Beef And Sheep Industry

Front 1

List the 4 different types of beef farms.

Back 1

1) Bull beef farms
2) Bull breeding farms
3) Once-bred heifer systems
4) Finishing farm

Front 2

What is the main objective of a bull beef farm?

Back 2

To fatten entire male calves and finish them for slaughter at 16 months.

Front 3

What is the main objective of a beef breeding farm?

Back 3

To rear 95 calves per 100 cows until weaning at 6 months.

Front 4

What is the main objective of a finishing farm?

Back 4

To fatten and finish weaners as fast as possible.

Front 5

What is the main objective of a once bred heifer system?

Back 5

To utlilise cross-bred heifers from dairy cows to produce terminal progeny to be finished. Heifer is sold as 'prime' soon after calving.

Front 6

How long is the gestation period of a cow?

Back 6

9 months

Front 7

Heifers are mated as ______ or _______

Back 7

15 months or 27 months

Front 8

Ovulation cycle of a beef cow is ______days

Back 8

21 days

Front 9

At what age and during what season are calves castrated?

Back 9

Summer as 3 month olds.

Front 10

Name four factors that affect the grade of a carcass.

Back 10

1) Age
2) Sex/castration status
3) Freedom from fault
4) Weight range

Front 11

What season does calving occur?

Back 11

Spring

Front 12

In which season are the heaviest heifers and mature cows mated? What is the bull to cow ratio and how many cycles are there?

Back 12

Summer.
1:40 ratio with 3 rotations.

Front 13

At what age and what season are calves weaned? What happens to the males and females?

Back 13

Weaned as 6 month olds in Autumn.
Non-replacement and male calves are sent to weaner fairs.
Young replacement females are fed for growth.
(NOTE: dry cows and cull cows are sold for slaughter at this time too)

Front 14

What happens during winter in the beef calender?

Back 14

Continual feeding of replacement heifers and pregnant heifers.

Front 15

Give at least 4 examples or how animals born in dairy industry may contribute to beef production later in life.

Back 15

1) Bobby calves sold as veal
2) Female bobby calves sent to finishing farms to be fattened and slaughtered.
3) Female bobby calves sent to once-bred heifer systems to produce terminal calves, then sold as 'prime'.
4) Entire male bobby calves sent to bull beef farms to be finished at 16 months

Front 16

What are the two main beef cattle breeds in NZ?

Back 16

Hereford and Angus

Front 17

What season of the year are beef cows mated?

Back 17

Summer

Front 18

Order the world meat market from largest to smallest: Bovine, Ovine, Poultry, Pigmeat

Back 18

1) Pigmeat
2) Poultry
3) Bovine
4) Ovine

Front 19

Order growth rate from fastest to slowest:
Bull, steers, heifers

Back 19

1) Bulls - 16 months
2) Heifers - 18 months
3) Steer - 20 months

Front 20

Describe how the dairy industry is vital for the NZ beef industry.

Back 20

Many beef cattle are beginning to originate as surplus calves from dairy cattle industry.
More grazing available to slaughter animals (no beef breeding herd to maintain).
No capital overhead associated with beef-breeding herds, can generate more direct income.

Front 21

What country is the largest producer of beef?

Back 21

USA

Front 22

How much of NZ's annual beef production is exported?

Back 22

80%

Front 23

Give an advantage and a disadvantage of keeping a bull entire.

Back 23

Advantage: Grows 20% faster that steers.
Disadvantage: Harder to handle/manage

Front 24

How many female progeny of a beef breeding cow herd are kept as replacements. What happens to the rest?

Back 24

30% are kept. The rest are either finished or sold store.

Front 25

Why are cattle and sheep usually farmed together?

Back 25

Cattle and sheep do not compete for the same feed adn cows ensure high quality herbage fro sheep. Thus will result in more even and efficient utilisation or pasture.
Cattle also ingest larvae and eggs of parasitic worms that infect sheep but don't cause harm to themselves.

Front 26

When are pregnant cows fed above maintenance levels before calving?

Back 26

In August, 6 months before calving.

Front 27

List 5 reasons for removing wool from sheep.

Back 27

1) Removing wool from ewes prior to lambing to encourage her to seek shelter.
2) Wool collection
3) Prevent over heating
4) Remove dags
5) Increase motility in sheep

Front 28

What are the four basic sheep farm types?

Back 28

1) Ram breeding farm
2) Self replacing flock
3) Non self-replacing flock
4) Lam finishing farm

Front 29

What is the main objective of a ram breeding farm?

Back 29

To produce quality rams to be sold to other farmers as breeding stock. Selection objectives differ depending on breeds and farming systems they are sold to.

Front 30

What is the main objective of a lamb finishing farm? What type of lambs to they target?

Back 30

To fatten and finish weaners as fast as possible. No ewe flock. They target terminal cross lambs or male lambs as they grow faster.

Front 31

What is the main objective of a non self-replacing flock?

Back 31

To purchase replacements as surplus from self-replacing flock to bred to a terminal sire. All progeny are sold to slaughter.

Front 32

What is the main objective of a self-replacing flock?

Back 32

To produce replacement progeny from own flock ( X same breed sire), or produce progeny to be sold store or finished (X terminal sire).

Front 33

What is the most common ram:ewe ratio used and what is the average pregnancy rate?

Back 33

1:100 ratio, 97% pregnancy rate

Front 34

What season of the year are ewes mated?

Back 34

Autumn

Front 35

Name three fine-woolled breeds of sheep used in NZ.

Back 35

Merino, Corriedale, NZ halfbred

Front 36

There has been a drop in sheep numbers in NZ. However, what two factors have increased to produce similar total weight of product?

Back 36

1) Individual carcass weights, lambing percentage

Front 37

What are the 5 products of the sheep industry?

Back 37

Wool, meat (lamb, mutton), abattoir by-products (gelatin, pharmaceuticals), milk and its derivatives, fertilizer.

Front 38

What is the difference between fine and coarse wool and what are their uses?

Back 38

Fine: Less than 30 micron, uses for under garments that sit on skin.

Coarse: More than 30 microns, uses for carpets and over garments.

Front 39

The value of _______has increased while the value of ______ has been stable (SHEEP)

Back 39

Lamb increased, wool stable.

Front 40

What three things in regards to productivity have increased in the sheep industry?

Back 40

1) Numbers of lambs sold per ewe.
2) Ave lamb live weight
3) Lambing

Front 41

When are ewes mated for the first time and what happens prior to that?

Back 41

Ewes first mated as 2 toothes. They are vaccinated

Front 42

What happens to the management of ewes 1 week before lambing?

Back 42

Set stocked to separate singletons from multiple-bearing ewes.

Front 43

Gestation period of sheep.

Back 43

5 months

Front 44

When are lambs docked/castrated/ear marked?

Back 44

1 and a half months after birth (mid-Spring)

Front 45

When are lambs weaned?

Back 45

Summer (Dec)

Front 46

Ewe mating occurs in 2 rounds. How long are each of the rounds (ovulation period) and with what time of ram?

Back 46

2 x 17 day rounds. First with Romney sire, then terminal sire.

Front 47

List 5 things that occur during winter on sheep farm.

Back 47

1) Ewes are pregnancy diagnosed.
2) Dry ewes sold to slaughter.
3) Multiple bearing ewes are fed more
4) Ewes are feed at maintenance levels (saves feed for late pregnancy)
5) Hoggets are fed above maintenance.

Front 48

Sheep meat classification:
1) Lamb
2) Hogget
3) Mutton
4) Ram

Back 48

1) Lamb - No permanant incisors erupted, under a year old.
2) Hogget - Young male/maiden female with no more than 2 permenant incisors.
3) Mutton - Female or castrated male with more than two permanant incisors.
4) Ram - Uncastrated male.

Front 49

What is a terminal sire and what features in a ram are selected for?

Back 49

One whose offspring will all be slaughtered. Selected based on growth and carcass characteristics.

Front 50

List 3 factor to do with the industry process that deduce carcass payment for farmers.

Back 50

1) Industry levies
2) Killing charges
3) Industry costs

Front 51

What kind of records do ram breeding farms keep and why?

Back 51

Number of lambs born, weaning weight of lambs, later liveweight, fleece traits

To ensure genetic improvement or rams and maintain superiority over farms that purchase rams.