Beef Cattle Selection California State Standards Animal Science Pathway D5.1 Evaluate a group of animals for desired qualities and discern among them for breeding selection.

Question of the Day: Objective: What hybrid did we “create” in class yesterday? Objective: Today I will understand how to select beef cattle for breeding as demonstrated by my placement of the final class of 4 Angus heifers.

Beef Cattle Basics Female= Cow (older than 3 years) Heifer (Younger than 3 years) This is a certain breed of beef cattle (ANGUS). Holsteins are a breed, not a gender. Cattle aren’t bred until around 14 months, so heifers are cows who have had one or less calf. Male= Bull

Evaluating Breeding Beef Cattle 3 traits to evaluate: Conformation/ Soundness Volume/Capacity Muscling Based on the general term of beef cattle, what do you think the main purpose of BEEF cattle are? (TPS) Marbles: the intramuscular fat= tasty tasty

Conformation The skeletal and muscular structure of an animal. Good conformation Bad conformation

Conformation Includes: Feet and Legs Topline View from front, back, and side Topline

Which is Correct? 3 Hold up your fingers-everyone 1 2

Topline Level and even. No slope

Volume/Capacity Who can hold the most water? Length of body Depth of side Spring of rib

Which one has more capacity? 1 Fingers 2

Muscling Where do you see muscle on a beef heifer? Stifle Round/ Quarter Overall width and depth Please label your pictures as I label mine. Write all your notes down please.

1 Right off the bat, which one is heavier muscled (fingers)? 2, correct, now lets take a closer look at why. Please make the same notes I make on the board, this will help you to judge the class later. 2

Check for Understanding What are the 3 traits we are evaluating for in breeding beef cattle? What are the 3 things we look for to show us capacity? Where are two places to look for muscling? 1. Point at your notes where the answer is. Everyone put your finger on the answer! (then random call)

Activity Using the qualities we just discussed (conformation, capacity, and muscling), please place the following 4 Angus heifers first through last and then give an explanation using comparisons. Example: Placing: 4-1-3-2 4 was the most capacious and had the best feet and leg structure. Additionally, she had the straightest, most level topline and was the widest at her stifle. 1 was also very capacious and had a level topline, however she was slightly more cow-hocked from behind and narrower at her stifle, so she went second. 3 was no where near as capacious as 1 or 4 because she was shallower through her ribs, even though she was level through her topline and stood on square feet and legs. 2 simply couldn’t compare with the class. She was the lightest muscled as shown through her quarter and has the least capacity since she was short bodied and narrow from topline to the bottom of her rib. Important: you MUST include your explanation!

Class 1 of Angus Heifers 1 2 3 4