The beef industry in the USA is enormous. Supplying it with meat is beyond the ability of local farmers and some American beef is imported from elsewhere. However, the breed of cattle with the most impressive reputation is none other than the locally developed Irish black and Irish red variety. Irish red cattle are a homegrown example of superior breeding performance and meat quality.
The breed was established in the sixties when an expert in Iowa, Maurice Boney, attempted to isolate and preserve the genetic profile of Friesian cattle with a small presence of Aberdeen Angus ancestry. There were Irish Friesian bulls in the initial herd, and that is where the name has its origin. Nearly 50 years later, Irish blacks and reds are some of the most successful in the quality of their carcasses and their capacity to breed.
Boney's priority in his breeding program was to keep the genetics as pure as possible. He tried to maintain homozygous traits (where both parents have the same characteristic) rather than involve heterozygous possibilities. As he explained, his approach ensured that the breed's gene pool remained more consistent than that of others. This ensures predictable results in breeding.
Most of these cattle are born with sable hides, but a few of them are red. The quality of their hides is high. One possible explanation for the sporadic appearance of a red individual is that, about 300 years ago in Scotland, Aberdeen Angus cattle were interbred with English Longhorns, in order to produce larger, more powerful specimens.
In these breeds, a red hide is associated with a recessive gene, so many members of a herd might have carried it but not had red hides. This is how it may have been transported across the Atlantic. A mammal has two sets of genes for each characteristic, so a recessive gene is one which only manifests in the phenotype (physical offspring) if it is the gene for hide color in both gene sets of the animal.
The meat of has a distinctive taste and is generously marbled with fat. The carcasses are rated higher, too. The meat is 80-90% Choice grade or better. It can therefore be sold to any sector of the industry, and be used for any purpose.
Farmers are also interested in the breeding performance of the animals. The females have broader hips, so there are seldom birthing complications. The gestation period is a relatively short 277 days, so the average female calves more times in her life than other breeds. Fertility among females is high, and so is the ability of their udders, enabling a high yield of milk. Males have a long lifespan and sire calves with a low birth weight.
This breed reaches a substantial size. The calves gain weight at a rate of 1lb for 5lb of feed, which is an important statistic in an industry that practices mass husbandry and production of meat. The calves grow to about 1300-1400lb.
The success of Irish black and red cattle illustrates what is possible using natural methods of deliberate breeding. At a time when genetic modification is establishing an increasing presence in agriculture, people may still learn from the example of Maurice Boney. The question is as to how genetic modification can improve an already superior piece of steak.
The breed was established in the sixties when an expert in Iowa, Maurice Boney, attempted to isolate and preserve the genetic profile of Friesian cattle with a small presence of Aberdeen Angus ancestry. There were Irish Friesian bulls in the initial herd, and that is where the name has its origin. Nearly 50 years later, Irish blacks and reds are some of the most successful in the quality of their carcasses and their capacity to breed.
Boney's priority in his breeding program was to keep the genetics as pure as possible. He tried to maintain homozygous traits (where both parents have the same characteristic) rather than involve heterozygous possibilities. As he explained, his approach ensured that the breed's gene pool remained more consistent than that of others. This ensures predictable results in breeding.
Most of these cattle are born with sable hides, but a few of them are red. The quality of their hides is high. One possible explanation for the sporadic appearance of a red individual is that, about 300 years ago in Scotland, Aberdeen Angus cattle were interbred with English Longhorns, in order to produce larger, more powerful specimens.
In these breeds, a red hide is associated with a recessive gene, so many members of a herd might have carried it but not had red hides. This is how it may have been transported across the Atlantic. A mammal has two sets of genes for each characteristic, so a recessive gene is one which only manifests in the phenotype (physical offspring) if it is the gene for hide color in both gene sets of the animal.
The meat of has a distinctive taste and is generously marbled with fat. The carcasses are rated higher, too. The meat is 80-90% Choice grade or better. It can therefore be sold to any sector of the industry, and be used for any purpose.
Farmers are also interested in the breeding performance of the animals. The females have broader hips, so there are seldom birthing complications. The gestation period is a relatively short 277 days, so the average female calves more times in her life than other breeds. Fertility among females is high, and so is the ability of their udders, enabling a high yield of milk. Males have a long lifespan and sire calves with a low birth weight.
This breed reaches a substantial size. The calves gain weight at a rate of 1lb for 5lb of feed, which is an important statistic in an industry that practices mass husbandry and production of meat. The calves grow to about 1300-1400lb.
The success of Irish black and red cattle illustrates what is possible using natural methods of deliberate breeding. At a time when genetic modification is establishing an increasing presence in agriculture, people may still learn from the example of Maurice Boney. The question is as to how genetic modification can improve an already superior piece of steak.
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