4-H I Can Do... Beef

The Beef Project Is . . .

But the 4-H Beef Project is more than showing beef animals. It also helps boys and girls learn about selecting, feeding, breeding, and day-to-day care of beef animals. To take the Beef Project, you’ll need to own a steer, heifer, or cow/calf and have a place to care for your animal.

The 4-H Beef Project can be divided into two parts: The Beef Breeding Program (see Extension publication YANR-0147) and the Market Steer Program (see Extension publication YANR-0145). The Beef Breeding Program is usually started with a young heifer, either purebred or commercial. The heifer is fed, cared for, and bred to start a beef herd. The herd grows as you keep the calves or buy more heifers.

In the Market Steer Program, a 4-H member must select a different animal each year. A steer weighing approximately 500 pounds is selected. He is fed, cared for, and trained until he weighs about 1,200 pounds.

Things You’ll Learn

• The breeds of beef cattle.
• Desirable conformation (body build).
• Classes of feeds and proper feeding practices.
• How to groom and show beef animals.
• Desirable slaughter grades.
• The parts of a beef animal.
• How to sell a beef animal.

Things You Can Do

• Visit purebred and commercial beef operations.
• Visit a packing plant or feed mill.
• • Feed and care for your animal.
• Attend one or more livestock shows.
• Show your own animal.
• Take part in a meats judging or livestock judging contest.
• Tour an Experiment Station.
• Give a demonstration on beef to your local club.

4-H Beef Activities of

Cattlemen have used brands for many years to mark their cattle. The brand is a symbol, a code that tells anyone who sees it who the animal belongs to.

Here is a code. Each symbol stands for a letter of the alphabet. The answers to the following descriptions are in code. Break the code and write the answers in the blank.

1. A black breed of cattle that is polled, meaning naturally hornless or genetically dehorned:
   

2. Cattle recognized by their white faces and red bodies:
   

3. White cattle considered to be the first exotic breed used in Alabama:
   

4. The nutrient that supplies the major source of energy for cattle:
   

5. The material necessary for proper bone and tooth formation in cattle:
   

6. A cow that has not produced a calf:
   

7. A castrated male calf:
   

8. A male animal used for cattle breeding:
   

Annual Record of Beef Activities,

Animals Bought or Raised During Year
Date	Description of Animal	Weight	Cost

Total Cost or Value____________________

Total Cost or Value____________________

Total Cost or Value____________________

For more information, contact your county Extension office. Visit http://www.aces.edu/counties or look in your telephone directory under your county's name to find contact information. Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work in agriculture and home economics, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, and other related acts, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Alabama Cooperative Extension System (Alabama A&M University and Auburn University) offers educational programs, materials, and equal opportunity employment to all people without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, veteran status, or disability.