One other thing people don't know is that Black Angus Beef™ and Angus cows are two different things. Someone got smart and trademarked the Angus name. Who knows what cow it came from.
Umm well sorta,, but they left out the affidavit the producer signs at the sale that swears the fed cattle/calves are from purebred or registered angus bulls, and that the cows are either mostly angus if not purebred, and there is no Brahman, or Dairy influence in the genetics.
CAB started about 25 years ago, the Angus breeders association got the ball to rolling, Monfort's packing plant in Greeley Co, was the only place that was approved to provide the carcassed/boxed CAB branded beef. When they started the kill run for the CAB carcasses they only took the purebred stock, then if they were short they would take the blackhided beef.
If a person is serious about being in the cattle business and staying there, at the moment Angus is the place to be... The nice thing is if and when the Hereford folks ever get their head pulled out, a person is only a half dozen bulls and one year away from being able to go either way.
So, regional differences aside, what cattle make the best steaks?
That is going to depend on who you ask. In my opinion if you can find a market that sells usda prime it will be fine eating. I don't care what color they are.
D
http://beefextension.com/files/OSUNRC2006_instructions.doc Here's some reading for you buffy. Does anyone else here remember having to use a Pederson ( iirc that was how it was spelled) triangle? Using those in school before calculators were fun, not.
BigDan, look around down in your area and find someone who butchers the old "Florida Cracker Cows"! That's supposed to be awesomely good beef! I'm leaving at daylight in the morning going down to Brooksville to the annual Florida Cracker Cow & Cracker Horse Assoc. meeting, so I'll ask around about where Miami folks can get fresh beef. These cows, and there are still herds of 'em around, will make a living in the woods eating saw palmettos, gallberry bushes and all the other "natural browse" that deer eat! Don't have to have pasture grass for 'em!
Few folks know it, but Florida has always been big cattle country and still is! Back in the mid-late 1800's when the cattle industry was getting established out in Texas and the West, Florida was running wide open with all the rustling and killings that went with it. Texas was a "Sunday School Picnic" compared to Florida's cattle country range war killings! Do a little research on a Cowboy named "Bones Mizell" and see what you think!
#2 industry in the State of Florida is Agriculture, and it isn't just oranges.
D
"A patriot is mocked, scorned and hated; yet when his cause succeeds, all men will join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot." Mark Twain
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.... now who's bringing the hot wings? :jester:
Woodsrunner, I know some fellers that raise those Cracker Cattle around Ft. Myers. And there are still a lot of 'feral' cattle down in the swamps in that area. The guys I know go in the swamps and catch them for breeding stock. Them boys is a rough bunch of young fellers, too! Have to be to wrassle one of them big critters into a trailer! :tooth:
“I refuse to answer that question on the grounds that I don't know the answer” ― Douglas Adams
Yep we were just at the Sunbelt Expo in Moultrie last week (second largest Ag exp in the world with outside demos) and the FL cattlemen were well represented there.
Most Florida beef has Brahman influence. Simple reason, those Indian cows have more sweat pores per square inch of hide and they just handle the heat better.
Lots of Florida ranchers are raising Brafords which are a 3/8 Brahman, 5/8 Hereford cross. Good looking cows.
I've got a cousin that started raising Florida Crackers a few years back. Like worth Rich's heirloom corn, there's a lot of interest in heritage breeds of livestock.
BigDan, look around down in your area and find someone who butchers the old "Florida Cracker Cows"! That's supposed to be awesomely good beef! I'm leaving at daylight in the morning going down to Brooksville to the annual Florida Cracker Cow & Cracker Horse Assoc. meeting, so I'll ask around about where Miami folks can get fresh beef. These cows, and there are still herds of 'em around, will make a living in the woods eating saw palmettos, gallberry bushes and all the other "natural browse" that deer eat! Don't have to have pasture grass for 'em!
Few folks know it, but Florida has always been big cattle country and still is! Back in the mid-late 1800's when the cattle industry was getting established out in Texas and the West, Florida was running wide open with all the rustling and killings that went with it. Texas was a "Sunday School Picnic" compared to Florida's cattle country range war killings! Do a little research on a Cowboy named "Bones Mizell" and see what you think!
I know beef is big business here in Texas, but I didn't know about Florida. Thanks.
Sometimes, I lie awake in bed at night wondering "Why the heck can't I fall asleep?"
NRA Life Member
Down the middle of the state, it's cattle and horse ranches as far as you can see.
The coasts have a different type of heifer and filly. Two legged.
From the Florida Agriculture website:
As of January 1, 2013 all cattle and calves, including dairy cattle, on Florida farms and ranches totaled 1.66 million head, down 50,000 from the previous year. Nationally, Florida ranked 12th in beef cows and 17th in total cattle. The average annual beef price of cattle marketed in Florida in 2012 was $104 per hundredweight, up from $88.70 per hundredweight in 2011. In 2012 Florida dairies produced 2.34 billion pounds of milk.
D
"A patriot is mocked, scorned and hated; yet when his cause succeeds, all men will join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot." Mark Twain
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.... now who's bringing the hot wings? :jester:
Opinions usually get based on experience.... When I was a young'un, the only beef we got to eat was the milk cows calves....Was 20 some odd years old before I could stand the taste of beef, much preferred elk.
You find a cut of Galloway beef, and cook it up right, you'll wonder what you were thinking eating those Holsteins...
I am pretty sure the biggest ranch in the nation is in Florida not Texas. I only dream about mine being bigger. I was able to rent some pasture this year and I was hoping to get a long term lease but the owner is going to use it so no luck. It is very hard to find grass to rent around here.
Thanks for the links by the way. I'm looking less at growing next year and more towards getting equipment to mill our own. I still may plant but take it slow.
Tennmike you've mentioned auction sites and there are a couple within an hour drive of here. Have found some good looking equipment for not a lot of money especially one you consider what we've been paying in feed.
Tennmike you've mentioned auction sites and there are a couple within an hour drive of here. Have found some good looking equipment for not a lot of money especially one you consider what we've been paying in feed.
Check out Richie Brothers auctions in your area. They have them all over the place and do farm equipment auctions on occasion.
Reason obeys itself; and ignorance submits to whatever is dictated to it.
It took us about 10 years to figure out the way to make a small fortune raising beef cattle is to start with a large fortune!
Jerry
Like most small businesses, government has gotten in the way. If you could butcher and sell your own meat I believe you could make a profit.
D
"A patriot is mocked, scorned and hated; yet when his cause succeeds, all men will join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot." Mark Twain
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.... now who's bringing the hot wings? :jester:
Spam for sure, but I just learned a thing or two about cattle. I think dairy farmers in Michigan still use silage for feed. I always take a peek at Richie Brothers auction yard by the highway on my way to go shooting. Not in the market to buy, just curious.
Replies
Black Galloway, brought to butcher weight on grass and then finished for 30 days on grain.
Umm well sorta,, but they left out the affidavit the producer signs at the sale that swears the fed cattle/calves are from purebred or registered angus bulls, and that the cows are either mostly angus if not purebred, and there is no Brahman, or Dairy influence in the genetics.
CAB started about 25 years ago, the Angus breeders association got the ball to rolling, Monfort's packing plant in Greeley Co, was the only place that was approved to provide the carcassed/boxed CAB branded beef. When they started the kill run for the CAB carcasses they only took the purebred stock, then if they were short they would take the blackhided beef.
If a person is serious about being in the cattle business and staying there, at the moment Angus is the place to be... The nice thing is if and when the Hereford folks ever get their head pulled out, a person is only a half dozen bulls and one year away from being able to go either way.
a
Few folks know it, but Florida has always been big cattle country and still is! Back in the mid-late 1800's when the cattle industry was getting established out in Texas and the West, Florida was running wide open with all the rustling and killings that went with it. Texas was a "Sunday School Picnic" compared to Florida's cattle country range war killings! Do a little research on a Cowboy named "Bones Mizell" and see what you think!
D
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.... now who's bringing the hot wings? :jester:
― Douglas Adams
Most Florida beef has Brahman influence. Simple reason, those Indian cows have more sweat pores per square inch of hide and they just handle the heat better.
Lots of Florida ranchers are raising Brafords which are a 3/8 Brahman, 5/8 Hereford cross. Good looking cows.
I've got a cousin that started raising Florida Crackers a few years back. Like worth Rich's heirloom corn, there's a lot of interest in heritage breeds of livestock.
I know beef is big business here in Texas, but I didn't know about Florida. Thanks.
NRA Life Member
The coasts have a different type of heifer and filly. Two legged.
Yeah now you're talking opinion. You can't tell the difference in two breeds of cow that are fed exactly the same.
Like I said, some of the best steaks I've ever had were Holstein grain fed.
From the Florida Agriculture website:
As of January 1, 2013 all cattle and calves, including dairy cattle, on Florida farms and ranches totaled 1.66 million head, down 50,000 from the previous year. Nationally, Florida ranked 12th in beef cows and 17th in total cattle. The average annual beef price of cattle marketed in Florida in 2012 was $104 per hundredweight, up from $88.70 per hundredweight in 2011. In 2012 Florida dairies produced 2.34 billion pounds of milk.
D
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.... now who's bringing the hot wings? :jester:
You find a cut of Galloway beef, and cook it up right, you'll wonder what you were thinking eating those Holsteins...
Tennmike you've mentioned auction sites and there are a couple within an hour drive of here. Have found some good looking equipment for not a lot of money especially one you consider what we've been paying in feed.
Jerry
Jerry
Like most small businesses, government has gotten in the way. If you could butcher and sell your own meat I believe you could make a profit.
D
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.... now who's bringing the hot wings? :jester:
10% death loss is about all a fella can handle and still expect to make the bills....
Those cancer eyed cows make good hamburger.