Cattle Ranching Research Paper

Cameron Raney
Miss Lena Thomas
English IV
27 January 2016

Cattle Ranching Did you know that there are approximately 920 different breeds of cattle in the world? That’s why cattle ranching can be a great job. Cattle ranching is a good career for those who like the outdoors and animals that involves bull management, tips for profit, calving season, drought management, and animal activists. Bull management is the key to making an informed purchase when procuring a bull. And testing, planning and management are the keys to garnering the most productive value from that herd sire. From selecting the right genetics by utilizing modern tools, to ensuring the fill expression of those genetics, there are a multitude of factors to consider in attaining
The 2012 growing season started out promising, with an early planting season, good moisture, and some relief in last summer’s drought-ravaged Southwest. But Mother Nature had other plans and the summer is shaping up to be a challenging one for Midwest crop growers and livestock producers in general. The USDA reported in early July that half of all U.S. pastures are in poor or very poor condition. As pasture dwindles, cattle in some hard-hit areas are going to town, while other producers hope to buy time by feeding winter hay. Severe drought in the Midwest, which was forecast earlier this spring to produce a record crop, has played havoc with grain markets. The July 15 corn cash price (Omaha Basis) is near $7.50/bu., and soybean meal is up 36% over last year, while hay prices continue to post new highs. (“Hot Topics”). Animal Activists also play a key role. There’s a wide range in positions in animal activism – from simple animal handling to full animal rights. But the bottom line is to end the moral and legal distinction between animals and humans and the elimination of animals in the production of food and clothing, and in research and entertainment. Modern-day animal activists use a variety of tools to spread their message, with social media being a potent weapon. (“Hot
Some of the typical options are cow/calf, back grounding feeder calves, or feedlot. The cow/calf producer keeps a herd of cows to produce calves. The backgrounder buys weaned calves and turns them out on pastures until they reach 800 to 900 pounds. The feedlot operator purchases weaned calves or back grounded calves and feeds them to market weight. If you choose to become a cow/calf operation, you will also need to decide whether you would like to run a purebred or a commercial operation. A purebred operation typically raises cattle of one breed. Often a purebred operation will have all registered cattle that can also be sold through purebred sales. A commercial operation may have unregistered purebred cattle or they may have crossbred cattle. Commercial producers can have the benefit of hybrid vigor which is simply the ability of crossbred offspring to increase in productivity over the average of the breeds that were part of the cross. This means that a crossbred calf could grow faster and thus weigh more at a certain age than either of its parents. Many purebred sales are held across the country throughout the year. Sales may offer only one breed or they may offer a large variety of breeds for sale. Also, you may want to become familiar with trends in the beef industry when choosing breeding stock. Choose bulls that will compliment the outstanding