Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. 508 Principles of Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources Beef Industry 10.1 Lesson Outcomes By the end of this lesson, you should be able to: „ Understand the size and the scope of the beef industry. „ Understand common terminology of the beef industry. „ Identify the major cuts of beef. „ Describe the components of the beef industry. „ Understand commonly used production systems in the beef industry. „ Describe different breeds of beef cattle in the United States. Before You Read Do an Internet search for breeds of beef cattle in the United States. Pick three breeds you would like to research and learn more about. Research at least one breed of which you have not heard of before. The term beef cattle refers to cattle used to produce beef. Beef is the meat humans consume from harvested cattle. Examples of beef would be hamburger, steak, and roast beef. Beef cattle are not indigenous to the United States. Many historians report that when Columbus came to America, there were no domesticated animals. Cattle and other domesticated animals came to America on Columbus’ second voyage in 1493. Beef Industry in the United States Today, the beef industry in the United States is a large, multibillion dollar industry that contributes greatly to our economy. According to the USDA, the beef cattle industry generates $44 billion in economic impact, and there are approximately 87.7 million head of cattle in our country. The average size cow herd in the United States is 40 head. The top five states (in order) in beef cattle production are Texas, Nebraska, Kansas, California, and Oklahoma, Figure 10-1. U.S. Beef Exports In 2014, the U.S. beef industry exported 5.6 billion pounds of beef with the top export markets being Canada, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, and Hong Kong. In 2013, the average person spent $288.17 on beef in the United States. Lesson Words to Know artificial insemination (A.I.) backgrounding operation beef beef cattle Bos Indicus Bos Taurus bovine breed breed association brisket bull calf calving chuck commercial cattle cow cow-calf operation cud cutability feedlot flank gestation heifer herd loin offal plate polled primal cut purebred purebred breeder rib (Continued)