Beef Cattle

Beef cattle course

This popular course gives students the opportunity to learn the principles of beef cattle management, breeding and production. While no one course can be expected to deal in comprehensive detail with all aspects of the beef industry, this course provides a detailed overview of the necessary subject matter for students who are already in the industry or those who are new to the industry. Elements such as nutrition, production, reproduction, and disease recognition, control and treatment, are dealt with in detail.

Comment from ACS Beef Cattle students:

Course Aim:

To help students to analyse and make informed decisions about the management requirements of beef cattle. You should be able to describe and explain the principles and practices of beef cattle husbandry and management.

Lesson Structure

There are 10 lessons in this course:

1. Introduction to beef cattle and beef cattle breeds
   • The role of beef cattle in agriculture
   • Scientific classification
   • Examples of breeds worldwide
   • British Beef breeds - Angus, Hereford, South Devon, Sussex, Red Poll
   • U.S. Developed Beef breeds - Santa gertrudis, American brahman, Amerifax, Beefmaster
   • Eurpean Beef breeds - Salers, Charolais, Simmental, Gelbvieh
   • Australian Beef breeds - Braford, Beefmaster, Droughtmaster, Murray Grey, Australian Lowline
   • South African Beef Breeds - Salorn, Tswana, Tuli, Africkander,
   • Breed selection c0nsiderations - horned vs poll, colour, gestation length, birth weight, mothering ability, post weaning growth, meat quality etc
2. Beef Cattle Production Systems
   • Various systems of production - extensive, intensive, semi-intensive
   • Choosing a suitable system - considerations include size, climate, soils, transport, markets etc
   • Cattle handling facilities
   • Materials used in cattle handling
   • Cattle identification - branding, ear marking, tattooing, ear tags
   • De-horning - chemical and mechanical methods
   • Castration, dips and dipping, and injecting cattle
3. Beef Cattle Breeding
   • Heritability, performance testing, progeny testing, selection
   • Pure versus cross breeding - advantages and disadvantages
   • Calving percentage
   • Management factors to improve calving percentage
   • Weaning Calves
   • Factors affecting calf weaning
   • The anatomy of the male reproductive system
   • The physiology of the male reproductive system
   • Fertility problems in the male
   • The anatomy and physiology of the female reproductive system
   • Fertility problems
   • Pregnancy and partition
   • The structure of the mammary glands
   • Secretion of milk
   • Growth and development
   • Post natal growth
   • Compensatory growth
4. Diseases in Beef Cattle - Viral and Bacterial
   • Determining health status of the animal
   • Signs of a healthy animal
   • Causes of ill-health
   • Injury, poor nutrition, poisoning, parasites, hereditary conditions etc
   • Preventing ill-health
   • Correct feed and nutrition, insect control, parasite control, vaccinations, control stress etc
5. Parasitic and Other Diseases in Beef Cattle
   • Some parasitic diseases
   • Other ailments of cattle - actinobacillosis, anaplasmosis, arthritis, beef measles
   • Poisoning, Pink eye, Milk fever, bloat etc
6. Nutrition in Beef Cattle
   • Feed type - Roughages and concentrates
   • Carbohydrates, protein, fats
   • Grass or grain feeding
   • Rations for beef cattle - maintenance or production rations
   • Maintenance rations
   • Procedure for calculating a ration
   • Supplementary feeding of protein
   • Lot Feeding
   • Minerals
   • Common macromineral deficiencies
   • Common trace mineral deficiencies
   • Diagnosis of trace mineral deficiencies
   • Vitamins
   • Water for farm animals
   • Protein
7. Commercial Herd Management
   • The breeding herd
   • Production systems
   • Cow-calf herd
   • Beef production systems using dairy stock
8. Feed Lot Management
   • Lot feeding - types of feedlot
   • Managing cattle in a feedlot
   • Feedlot Records
   • Article on pen feeding in south Africa
9. Stud Herd Management
   • Time of calving
   • Feeding
   • Fertility
   • Indicators of fertility in bulls
   • Indicators of fertility in cows
10. Management, Economics and Marketing
    • Profitability
    • Factors affecting gross output
    • Factors affecting variable costs

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

Aims

• Describe the nature and scope of Beef Cattle Production.
• Compare different beef production systems
• Discuss beef cattle breeding and its significance to production.
• Develop a sound, but general introduction to animal health.
• Describe significant parasites that infect cattle and determine appropriate management of these and related problems.
• Recommend appropriate provision of feed for commercial beef production.
• Develop a management strategy for a commercial beef herd.
• Explain feed lot management for beef production.
• Explain Stud herd management for beef production.
• Determine significant management requirements for a beef production enterprise, in order to attain and sustain a viable economic performance

What You Will Do

• Visit, contact and/or research a range of enterprises which may include farms, agricultural shows, and suppliers of farm products in order to research, photograph, describe and specify facilities in the places visited as a basis, or part basis, of assignment questions
• Identify beef cuts on a labelled diagram of a steer's body
• Judge a beef animal according to commonly recognised commercial standards
• Choose two breeds suitable for beef production in specified climates
• Observe and report on common cattle husbandry tasks, including dehorning, castration, dipping, vaccination, and drenching
• Explain methods that are used to control beef cattle movements
• Prepare a production schedule or timetable of husbandry practices for a typical beef cattle property in your locality for a period of 12 months
• Attempt to determine the nature and scope of beef cattle breeding in your state or country
• Explain the differences between and advantages of pure breeding and cross breeding
• Describe and explain management and other factors that can affect calving percentage and calf weaning
• Visit, contact and/or research a supplier of health care treatments for cattle to determine what products (e.g. dips, medicines etc) are available
• Describe a significant viral disease, including its identification, symptoms and control
• Interview someone working in the industry to determine the significance and nature of disease problems in beef cattle
• List parasites and related organisms that are significant to beef cattle in your region
• Report on the preferred food requirements for beef cattle on a beef property you have visited
• Explain common health problems affecting animals, including the circumstances under which animals contract health problems, and methods used to prevent the development of ill health
• Analyse physical indicators or symptoms of ill health in animals
• Explain the diagnostic characteristics of the main types of animal pathogenic microorganisms
• Explain the methods used in the treatment of pests and diseases in farm animals
• Diagnose simple health problems in farm animals.
• Develop guidelines for assessing general signs of ill health in beef cattle. These guidelines should consider diseases and nutritional factors
• Compare the management of beef cattle in feedlot with the management in a paddock
• Explain the management of a stud beef herd on a property you visited
• Explain the legal requirements and regulations concerning beef cattle
• Distinguish the following terms of grades of beef: prime, choice, good, standard, utility