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Developing New Types of Beef Cattle for Semi-Tropical Conditions

U. S. Department of Agriculture

Abstract

The consensus of opinion among beef producers throughout the principal production areas is that the popular beef breeds of British origin are able to adapt themselves to the environments of the United States as a whole.

In general that opinion is correct but careful observation backed up by research studies for the last 15 years leads me to the conclusion that highly bred cattle of our widely used beef breeds do not adapt themselves fully to conditions of the Gulf Coast.

Many have thought that the cattle tick was all that stood in the way of success in raising highly bred cattle in our semi-tropical localities. True, the tick menace was of great magnitude, but the splendid tick-eradication work by both State and Federal forces has left only a memory of this pest in the greater part of the originally infested area. Other problems still remain. The warm climate, and the type and quality of vegetation found in our extreme southern area require an unusual degree of hardiness. It is well known by men who have given the breeds of British origin a fair trial in the Gulf Coast Region, that scale cannot be maintained in purebred herds over a period of years. For commercial purposes the native southern cattle are of considerable value as foundation stock for grade herds. They are extremely hardy, which is of primary importance. Hardiness can be developed in herds by the use of native cows or by introducing foreign cattle that have been developed under tropical or at least semi-tropical conditions. In developing new types, greater progress can be made with selected cattle of known ancestry, rather than by the use of cattle of unknown blood lines, such as the natives of the South which are largely a mixture of many breeds.