Continental European Beef Breeds: Their Use and Impact on the United States Beef Industry

Abstract

This thesis explores the United States beef production and a few of its facets, more specifically, how the Continental European beef breeds can impact quality for consumers and profitability of producers. Continental European beef breeds are versatile, hearty, and possess leaner meat than the popular British breeds. The findings in this project will challenge norms of the industry, which favor British breeds, but also confirm their validity if the norms are proven productive and efficient. This project is not meant to be of “anti-Angus” sentiment, but instead considers maximizing potential in beef producers’ use of hybrid vigor in a commercial beef production setting. The scope of this project, is to explore the most beneficial breed usage/combination(s) in production to provide maximum palatability for the consumer, while also maintaining and maximizing high profits for farmers and ranchers. The project explores previous research on the carcass quality and productivity of the European breeds such as Charolais, Limousin, and Simmental, as compared to Angus, an industry standard.