The market for beef in the United States of America is substantial. Meeting this demand exceeds the capacity of local suppliers and some beef that is sold in America is imported. However, the country's most renowned beef breed is a local variety, namely Irish black and Irish red cattle. This breed has been developed at home in the USA, and these animals have an established reputation for superlative breeding and standard of carcasses.
In the 1960s, Iowa cattle breeder Maurice Boney started to develop the breed by using Friesian and a small proportion of Aberdeen Angus lines. Some of the Friesian bulls were from Ireland, hence the Irish part of the name. After a process of approximately 50 years, the Irish Reds of today are renowned in the industry for their breeding prowess and standard of meat.
Boney's priority in his breeding program was to keep the genetics as pure as possible. He tried to maintain homozygous traits (where both parents have the same characteristic) rather than involve heterozygous possibilities. As he explained, his approach ensured that the breed's gene pool remained more consistent than that of others. This ensures predictable results in breeding.
Most of these cattle are born with sable hides, but a few of them are red. The quality of their hides is high. One possible explanation for the sporadic appearance of a red individual is that, about 300 years ago in Scotland, Aberdeen Angus cattle were interbred with English Longhorns, in order to produce larger, more powerful specimens.
The Irish red hide is caused by a recessive gene, so it may be present in many individuals but not expressed in hide color. This is how it may have arrived from the UK. Mammals have two genes for each characteristic, so if a gene is recessive it won't be expressed in the phenotype (the physical animal) unless it constitutes both genes.
The meat of Irish black and red cattle has a pleasant taste and marbling. It is graded 80 to 90% Choice or higher. Carcasses receive similar ratings. The meat is thus saleable to any industry sector and can be used in any processing activity.
Cattle farmers pay attention to the breeding potential of the animals. The female Irish black or red cattle have relatively wider pelvises, so they do not usually present problems in giving birth. They exhibit significant fertility and their gestation period is also short, at about 280 days. This means that they can produce more offspring during their lifespan. Their udders are exceptional and produce much milk. The sires breed calves with a low weight at birth.
This breed grows to a considerable size, with the calves reaching 1300-1400lb. They gain about 1lb for every 5lb of grain fed to them. This is an important statistic in an industry that mass produces meat for a large market.
The success of Irish black and red cattle illustrates what is possible using natural methods of deliberate breeding. At a time when genetic modification is establishing an increasing presence in agriculture, people may still learn from the example of Maurice Boney. The question is as to how genetic modification can improve an already superior piece of steak.
In the 1960s, Iowa cattle breeder Maurice Boney started to develop the breed by using Friesian and a small proportion of Aberdeen Angus lines. Some of the Friesian bulls were from Ireland, hence the Irish part of the name. After a process of approximately 50 years, the Irish Reds of today are renowned in the industry for their breeding prowess and standard of meat.
Boney's priority in his breeding program was to keep the genetics as pure as possible. He tried to maintain homozygous traits (where both parents have the same characteristic) rather than involve heterozygous possibilities. As he explained, his approach ensured that the breed's gene pool remained more consistent than that of others. This ensures predictable results in breeding.
Most of these cattle are born with sable hides, but a few of them are red. The quality of their hides is high. One possible explanation for the sporadic appearance of a red individual is that, about 300 years ago in Scotland, Aberdeen Angus cattle were interbred with English Longhorns, in order to produce larger, more powerful specimens.
The Irish red hide is caused by a recessive gene, so it may be present in many individuals but not expressed in hide color. This is how it may have arrived from the UK. Mammals have two genes for each characteristic, so if a gene is recessive it won't be expressed in the phenotype (the physical animal) unless it constitutes both genes.
The meat of Irish black and red cattle has a pleasant taste and marbling. It is graded 80 to 90% Choice or higher. Carcasses receive similar ratings. The meat is thus saleable to any industry sector and can be used in any processing activity.
Cattle farmers pay attention to the breeding potential of the animals. The female Irish black or red cattle have relatively wider pelvises, so they do not usually present problems in giving birth. They exhibit significant fertility and their gestation period is also short, at about 280 days. This means that they can produce more offspring during their lifespan. Their udders are exceptional and produce much milk. The sires breed calves with a low weight at birth.
This breed grows to a considerable size, with the calves reaching 1300-1400lb. They gain about 1lb for every 5lb of grain fed to them. This is an important statistic in an industry that mass produces meat for a large market.
The success of Irish black and red cattle illustrates what is possible using natural methods of deliberate breeding. At a time when genetic modification is establishing an increasing presence in agriculture, people may still learn from the example of Maurice Boney. The question is as to how genetic modification can improve an already superior piece of steak.
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