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Beef
cattle rearing in the US
By
Marjorie Henry, Contributor
AS
WE continue with our review of beef
cattle farming, this week we turn
our attention to this farming system
in a section of the United States,
namely the Great Plains. Where in
the U.S. are the Great Plains? Even
before you declare ignorance of the
location of this area, may I remind
you that mention was already made
of it in a previous lesson that dealt
with arable farming more specifically,
wheat growing in the Canadian Prairies.
This
is an extensive temperate grassland
area lying to the east of the Rocky
Mountains. The term Central Lowlands
is also used to identify the area.
The text Principles of Geography for
CXC by Norrel London and Mike Senior,
informs us on the climatic condition
of these gently rolling plains and
also identifies the area where beef
cattle are reared. Let me quote from
that text:
"Being
in the interior of a large land mass
the Great Plains experience an extreme
type of climate. In the northern part
of the region the winters are cold,
with temperatures averaging below
freezing point, but further south
they are much milder. Precipitation
is light, with most of the area having
less than 500 mm per annum. Much of
the precipitation occurs in summer.
The natural vegetation of the Great
Plains is temperate grassland.
In
the wettest parts of the Great Plains
arable farming is important, especially
the growing of wheat. In the drier
areas, however, the land is used for
the extensive grazing of cattle and
sheep."
The
states where beef is the main product
are Colorado, Wyoming, Nevada, New
Mexico and Arizona. Find a map of
the U.S. in your atlas and identify
these states as well as the Rocky
Mountains.
As
already mentioned, the natural vegetation
of the Great Plains is grass, but
the low rainfall experienced in this
area results in sparse grassland where
the grass is short. These low-grade
pastures result in very large cattle
ranches which may cover several hundred
square kilometers, since each cow
needs a significant amount of land
to survive.
The
text Modern Caribbean Geography by
J. Niles, informs us a little more
about the size of these ranches.
"In
dry areas such as Arizona (rainfall
200 mm), 40 hectares may be needed
to support one animal. Farms are therefore
quite large. In 1982, the average
size of a farm in Arizona was approximately
2260 hectares. Nevada and Wyoming
also have large farms that averaged
more than 1300 hectares in 1982."
The
literature further informs us of a
system known as Transhumance practised
in the Great Plains.
"Transhumance
is the seasonal movement of farm animals
between distant pastures. During the
summer, the animals are driven to
pastures in the mountains, returning
to the plains in winter. This gives
the pastures on the plains a chance
to recover. The animals cannot stay
in the mountains during the winter
because of heavy snowfall."
We
need to be aware of the specialised
breeds of animals which are reared
for beef on the Great Plains. Several
are named in the textbooks.
*
Hereford and Angus These are
breeds which were developed in the
UK in the nineteenth century for beef
production. The animals put on weight
in the rump, and in other parts of
the body which produce high-grade
meat.
*
Texas Brahmans This is a breed
of jumped cattle which was developed
by crossing Indian Zebu cattle with
European breeds. Texas Brahmans cope
well with hot conditions and poor
pasture.
*
Santa Gertrudis This breed was
developed by cross-breeding the Shorthorn
with the Brahman.
*
Brangus A cross between the
Brahman and the Aberdeen Angus.
The
topic continues next week. Keep reading
on it from your many textbooks.
*
Marjorie Henry is Geography
teacher at Glenmuir High School in
Clarendon. Send your questions and
comments to the CXC Study Guide, the
Gleaner Company Ltd., 7 North Street,
Kingston; or email us at jcampbell@gleanerjm.com
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