Breeds of Beef Cattle American Landrace

By Jason Cleere, Extension Beef cattle Specialist
Jim Mazurkiewicz, Professor and Extension Specialist – Leadership Programs, TALL Director
Stephen Hammack, Extension Beef Cattle Specialist Emeritus

Classifying the breed of a evidence steer in Texas used to be easy. Merely iii British breeds were shown. Crossbreeding among them was rare and easily recognized, and just Brahman crosses were shown in Texas.

Today, there are as many as 16 breeds and breed-cross classes in Texas shows, among near 75 breeds of cattle in the United States that could contribute to the genetic makeup of a steer.

To an outsider or novice, placing a steer in a brood form might appear to exist relatively uncomplicated. Just read the specifications for a class and so find an animal that meets the criteria— right? Simply information technology's a little more complicated than that. Consider, for instance, the characteristics for a Hereford steer:

• Must physically exhibit breed characteristics of a purebred
• Red body with white confront, white underline, and white-marked legs
• Feather neck
• Horned Herefords must be dehorned

Factors that solitary are not disqualifying just may in combination bespeak non-Hereford genetics:

• Nighttime reddish colour
• Red neck
• Solid scarlet or solid white ear; ear size and shape are questionable
• Backlog white on legs
• Excess white above the underline
• Eye pigment
• Black hair in tail, ear, or on rear stop of animate being
• Black spotting/smut, or freckling on the olfactory organ
• Line back
• White above switch in tail
• White across rump above the twist

Absolute disqualifying factors:
• Diluter color pattern
• Brindles
• Double muscling
• Whatever color blueprint other than red or white (birthmarks excluded)

These are all visual factors. So, eligibility for the course is determined merely past visual appraisal, as evaluated by classifiers appointed by prove management. Registration papers, breeder affidavits, or other paperwork are not considered.

Keep this in listen when selecting prospects. The word or opinion of a breeder, seller, adviser, or friend may be useful every bit a guideline. Fifty-fifty knowing the verbal breeding of an animal is no guarantee, because genetics and visual appearance do not always match. The example shows that the grade is not simply for Hereford steers merely rather for steers that appear to be Hereford, in the classifiers' judgment. With this groundwork, let's wait at the descriptions for the various types and breeds.

British Type

This group includes cattle that appear to be purebred Angus, Hereford, Polled Hereford, Red Angus, and Shorthorn.

Angus

Acceptable Breed Characteristics
• Must physically showroom brood characteristics of a purebred Angus
• Solid blackness
• Polled

Discriminatory Breed Characteristics
• Continental breed type structure and head
• Bumps where horns would be on a horned animal
• Birthmarks or white hair in the switch should be reviewed for the peel color (black skin color is acceptable; white or pinkish skin is a disqualification)
• Bos taurus–type ear set (ear size is non to be discriminated against)

Absolute Disqualifications
• White skin resulting in white hair above the underline or in the front of the navel (white on the omphalus is acceptable)
• White skin resulting in white hair on the leg, foot, or tail
• Horns or scurs
• Brindle
• Diluter color pattern
• Dehorning scars
• Double muscling

Hereford

Platonic Breed Characteristics
• Must physically exhibit brood characteristics of a purebred Hereford
• Cherry torso with white face up, white underline, and white-marked legs
• Feather neck
• Horned Herefords must exist dehorned

Acceptable Breed Characteristics (but non necessarily desirable; in combination may be discriminating)
• Dark red colour
Red neck
• Solid reddish or solid white ear; ear size and shape are questionable
• Excess white on legs
• Backlog white above the underline
• Heart paint
• Black pilus in tail, ear, or on rear end of animal
• Black spotting/smut or freckling on the nose
• Line back
• White above switch in tail
• White beyond rump in a higher place the twist

Discriminatory Breed Characteristics
• Coarse joints, head, or ribs
• Straight-line white markings on legs
• White higher up the hocks, on the outside and back side of rear legs
• Excess pigment or colour around the eyes
• Red neck in combination with backlog white on legs

Absolute Disqualifications
• Diluter color blueprint
• Brindles
• Double muscling
• Whatsoever color pattern other than blood-red or white (birthmarks excluded)

Polled Hereford

Ideal Breed Characteristics
• Must physically exhibit breed characteristics of a purebred Polled Hereford
• Crimson torso with white face up, white underline, and white-marked legs
• Feather neck
• Must be polled or have loose scurs

Adequate Breed Characteristics (but non necessarily desirable; in combination may exist discriminating)
• Dark cerise color
• Red neck
• Solid blood-red or solid white ear; ear size and shape are questionable
• Excess white on legs
• Excess white above the underline
• Centre paint
• Black hair in tail, ears, or on rear end of creature
• Black spotting/smut or freckling on the nose
• Line back
• White above switch in tail
• White beyond rump above the twist

Discriminatory Breed Characteristics
• Coarse joints, caput, or ribs
• Straight-line white markings on legs
• White to a higher place the hocks, on the outside and dorsum side of rear legs
• Excess pigment or color around the eyes
• Cerise neck in combination with excess white on legs

Absolute Disqualifications
• Diluter color blueprint
• Brindles
• Double muscling
• Any color pattern other than ruby-red or white (birthmarks excluded)

Cerise Angus

Acceptable Breed Characteristics
• Must physically exhibit breed characteristics of a purebred Red Angus
• English/British characteristics
• Solid red
• Polled
• Black pigmentation (animals may have two of three areas of black pigmentation on the nose, around the optics, and on the anus, only not all three)
• A blond, light reddish, or mixed switch
• Blackness hair on the tail, muzzle, face up, neck, and shoulder

Discriminatory Breed Characteristics
• Coarse joints or caput (big anxiety, big dewclaws)
• Bumps where horns would be on a horned brute
• Solid white switch

Absolute Disqualifications
• Horns or scurs
• White above the underline or in front of the navel
• White on the leg
• Black pigmentation (having all
three areas of black pigmentation: on the nose, around the eyes, and on the anus)
• Diluter colour pattern
• Dehorning scars or evidence of dehorning
• Solid white tail
• Double muscling

Shorthorn

Adequate Breed Characteristics
• Must physically exhibit brood characteristics of a purebred Shorthorn
• Solid red; solid white with red hair or scarlet pigment on ear, muzzle,
or tail; or any combination of crimson and white, with the red and white color pattern haemorrhage together

Discriminatory Breed Characteristics
• Motley face or brockle face up
• Orange or lite red color
• Black nose pigment
• Straight-line white markings across leg
• Coarse head
• Double muscling

Accented Disqualifications
• Diluter color blueprint, such as yellow or yellowish roan
• Blacks, blue roans, or grays
• Brindle

Brahman Blazon

This group is sometimes chosen American Breeds. Physical evidence of Brahman background is of import (ear length and shape, amount of hibernate, and, almost important, hump placement).

American Breeds Cross

Adequate Breed Characteristics
• Any color or color pattern
• Progression of importance to include Bos indicus head; centre; and ear of moderate length, slightly drooping and opening down and forward
• Crest or slick neck
• Sheath score of 2 or more

Discriminatory Brood Characteristics
• Bos taurus caput
• Bos taurus short ear
• Bos taurus eye
• Sheath score of 1

Absolute Disqualifications
• A combination of a Bos taurus caput, eye, and ear
• Without adequate Bos indicus head, eye, and ear characteristics, sheath score is irrelevant

Brahman

Adequate Breed Characteristics
• Must physically exhibit breed characteristics of a fifty% purebred Brahman
• A prominent hump beginning in the centre of the shoulder and going forward
• Whatever color or color pattern
• Bos indicus ear, caput, middle, and sheath

Discriminatory Breed Characteristics
• None

Accented Disqualification
• A crest with the absence of a hump

Brangus

Adequate Breed Characteristics
• Must physically exhibit brood characteristics of a purebred black Brangus
• Solid black
• Sheath hangs at a 45-caste bending and is well controlled
• Influence of a Bos indicus eye, ear, and head
• Slick neck or prove of a crest

Discriminatory Breed Characteristics
• Scurs or slick spots (scurs must be loose)
• Straight, pendulous sheath
• Absenteeism of Bos indicus–influenced eye, ear, and head

Absolute Disqualifications
• Difficult horns (attached)
• Dehorning scars
• White above the underline or in front of the omphalus
• White on the legs, anxiety, or tail
• Any brindle (ruby or light-colored)

Santa Gertrudis

Acceptable Breed Characteristics
• Must physically showroom brood characteristics of a fifty% purebred Santa Gertrudis
• Any color or colour pattern
• Moderate crest, no definite hump
• Moderate dewlap development
• Moderate length of ear, slightly drooping and opening forward
• Sheath score 2–five
• Not necessary to evidence predominant Bos indicus characteristics

Discriminatory Breed Characteristic
• Straight, pendulous sheath

Accented Disqualification
• Absence of any visible Santa Gertrudis characteristics

Simbrah

Acceptable Breed Characteristics
• Must physically showroom breed characteristics of a Simbrah
• Must appear to accept a minimum of ¼ both Simmental and Brahman and a maximum of ¾ both Simmental and Brahman
• A sheath score of 2 or greater
• A Bos indicus eye, ear, and head
• Stocking legs
• Bald, blaze, or streak face
• Diluter color design
• Solid black, scarlet, light ruby, gray, smut, or yellowish, or a combination of white with any of the previously listed colors
• Brindles

Discriminatory Breed Characteristics
• A sheath score of i
• A Bos taurus head
• A Bos taurus ear
• A Bos taurus eye
• Mottled face

Absolute Disqualifications
• A combination of a Bos taurus caput, ear, centre, and sheath
• Roans

Continental or Exotic Type

Included here are Charolais (half-blood and higher), Chianina (predominant), Limousin (half or higher), Maine-Anjou (half or higher), and Simmental (purebred). At the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo there are split classes for these 5 Continentals, besides every bit a form for Other Breeds and Crosses, which includes all breeds non already discussed equally well equally steers classified out of any of the higher up. At Fort Worth, Dallas, and many smaller shows, all Continentals—and whatsoever other steer that is non purebred British or American breed or cross—are shown together.

There are no specific physical requirements for whatever of these Continental classes except that they show testify of the breed in which they are entered. Depending on the breed, information technology tin can be difficult to classify these classes, considering most may contain at to the lowest degree one-half of whatsoever other brood or combination breed.

Charolais

Acceptable Breed Characteristics
• Must physically exhibit breed characteristics of a 50% purebred Charolais
• White, yellow grey, or silverish (moderate dappling allowed)
• Expression of diluter gene
• Painting or spotting less than 20%
• Skunk tail, line dorsum, baldy

Discriminatory Brood Characteristics
• Excessive painting or spotting (over 20%)
• Double muscling
• Brindles
• Frail os work and frail general appearance
• Calorie-free crimson color
• Brusk, stubby head
• Overly refined, narrow head
• Excessive dark pigmentation (eyes, nose, ears, and anus)
• Excessive dappling

Absolute Disqualifications
• Black, crimson, dark smuts
• Showing no diluter gene, unless solid white

Chianina

Adequate Breed Characteristics
• Must showroom Chianina influence in head (ear, eye, and nose) and skeleton
• Whatever shade of blackness, red, greyness, or yellow
• Brindles, baldies, bonfire faces, and motleys

Discriminatory Breed Characteristics
• Coarse joints or skeleton
• Excessive spotting above the underline

Absolute Disqualification
• Appears to exist a purebred of whatsoever other breed

Limousin

Full general Breed Characteristics
• Head
— Should be wide between the eyes, with a prominent forehead (eye socket)
— Should have a broad poll
— Trend to be smaller-eared; should have a moderate location (neither too high nor likewise low)
— Tendency to be shorter- muzzled
• Musculus conformation
— Tend to be expressive in muscle pattern
• Sheath
— Tend to not exceed a score of 2
— Tend to have a forward angle, with navel in front
• Legs/foot
— Tend to be non heavy-boned
— Tend to be flat boned
— Tend to be not big-footed
• Tail set
— Tin can have a forward tail set
— Can drop from hooks to pins

Acceptable Breed Characteristics
• Must physically showroom brood characteristics of a 50% purebred Limousin
• Solid black, carmine, light cherry, charcoal blackness, xanthous, blond
• Bald face up
• Shine joints and skeleton

Discriminatory Breed Characteristics
• Coarse joints, skeleton, and caput
• Stocking legs
• Brindle
• Spotting higher up the underline
• Roans

Maine Anjou

Acceptable Brood Characteristics
• Must physically exhibit breed characteristics of a fifty% purebred Maine Anjou
• Spotted, solid black, or cerise
• White stocking legs, white underline, and spotting above the underline and on the face
• Heavy skeletal structure

Discriminatory Breed Characteristics
• Brindle
• Roan
• Diluter color design

Absolute Disqualification
• Appears to be more 50% any other breed

Simmental

Acceptable Brood Characteristics
• Must physically showroom brood characteristics of a purebred Simmental
• Larger, longer head
• Larger ear, lower set up
• Solid black, scarlet, lite red, gray, smut, red and white, yellow and white, black and white
• Painting or spotting to a higher place the underline
• Stocking legs
• Bald, blaze, or streak face up
• Diluter colour pattern

Discriminatory Breed Characteristics
• Roans
• Skunk tail
• Double muscling
• 40% or more white in a higher place the underline
• Diluter color design effectually the
• Monkey rima oris

Accented Disqualification
• Brindle

Classification Glossary

American breeds. Breeds created in the United States past interbreeding existing breeds, including at to the lowest degree 1 tropically adjusted brood (nigh ofttimes American Brahman).

Bald face up. Appearance when white covers most of the face up.

Blaze or streak face. A wide strip of white downward the face to the muzzle.

Bos indicus (zebu). Subspecies of cattle originating in south asia; has a prominent hump on elevation or in front of shoulder.

Bos taurus. Subspecies of cattle; originated in west Asia but is usually called European.

Brindle. A streaking of black, brown, or white on the body of the steer (tiger stripe).

British/English. Cattle originating in the British Isles; Angus, Hereford, and Shorthorn are most numerous in the United States.

Brockle or motley face. Scarlet or black spotting on a white or bald face.

Continental. Breeds originating in Continental Europe; sometimes chosen European or Exotic.

Diluter gene. A gene that determines color. Cattle that carry both copies of the gene will appear white. Not-diluter cattle will announced blackness or dark red, whereas those conveying a unmarried diluter factor volition appear grayness or yellow.

Discriminatory Breed Characteristics.Characteristics that are not reason for accented disqualification but in combination with other discriminatory visual characteristics could lead to disqualification.

Horned. Horns are solidly attached to the skull, or at that place is evidence of dehorning.

Painting. Big white markings covering a major portion of the steer.

Pigmentation. Dark skin coloring on the points of the steer (eyes, nose, ears, anus, tail).

Polled. Naturally hornless.

Purebred. Showing visual characteristics of a particular brood and none of whatsoever other breed.

Scurs. Horny tissue or rudimentary horn attached to skin but not the skull.

Sheath score. Scoring system from 1 to 5 based on the length of the sheath (1 = little sheath; 5 = excess sheath).

Smut. Dark gray color pattern.

Spotting. White spots on the steer.

Summary

In the commercial beefiness industry, near cattle are sorted by visual characteristics into numerous groups for marketing purposes.Similarly, during livestock shows, participating steers are sorted into brood classes based on visual characteristics. Every bit you lot can see, in most classes in that location are generally few factors that will absolutely disqualify an animal, and those are usually easily identified. Instead, near disqualified animals have more than 1 subjectively evaluated discriminatory characteristic.

Steers should exist selected and shown based but on their visual appearance because that is how they will exist evaluated for classification. Remember that classifiers are asked to exercise their judgment. If your steer is classified out, it doesn't mean that the classifier or anyone else is accusing you of lying, cheating, or beingness unethical. Nor does information technology mean that the steer cannot be the brood yous say information technology is. Look at breed classification every bit the first phase of judging. Don't be too upset if the classifier makes (or you call up he or she has fabricated) a mistake. It's all a matter of judgment.

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Source: https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/library/ranching/texas-show-steer-breed-classification/