Beef History

Modern domestic cattle all evolved from a single ancestor, the aurochs. It is believed that the last surviving auroch was killed in 1627 near Warsaw, Poland. The word "cattle" comes from the Old French word "chattle" which means possession. It is believed that cattle were first domesticated in Europe and Asia during the Stone Age. It is generally thought that cattle were domesticated after sheep, goats, pigs, and dogs. Remains of domesticated cattle dating to 6,500 B.C. have been found in Turkey and other sites in the near East.

Evidence indicates that a type of cattle apparently closely related to the Brown Swiss dairy cattle of today existed during the Bronze Age in the area now known as Switzerland. When the Romans occupied southwestern England in 55 B.C., they recorded the red cattle occupying the area. The red Devon cattle from that area of England are considered one of the oldest beef breeds in existence today.

When the Saxons and Jutes, who lived in what is now known as Denmark, conquered Great Britain, they brought their skills as cattlemen with them. The Saxons liked to cook their beef on a pointed stick over a campfire. The word "steak" comes from the Saxon word "steik", which meant meat on a stick.

Early cattle served three purposes: meat, milk, and labor. Eventually, they were replaced by horses - and later machinery - for labor in most parts of the world. Over time, cattle were developed to serve single purposes - meat production or milk production, although some breeds continue to serve as dual-purpose cattle for both meat and milk production.

One of the earliest recognized cattle breeds in the world is the Shorthorn breed, which was reported in England as early as the mid-1500's. Shorthorns were first imported to the United States in 1783. The Shorthorn cattle furnished milk, meat, and labor when they were introduced in Virginia.

In 1623, two Devon heifers and a Devon bull were imported to the Plymouth Colony from Britain. These three cattle were probably the first purebred cattle to reach North America. Devon cattle were highly valued as oxen in the American Colonies.

The Texas Longhorn cattle breed stems from ancestors that were brought to the Americas by early explorers. Texas Longhorns survived as primitive cattle and occupied the Great Plains following the destruction of the buffalo herds. The Longhorn era ended when the open range was fenced in and imported cattle with earlier maturing characteristics were brought into the area.

Other beef cattle breeds of today that were among the first to be imported into America are the Angus and Hereford breeds.

Henry Clay of Kentucky imported the first Hereford cattle into the United States in 1817. Herefords were known for maturing at an early age. In 1881, the Hereford bull Anxiety 4 was imported into the United States. This bull is the common ancestor of nearly all the Hereford cattle in the United States today.

In 1873, George Grant transported 4 Angus bulls from Scotland to Victoria, Kansas. Grant crossed the bulls with native Texas Longhorn cows, producing calves that wintered better on the plains and weighed more in the spring. The American Angus Association is the largest beef registry association in the world, recording more cattle each year than any other beef breed association. The American Angus Association recorded more than 10 million head of cattle in the association's first 100 years.

Today, the United States and Brazil are the top beef producing countries in the world. All 50 states in the U.S. have beef cattle and 30 states each have at least 10,000 cattle farms and ranches. The United States produces about 25% of the world's beef supply with less than 10% of the world's cattle population. Among the 50 states, Texas is the top beef producing state, followed by Kansas.

Over 900 different breeds of cattle have been reported in the world. Breed associations maintain breed registrations for many of the individual breeds, with some cattle breeds being able to trace their ancestry back 600 years or more. Many of the beef cattle produced in the United States today are crossbred - combining the best traits of 2 or more breeds.