Beef Cattle Breeds

Beef cattle breeds are animals that are well-muscled, because muscle is beef. And Beef is what we eat. Beef breeds commonly found in Canada include Hereford, Aberdeen Angus, Charolais, Simmental, Limousin, Maine Anjou, Salers, Gelbvieh, and Shorthorn. Farmers and ranchers look for when choosing bulls and cows for their herds include having good feet and legs for traveling to grass and water, producing lots of milk and taking good care of a calf and being able to have a calf easily without help. Some beef farmers raise purebreds, but most have herds consisting of crossbred animals (combinations of more than one breed) to combine the best qualities of each breed.

Other Cattle Breeds Other breeds are used by the dairy industry to produce milk for people, most notably the black-and-white Holsteins. Dairy breeds tend to have thinner coats of hair and have less muscling than beef breeds, as they put all their energy into making milk. Beef breeds usually only produce enough milk for one( or twin) calf.

Hereford Came from England, UK Have Traditional and Polled breeds. Found all over the world.

Angus Came from Scotland Naturally polled ( no horns) 2 Breeds: Red Black Most popular breed in the US (in 2005)

Charolais Came from France Pure White Most often used for crossbreeding

Simmental Came from Switzerland One of the oldest breeds of cattle Come in Black, Red, Red and white, and Black and white Also good for crossbreeding Not all are polled.

Limousin Came from France First were naturally horned Head is dark with lighter colouring around the mouth First used as draft animals (pulled wagons) Can be red or black More tender meat

Maine Anjou Came from France Large breed Came to Canada through Artificial Insemination Cows were used to produce milk and bulls for meat

Salers Came from France Long, light coloured horns Thick hair Red or Black Were used for working, milk and meat

Gelbvieh Came from Germany Were originally known as “red-yellow Franconian cattle” They were triple purpose cattle: Milk, Meat and Draft.

Short Horn Came from England There are Beef and Dairy Shorthorns They are coloured red, white or roan

Speckle Park They are native to the Canadian province of Saskatchewan (by Maidstone!) Canadian Speckle Park is a truly Canadian breed developed from three British breeds: Teeswater Shorthorn, Aberdeen Angus, and an English breed with a white park(the colour around the ears, eyes, muzzle, lower legs and teats) pattern. Came from British Breeds, is naturally polled and has similar characteristics as Angus

Holstein Came from Europe Used for dairy production Mostly black and white, some are red and white