With
so many cattle breeds today, choosing which one to grow on your ranch
can become quite difficult. Each breed has a wide variety of
characteristics that make it unique—some breeds are better suited
to certain environments than others, and some are easier to manage.
Despite the variety, one particular breed will surely fit your goals,
so you should look into each breed to find the one that will suit
your interest, resources, environment, and growing capacity.
Cattle
breeds differ in size, color and markings, carcass traits, weather
tolerance, etc., and are categorized either as horned, scurred
(cattle selected to be polled but are historically known to be
horned), or polled (cattle that have absolutely no horns). Some
horned breeds have been infused with Angus genes in recent years, so
the offspring are now polled. Popular European breeds such as
Gelbvieh, Limousin, Salers, and Simmental now come in polled
versions, if you wish.
Beef
breeds are leaner and stockier than dairy breeds, because the former
are meant for beef production rather than milking. Many beef breeds
were originally bred for size and strength—so they can be used to
pull carts, plows, and wagons—as well as for beef. When farm
machinery and trucks became widespread, the muscled beef breeds
ceased to be used for basic labor and started to be selectively bred
solely for beef production.
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