What if I told you I could SAVE you 20% in your cattle operation? Or what if I told you owning a bull was not necessary? Would you think that’s a load of BULL? It’s not. Let me tell you HOW and WHY this is possible!
One would think that owning bulls is necessary in a cow-calf business. But, maybe not. You have the option of breeding your cows by artificial insemination (AI). Artificial insemination is when animal breeders place semen from a male animal into a female animal. The sperm from the semen meets with the female’s egg and a baby animal begins to develop. Artificial insemination makes it possible for breeders throughout the world to introduce the best traits into their herds, even though males with those traits might not live
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That should give a more uniform calf crop, with heavier average weaning weights. AI is used because it also increases the use of outstanding, high performing, proven bulls. It will increase the uniformity of calves, replacement heifers and the cow herd. It reduces the risk of transmitting diseases as there is no physical contact between the bulls and the cows. Artificial insemination can drastically improve the genetics of your herd.
Some other reasons why producers want to control the breeding of their animals through AI may include: trait selection, eliminate the effects of environment and nutrition, increase production efficiency, growth rate, disease resistance, and to predetermine the sex of offspring.
The breeding process is the result of careful study and planning by the producer of both the cows of their herd and the prospective bulls. The data collected from both sides is very important. Beef cattle producers must select the traits that are most important to improve their individual
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For instance, in a herd of dairy cows or a flock of laying hens, females are the only commercially useful sex. In some cases, an animal is being bred specifically for use as breeding stock; in this case, it is far more useful to produce a male that can be bred with multiple females than a female, which can only produce a limited number of offspring. In mammals, the sex of the offspring is almost always determined by the male parent. The problem in sex selection is to separate the Y-carrying sperm from the X-carrying sperm. Thus far, it has been too expensive for commercial application, but the economic advantages may outweigh the cost for some producers. For an added investment of about $10 in semen cost per cow, you can purchase sexed semen, assuring at least 90% heifer (or bull)
The Dairy Cattle Instructional Unit was built in 1992 and is used for a wide range of instructional activities. The first floor of this unit contains two classrooms, a computer room, a nutrition and physiology laboratory, and a microbiology laboratory. Numerous plaques and awards from local cattle shows dot the white walls. Cal Poly has bred some of the top-rated cows in the nation for type and production and individual cows have won many awards for the rich content and amount of milk produced. Industrial-like stairs along one wall lead up to the second floor where visitors can view the milking process. Cows are milked at the milking parlor daily from 4 to 6 am and 4 to 6 pm. This immaculate parlor can milk 16 cows at one time and contains state of the art milking equipment including an energy-efficient pre-cooling system, which the milk passes through before being stored in two 3,000-gallon bulk tanks. The physiology laboratory is used for artificial insemination, feed analysis, and dairy biotechnology courses. Students perform experiments such as embryo manipulations and transfer techniques in this laboratory.
An excited crowd waits expectantly to see the horse, cowboy, and calf burst out of the chute. Within seconds, the cowboy has the calf roped, on the ground, and tied. The action appears effortless. Two wranglers release the calf, and it trots out of the arena, seemingly unharmed. The question remains, are rodeos humane? That does the calf think of all this excitement? Contrary to what many people assume, PRCA (Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association) sanctioned rodeos treat their livestock humanely.
Also used are three synthetic hormones which include estrogen compound zeranol, androgen testosterone acetate, and progestin melengestrol acetate. (Organic Consumer Association) However, when hormones are given to cattle some of the naturally occurring hormone levels could go up seven to twenty times the normal level. Scientists have growing concerns about the use of the hormone. Scientists are concerned with the hormones used and their impact on the environment.
Pit Bulls are without a doubt my favorite dog, I adore them. Pit Bulls are very well tempered, loyal, and resilient animals. Bred for big game hunting, Pit Bulls are strong, fierce animals and people who have the wrong intentions for ownership should never own them. I am a strong believer that a potential pet owner should do lots of research before getting any type of animal, without exception. Owners should do as much research before getting a dog as they do in planning for a new home or any other new family member. One of the main things to really think about and understand is your intentions for your selection of an animal with the breeding of the Pit Bull. If you choose a dog with the wrong intentions, specifically a Pit Bull, you will get a dog that behaves aggressively and is dangerous. This owner behavior is what has caused the current plight of the Pit Bull today, where laws have been passed in thirteen states and hundreds of municipalities, as well as every U. S. Military base, banning the ownership of the breed and forcing shelters to euphonize Pit Bulls within 24 hours. These laws are unjust and cruel, and victimize the breed based on the owners’ behavior. I also argue that the blame for the epidemic proportions that the laws have reached is 100% the fault of owners who purposely acquired the Pit Bull with the intention to abuse and fight the dogs, and that these owners are the ones who should be punished, not the dogs. (Davis)
There is no humane way to raise beef cattle to meet the world's growing demand. Let's take a look at one of the biggest beef based corporations in the world, Tyson. Tyson slaughters and packages 170,938 cattle every day! That number is not including any other of the corporations who are
America is one of the world’s largest producers of beef. According to Raloff (2002), approximately 36 million beef cattle are raised in America each year, and approximately two-thirds are treated with hormones (para.2). Farmers use these hormones to increase the rate of growth in their cattle. By increasing the cattle’s growth rate, the farmers can produce more beef and still making more money, they can sell it at an inexpensive rate to the consumers. The hormones that may be administered to beef and dairy cattle may already be produced, in small amounts, naturally in their own bodies or synthetic. According to the U.S. Department of Food and Drug Administration (2002), “the accepted naturally occurring hormones that may be administered to beef and milk producing cattle are estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, and the synthetic hormones that are accepted are zeranol, trenbolone acetate, and melengestrol acetate.” None of the hormones listed above are acceptable in the industries in Europe to give for the food and milk productions.
Speed, in a word, or, in the industry’s preferred term, “efficiency.” Cows raised on grass simply take longer to reach slaughter weight than cows raised on a richer diet, and for a half a century now the industry has devoted itself to shortening a beef animal’s allotted span on earth… what gets a steer from 80 to 1,100 pounds in fourteen months is tremendous quantities of corn, protein and fat supplements, and an arsenal of new drugs. (71)
People may argue that meatpacking is an important industry for its efficiency and low cost. These naysayers are correct in saying this is an important industry. One way to mke it a much healthier industry, however, is to cut the efficiency of it. If there are not thousands of cattle in a pin, the risk of the cattle contracting a deadly virus such as E. Coli is proven to come down tenfold.
Livestock is vitally important for food and other activities. In high-school, livestock showing is very popular. Livestock showing teaches many things, including responsibility. Showing is far more than just taking an animal into the show ring, you must prepare. When show season is complete the animals go somewhere, even though people don’t want to think about it.
Some people are infertile and can’t have children others have an implantation, or others get sperm donors. In a way these are a few modern examples of genetic engineering. If a woman would like to have a sperm donor she is more likely to pick the person that has the best facial features, body structure, and doesn’t have a family history of diseases. Everyone wants to fit in with society and its culture.
Such products include vaccines, medications, and antibiotics to support healthy and consistent herds of beef producing cattle. It segments the market into three distinct categories. Hobbyists herd less than 100 cows; Traditionalists commonly carry between 100 to 499, and businesses are working with 500 or more. (Mohr, 1999) Time spent in the field with the ranchers was allocated based on the volume of product purchased by each individual.
An abundance of Americans have no idea that most of the food that they consume are either processed or altered in one way or another. “Almost all beef cattle entering feedlots in the United States are given hormone implants to promote faster growth. The first product used for this purpose is DES (diethylstilbestrol) it was approved for use in beef cattle in 1954. An estimated two-thirds of the nation's beef cattle were treated with DES in 1956. (Swan, Liu, Overstreet, Brazil, and Skakkebaek)” Many people enjoy the various meats that comes from a cow, but that would probably change if the consumers knew that cattle is one of the most processed meat source in the market today because of the synthetic hormones that the cows are given. “ The three synthetic hormones are the estrogen compound zeranol, the androgen trenbolone acetate, and progestin melengestrol acetate. (Swan, Liu, Overstreet, B...
Calving season is the time when the rubber hits the road in the cow business. After all, without a live and thrifty calf, all the anticipated payoff of expenditures in genetics, cow health, facilities, feed, labor, etc., are just wasted dollars. This section offers practical advice on genetic selection, passive immunity, calving issues, calf health, weaning, and
Cows go through a cycle of impregnation, birth and milking. 9.3 million cows are used to produce milk while they're impregnated. "Cows spend their lives indoors, typically on hard, abrasive concrete floors, frequently connected to a milking apparatus" (Farm Sanctuary). Cows are slaughtered for beef in the United States. These cows used for human consumption live for an average of 5 years because they are exhausted after all the intense torturing. "Young calves endure a long and stressful journey to a feedlot, where they are fattened on an unnatural diet until they reach "market weight" and are sent to slaughter" (Farm Sanctuary). Animal abuse in the food industry has allowed the companies to get more money because of the food they
Cows are naturally very gentle and calm creatures. These smart and sweet natured animals have been known to go to great lengths to escape slaughterhouses. More than forty-one million of these sensitive animals suffer and die a painful death each year in the United States. When cows are still very young they are burned with hot irons, there testicles are torn or cut off, all without painkillers. Most beef cattle are born in one state, live in another, and are slaughtered in another. The cows who survive the gruesome transportation process are shot in the head with a bolt gun, hung upside down by there legs, and taken onto the killing floor where there throats