Tracking Performance and Health of the Beef Calf From Birth to Carcass

摘要

The beef cattle industry must get past the conventional philosophy that "good-looking" cattle are profitable and instead use accurate performance data to make business decisions (Smith,1999). The U.S. cattle industry is comprised of more than 1 million individual farms or ranches that provide the nation with a steady supply of safe, nutritious beef. Cattlemen form the largest part of the U.S. food and fiber industry, which, in turn, is the largest segment of the U.S. economy (about 17.5 percent of the gross national product). Cattlemen produce feeder or breeding cattle; stocker operators who put weight on feeder cattle before they enter feedlots; and cattle feeders who bring the cattle to market weight, as well as various allied partners and companies. The U.S. annually produces nearly 25 percent of the world’s beef supply with less than 10 percent of the world’s inventory. (NCBA Factsheet January, 2000). By 2007, world beef trade is predicted to rise by 33% and the U.S. share of world beef tradeis expected to increase from its current 20% up to 30% by 2007 (Adams as cited by Ritchie, 1999). The beef industry is undergoing significant changes with regard to increased emphasis on food safety, consistency of the product, beef quality assurance and source verification. One industry challenge will be to accurately and consistently track individual performance from the ranch to the packing plant; no small challenge.