Beef Cattle! It's What's in This Quiz

Answer: Charolais

Charolais were brought from France when Jean Pugibet wanted to start a herd at his Rancho El Fortin in Mexico. The King Ranch in Texas bought two Charolais bulls from Pugibet and started a herd in the United States. The importing of Charolais stopped when Jean Pugibet died and, after a case of Hoof and Mouth disease, the United States stopped the importing of cattle.

Charolais have creamy coats that are short in summer and long in winter. The bulls can weigh up to two tons while the cows can get up to one ton.

Answer: Chianina

Chianina is pronounced kee-a-nee-nuh. The breed of beef cattle originated in the Chiana Valley of Tuscany where Chianti wine was made. Chianina were first used as draft animals before they were slaughtered for their beef. The United States was given a semen sample from Diaceto I in 1971.

Italy was one of the countries banned from importing cattle to the US due to Hoof and Mouth disease so only sperm was available for a few years. Chianina have short hair that can be white or grey in color. The Chianina cows can weigh up to sixteen hundred pounds while the bulls can weigh up to two tons.

Answer: Longhorns

Texas Longhorns were brought to the United States by Christopher Columbus. The horns on a Longhorn can measure up to four feet long in cows while bulls can get up to six feet in length. Texas Longhorns were bred for longevity.

In 1927, the U.S. government settled Longhorns at refuges in Oklahoma and Nevada. Smaller herds were kept for breeding by cattlemen. In 1964, the Texas Longhorn Breeders Association was started. Texas Longhorns could weigh up to fifteen hundred pounds and vary in color.

Answer: Wagyu

Wagyu literally mean Japanese beef. Cattle were introduced into Japanese culture during the second century. There are several different breeds of Wagyu in Japan. Wagyu beef came to the United States in 1976 with the introduction of four bulls from Japan. It was only in 1994 that two different breeds of Wagyu beef cattle, consisting of thirty-five cattle, were sent to the United States.

Because of the differences in Japan's terrain, different cattle breeds were raised with different feeding techniques. Beer was served to the cattle during the summer to stimulate their appetite. Japanese farmers also believed in massaging their cattle to keep them calm and increase the tenderness of the meat. Wagyu cattle come in black and red and are known for their low birth weights.

Answer: Highland

Highland beef cattle were registered in 1884. It was around this time that cattlemen in the United States saw how great this breed was and had them brought over from Scotland. Highland beef cattle are highly adaptable to any temperature. Because of the long hair that covers their faces, eye diseases in Highland beef are rare.

Highland beef cattle have excelled in quality at the National Stock Show in Colorado. The British Royal family keeps a herd of Highland beef cattle at Balmoral Castle. Highland bulls can weigh up to eighteen hundred pounds while cows can weigh up to eleven hundred pounds.

Answer: Black Angus

Black Angus is the most recognizable breed of beef cattle in the United States and the most used for beef in U.S. restaurants and grocery stores. Black Angus beef cattle have good genetics and over twenty million recorded in the American Angus Association database.

Black Angus cattle came out of Victoria, Kansas in 1874 on a ranch owned by George Grant. Black Angus cattle weigh over eighteen hundred pounds while the cows weigh a little over a ton. The dark pigment of a Black Angus helps protect from diseases like cancer, but the cattle suffer from joint problems, dwarfism, and malformed skull.

Answer: True

Simmental beef cattle began as a cross between German cattle and a lesser known cattle breed found in the Simme Valley of Switzerland. While they are known as the Simmental in Switzerland, France knows this breed of beef cattle as Pie Rouge while Austria calls them Fleckvieh.

There are between forty and sixty million Simmental located on six continents. Simmental can be red or gold in coloring. Simmental cows can weigh upwards of fifteen hundred pounds while Simmental bulls can weigh upwards of twenty-eight hundred pounds.

Answer: Braford

Alto Adams, jr. was the first to cross a Brahman cow and a Hereford bull to create a new breed of beef cattle. At first breeding the two created cattle that weren't physically able to withstand the climate of Florida. Finally, Alto was able to get a breed of beef cattle that would be recognized in the Foundation Herd of the Braford breed in the United States.

Brafords get their red coloring from the Hereford side of their gene pool. Due to a chemical in their blood, the Brafords are resistant to insect infestations and heat. Braford bulls can weigh close to two tons while the cows can weigh up to a ton.

Answer: Gelbvieh

Gelbvieh (pronounced gel-fee) were a European breed of beef cattle brought to America through semen in the 1970s. When the semen arrived in America, it was put through strategic testing by the Meat Animal Resources Center in Nebraska. More than half of the beef cattle found in Nebraska are Gelbvieh.

Jim Swanee, an Australian man, took the Gelbvieh semen to Australia with him to start his own herd of Gelbvieh. The Gelbvieh beef cattle can be red or gold in color and weigh over six hundred pounds.

Answer: Limousin

Limousin beef cattle originated in France between the central and western part. Cave drawing found in Montignac, France drawn thousands of years ago showed a resemblance to Limousin cattle. The beef cattle grew to be a sturdy and adaptable breed known as "the butcher's animal" because of their use as food. Limousin cows weigh about thirteen hundred pounds while Limousin bulls weigh around two ton.

The Limousin are normally reddish gold in color.