Beef Cattle 100 Hours Certificate Course

There are 10 lessons in this course

1 Introduction to Beef Production and Beef Cattle Breeds

• The role of beef cattle in agriculture
• Scientific classification
• Examples of breeds worldwide
• British Beef breeds - Angus, Hereford, South Devon, Sussex, Red Poll
• U.S. Developed Beef breeds - Santa Gertrudis, American Brahman, Amerifax, Beefmaster
• Eurpean Beef breeds - Salers, Charolais, Simmental, Gelbvieh
• Australian Beef breeds - Braford, Beefmaster, Droughtmaster, Murray Grey, Australian Lowline
• South African Beef Breeds - Salorn, Tswana, Tuli, Africkander,
• Breed selection considerations - horned vs poll, colour, gestation length, birth weight, mothering ability, post weaning growth, meat quality etc

2 Beef Cattle Production Systems

• Various systems of production - extensive, intensive, semi-intensive
• Choosing a suitable system - considerations include size, climate, soils, transport, markets etc
• Cattle handling facilities
• Materials used in cattle handling
• Cattle identification - branding, ear marking, tattooing, ear tags
• De-horning - chemical and mechanical methods
• Castration, dips and dipping, and injecting cattle

3 Beef Cattle Breeding

• Heritability, performance testing, progeny testing, selection
• Pure versus cross breeding - advantages and disadvantages
• Calving percentage
• Management factors to improve calving percentage
• Weaning calves
• Factors affecting calf weaning
• The anatomy of the male reproductive system
• The physiology of the male reproductive system
• Fertility problems in the male
• The anatomy and physiology of the female reproductive system
• Fertility problems
• Pregnancy and partition
• The structure of the mammary glands
• Secretion of milk
• Growth and development
• Post natal growth
• Compensatory growth

4 Diseases in Beef Cattle (Viral and Bacterial)

• Determining health status of the animal
• Signs of a healthy animal
• Causes of ill-health
• Injury, poor nutrition, poisoning, parasites, hereditary conditions etc
• Preventing ill-health
• Correct feed and nutrition, insect control, parasite control, vaccinations, control stress etc

5 Parasitic and Other Diseases in Beef Cattle

• Some parasitic diseases
• Other ailments of cattle - actinobacillosis, anaplasmosis, arthritis, beef measles
• poisoning, pink eye, milk fever, bloat etc

6 Nutrition for Beef Cattle

• Feed type - roughages and concentrates
• Carbohydrates, protein, fats
• Grass or grain feeding
• Rations for beef cattle - maintenance or production rations
• Maintenance rations
• Procedure for calculating a ration
• Supplementary feeding of protein
• Lot Feeding
• Minerals
• Common macromineral deficiencies
• Common trace mineral deficiencies
• Diagnosis of trace mineral deficiencies
• Vitamins
• Water for farm animals
• Protein

7 Commercial Herd Management

• The breeding herd
• Production systems
• Cow-calf herd
• Beef production systems using dairy stock

8 Feed Lot Management

• Lot feeding - types of feedlot
• Managing cattle in a feedlot
• Feedlot Records
• Article on pen feeding in South Africa

9 Stud Herd Management

• Time of calving
• Feeding
• Fertility
• Indicators of fertility in bulls
• Indicators of fertility in cows

10 Management, Economics and Marketing

• Profitability
• Factors affecting gross output
• Factors affecting variable costs