Meat Production from Ruminants

Abstract

Ruminants produce meat in several systems of animal husbandry. In this paper attention will be paid to veal calves and beef cattle and occasionally to dairy cattle and lambs. For each of these animals the economy of meat production depends on many factors: costs of producing the newborn animals, costs of investments, housing, feeding and care for the animals until slaughter. Important too are the choice of breed, type, feeding regime and age at slaughter which affects carcass quality and the quantity of meat produced. The complexity of these branches of animal husbandry is the greater when meat production is not the single purpose, but both milk and meat are being produced. This became clear in my country when in a long-term comparison of American Holstein-Friesians with Dutch Friesians the formers’ higher milk yield was offset economically by their lower carcass quality.