Raising Cattle Raiser Research Paper

In the US today cattle are part of everyday culture. With more than 93 million cattle in the dairy and beef industry, and tens of thousands in the rodeo business, cattle are definitely a huge part. Lately, there has been many concerns with the bovine friends along with multiple misconceptions. Rodeos may look tough on animals, and todays society is not educated well enough on the beef and dairy industry. People don’t realize that these animals are happy, healthy, and very well cared for.

The beef industry is an important asset to United States agriculture as a whole. Over a million agricultural entities benefited from the sales of cattle and calves in the year 2000. Gross totals from sales of cattle and calves in 2000 totaled $40.76 billion accounting of 21% of all agricultural receipts making the beef sector the largest single agricultural enterprise. Direct and indirect employment in or related to the production and processing of beef supports over 1.4 million full-time-equivalent jobs in the US as well. Cattle are produced in all 50 states and their economic impact contributes to nearly every county in the nation and they are a significant economic driver (Lawerance and Otto, 2000).

Ever since forty plus years ago Agriculturalists have shown a variety of show cattle and ran ranches with them. I showed cattle for a few years throughout my FFA experience. Cattle have played a huge role in our society feeding families and other people who reside in this world. Their effect on human culture is something that we take much pride in when raising our cattle whether it is for companion or meat products. Previous cattle showman know and strive to achieve the ultimate goal: winning grand champion. This reward is earned by having the best show calf in the ring to the judge’s perspective. In order to reach this goal, the exhibitor must use proper feeding methods and show technique. (Insert thesis here.)

In the years after the Civil War, Texas seemed to be the land of opportunity. Northern pioneers, newly freed slaves, some Mexican citizens, and cattle poured into Texas. Business savvy cattlemen acted on the high demand of beef in the United States. They assembled herds of free-ranging wild cattle together in South Texas for drives up the trail to railhead markets in Kansas. The men who worked on the cattle trails imagined themselves as cowboys, but never imagined the hard labor that would follow. They left home as young, naïve, but brave men only to return after one season on the trail toughened and wise.

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association is a trade association and policy group that represents all segments of the cattle industry: producers, feeders, and breeders. The association has over 28,000 individual members and represents over 230,000 people in the industry. The current president of NCBA, Scott George, is a cow/calf producer from Wyoming with a long history in the dairy industry and policy groups as a member of the Farm Bureau. In addition to its role in U.S. policy, the NCBA conducts research, marketing, and promotional work for cattle ranchers. The NCBA’s vision is “an industry united around a common goal of being the world’s most trusted and preferred source of beef and beef products.” The economic interests of the cattle

“I’ve heard horse guys talk for years that if you have a good mare, you can breed her to anything,” Brett said. “If you have a mediocre mare, it doesn’t matter what you breed her to, you are going to have a mediocre colt. I think cows are the same way; you’ve got to have a good set of foundation cows that work in your environment.”

The top four meatpacking businesses hold 20 percent of the nation’s cattle in company owned feedlots or cattle bought before-hand, sometimes using secret pricing contracts (138). These farmers are doing everything they can to make a living. This includes rotation practices that big companies would never care about.

In Texas, the word initially denoted an establishment engaged in livestock production using unimproved range pastures as the primary resource, with or without plow land crops. From the beginning, ranching often included raising cattle, sheep and goats, and horses. Cattle ranching has been a major Texas industry for nearly three centuries. Many ranching customs taken for granted today had their origins in Spain, including branding and ear-marking to denote ownership. Texas ranching derived many of its working procedures from Spanish and Mexican cattle-handling methods. Even much of the ranching vocabulary has been handed down from Spanish, though many of the terms have been Anglicized almost beyond recognition.

The value of livestock on Texas farms rose from 10.5 million to 43 million between 1850 and 1860. The number of cattle in Texas have decreased due to more and more ranches being bought out for houses and buildings being

The author uses firsthand knowledge and personal experiences to find common ground with the opposition and turn the finger at the cattle industry instead. Furthermore, her down to earth style and descriptive language establishes her ethos and makes her argument more persuadable. Hasselstrom was successful, in spite of her bias, because she defined her principles, educated the uninformed, and unified the involved parties so solutions ways of thinking could

As the twentieth century approached, America was experiencing a time of considerable expansion. All eyes were looking for ways to make the United States a larger, more powerful, and more efficient country. Because of this wave in American society, there was no movement given more devotion than the settling of the West. The range-cattle industry in its various aspects, and in its importance to the United States and particularly to the Great Plains, has been a subject of focus to Americans since its origin in the mid 1800's. This industry was rendered possible by such factors as vast sections of fertile land, the rise of heavy industry involving the great demand for beef, and

Taking into consideration that the weight of the cows is a key driver of calf weight, which in turn is the key driver of revenue.

When eating anything, most people check the labels to see what the food all consists of. Just like when eating hamburger, some people may want to know if the hamburger came from grass-fed or grain-fed cattle. Depending on the person, they might prefer one over the other. Some people may think that one tastes better than the other or they may just think it is healthier. Not only might the meat coming from the cattle be affected, but also the milk coming from a cow. Either way, further explanations for grass-fed vs. grain-fed cattle will be discussed in this paper.

The conditions in which meat livestock live in is not exactly that of a large open green field in which they are free to roam and be merry. In the Economist article, Cows down: The beef business (2008) the effects of the ill conditions cows talks of how a

Today's competitions heifers and steers are specifically bred for shows. More than likely they are from breeders of club cattle. There is obviously a huge difference in club calves and commercial cattle. We are trying to put basically most of the traits you need in good commercial cattle, but then you add a little show ring pizzazz in them. They need that extra balance,quality, and eye appeal. “The difference is the hair and muscle they have in them,” said Jerry Riley of JDR cattle. “For breeding purposes I am going after that hair, that muscle, that bone that it takes to be a club calve compared to just a commercial cow. Mark Beauprez of Beauprez cattle stated, “There is a lot more of a show cattle look to these cattle.” “The lines are a lot straighter and they are prettier fronted, bigger boned, and a lot thicker of an animal”