk and process it into butter, cheese and other dairy products. We use them on the farm as beasts of burden.

The first domesticated cattle have been traced back to southeast Turkey roughly about 10,500 years ago, when there were an estimated 80 progenitors. Today, the world accommodates approximately 1.3 billion of these tasty beasts, useful beasts. Other products derived from this group of mammals include dung (used for fuel) and leather, used for clothing and other items.

The Angus breed comes from Scotland in the counties of Angus and Aberdeenshire. These animals are polled, which means they do not have horns. They are solid in color, either black or red, and they have red or black udders, although this part of the animal may also be white. Black Angus are the most common breed in the United States. They are raised for their meat, dairy products and they are used as draft animals.

Limousin are highly muscled and come from France. Raised originally as draft creatures, they were eventually discovered for their high quality, tender, lean meat around two hundred years ago. They are a popular breed to raise because their calves tend to be smaller, making them easier for the cows to deliver.

Cattle are bred in Japan, too. These are the Wagyu breeds. The beef they produce is heavily marbled with desirable, "healthy" unsaturated fat, making them tender and tasty. These beasts attract a high price. It is not unheard of to lace their feed with beer or sake; this is to make it easier to digest and to boost the animals' appetite during spells of hot, humid weather. Perhaps sadly, the flavours do not come through in the final product that appears on the dinner table and in restaurants.

The beefalo were engineered from the American bison, or buffalo, and plain old garden variety domestic animals. The intention was to cross breed them to yield an animal that would comfortably withstand cold, hard winters. The down side to this was a reduction in the numbers of the rapidly dwindling American buffalo. There are now only four herds left, only one of which has not been tainted with the disease, brucellosis. These animals live in South Dakota.

The Belgian Blue actually does have blue hair, albeit mottled with gray. It can vary along a spectrum from white to black. These animals are known for their ability to easily convert feed into lean, low-fat muscle. This characteristic is reflected in their stature.

Lowline cattle were bred in Australia from the Aberdeen breed. Naturally small, they are good as pets or for children to show them in exhibitions. Shorthorns, from the East of England, are used for both dairy and meat. Hereford cows originated in England and now reside in more than 50 countries across the world. Brangus is a hardy cross between a Brahman and an Angus. These are only a few examples of the diverse breeds of livestock used for dairy, beef and as working animals.




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