Improvement in the Cattle Industry

1. Improvement in the Cattle Industry Stephanie Stimpson

2. Background • Stimpson Brothers Ranch Inc. • Cow-Calf Operation • Operate 500 head of cattle • Charolais/Black Angus, Pure Breed Charolais • Own 20,000 acres

4. Cattle Numbers • Oklahoma: 5,450,000 • Ranked 4th nationally. • United States: 93,701,000 (2010) 94,491,000 (2009) • Ranked 4th in the Country Source: http://www.cattlerange.com/cattle-graphs/all-cattle-numbers.html

5. Cattle Numbers Increasing Over The Years 96-97 97-98 99-00 00-01 98-99 Source: http://www.noble.org/ag/Livestock/KnowledgeIsKey

6. Overall Size and Number of Producers Declining Source: http://pods.dasnr.okstate.edu/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-4570/AGEC-245web.pdf

7. Past and Today 1950’s Today

8. Improvements in the Cattle Industry • Artificial Insemination • Vaccinations • NAIS • Growth Implants

9. Artificial Insemination • AI is the process of collecting sperm cells from a male animal and manually depositing them into the reproductive tract of a female. • First biotechnology applied to improve reproduction and genetics of farm animals. • Scientists in Russian accomplished the first successful AI in cattle in 1899. • Advantages: • By this technique a 1000 cattle can be sired by one bull • Increases the potential for genetic selection • Decreases the cost such as feed • Reduced disease transmission Source: http://www-naweb.iaea.org/nafa/aph/resources/technology-ai.html

10. Artificial Insemination • Disadvantages: • Requires well trained operators and equipment • Requires more time • Operator needs to have knowledge of the structure and function of the reproduction part of the animal • Improper cleaning of the instruments and insanity condition may lead to lower fertility. Source: http://www.world-agriculture.com/animal-husbandry/artificial_insemination_cattle.php

11. Vaccinations • Vaccinations help to protect animals from certain diseases • Types of disease for which vaccines are used: • Blackleg • Brucellosis • Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis (IBR) • Bovine Virus Diarrhea (BVD) • Other Advancements: • Ivomec • Castration • Dehorning

12. National Animal Identification System • Government ran program in the U.S. that surveillances animals by identifying and tracking. NAIS will help control disease. • NAIS is a control mechanism that will quickly identify, isolate, and monitor infected animals. • Government started this system in 2002 after a BSE outbreak in overseas

13. National Animal Identification System • Cattle have radio frequency ear tags (RFID) • The tag will be read every time the animal changes the premises • Animal ID number, premise number the animal is leaving, premise number the animal is entering, date and time of transfer to a Federal central database. • This year the government ended the NAIS to develop a more flexible animal disease traceable system.

14. Growth Implants • Used in beef production for over 30 years. • Feed efficiency increased 5-10%, daily grains 5-15% • Available for all cattle except for calves less than 45 days old. • More than 27 brand of growth implants today. • Improves weaning weight of calves 3-5% and steers gain 1.5 lbs/day • Most cost effective method of enhancing cattle gain and efficiency of gain. • Research indicates that growth • implants will give at least a 10:1 return • on their cost. Source: http://www.sustainabletable.org/issues/docs/Utah_University_Implants.pdf

15. Conclusion • Since the early 1900’s there have been many improvements in the cattle industry. • The number of cattle in the U.S has been declining over the years, but with the improvements of the industry cattle it has came a long ways.

16. Questions