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Comparing
beef cattle rearing in Jamaica and
USA
By
Marjorie Henry, Contributor
IN
TODAY'S lesson, I will compare beef
cattle rearing in Jamaica and the
Great Plains of USA in a few selected
areas, namely, breeds, areas for ranching,
feeding practices and market. Find
for yourselves, other areas for comparison.Let
me now share with you, sections of
past questions testing this aspect
of the syllabus. Try to find the answers
for them as you continue to review
this topic. They are all Question
7 on the question paper.
|
JAMAICA |
GREAT
PLAINS - USA |
| AREAS
FOR RANCHING |
Beef
cattle farming is done on lands
that are classified as being marginal. |
Beefs
cattle farming is done on the
drier areas of the western parts
of the Great Plains. Most of the
land is low-grade pasture |
| BREEDS |
The
principal breeds are Jamaica Red
Poll, Jamaica Braham and the Jamaica
Black. |
Hereford,
Angus, Texas Brahmans, Santa Gertrudis
and the Brangus. |
| FEEDING
PRACTICES |
Cattle
are kept in paddocks (fenced grass
fields). Ratational grazing is
often practiced. This means that
cattle are kept in one paddock
for just a few days before being
moved into another one.
In order to ensure good quality
animals for slaughtering, the
animals are kept in feedlots where
they are fed according to a carefully
planned programme which is designed
for maximum weight gain in a short
time as possible. |
Transhumance
is practiced. This is the seasonal
movement of farm animals between
distant pastures. In summer, the
animals are taken to the rich
pastures in the highlands and
in winter, they return to the
plains.
In winter, the animals are kept
in barns. They are stall fed with
fodder obtained during the summer.
The cattle reared on ranches on
the Great Plains need to be fattened
up before they are slaughtered.
They are given concentrates, gain,
and vitamin supplements, and hormones
to encourage weight gain. |
| MARKET |
Beef
is sonsumed locally. Fresh beef
is sold. Production cannot meet
local demands, hence there is
no surplus for export. |
Beef
is consumed locally and there
is also an export market. The
beef is also processed and canned
for sale. |
June
1997
(b)(i)Name
a Caribbean country in which large-scale
commercial cattle ranching is
important. (1 mark)
(ii)For
the country named in (b) (i), describe
TWO physical problems which cattle
ranching faces. (6 marks)
(c)(i)
Compare feeding practices on the cattle
ranches in the country named in
(b) (i) with those on the Great Plains
of the United states of America. (8
marks).
June
1998
(b)(i)Describe
the marketing of beef cattle
*
on the Great Plains of the USA
*
in a named Caribbean country.(7 marks)
June
1999
(c)
(i)Explain how any TWO climatic conditions
affect pastoral farming on the Great
Plains. (6 marks)
June
2001
(b)(i)Describe
TWO problems which affect beef cattle
production in the Caribbean. (4 marks)
(ii)
Describe TWO problems which affect
commercial pastoral farmers on the
Great Plains of the USA as a result
of climate.(3 marks)
June
2003
(c)
(ii)Compare commercial pastoral farming
in a named Caribbean country with
that in the Great Plains of the USA
under the following headings:
*
Farm Size
*
Feeding Practices
*
Marketing (8 marks)
*
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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