Beef Cattle

OSU Extension Service provides up-to-date information on beef cattle in Oregon and throughout the country, and facilitates the communication among producers, industry personnel, and OSU – Extension faculty.

Resources include areas such as:

Reproduction
Calves
Nutrition
Breeding and Genetics
Meat

Small-Scale Meat Farming

The cost and supply of food is concerning to many these days. Disruptions in the cattle, sheep, and swine markets, particularly in the slaughter-packer sector, have indeed threatened the availability of meat and put pressure on prices at the supermarket and at the livestock producer level. This has caused us to rethink the way we produce and process food. Some are considering backyard slaughter of livestock. Many important steps need to be taken prior to and after the actual slaughter of any meat animal. These are necessary for safety and meat quality.

Check out our collection of helpful information

Photo: Shelby FIlley (Cropped from original)

Reproduction

Ready for Calving

Cattle managers can decrease the amount of calving difficulty through bull selection, nutrition and exercise. Don’t wait until calving begins, follow this checklist and set up the supplies and support you will need.

Shelby Filley | Dec 2010 | Article

Development of Replacement Heifers

This article will focus on some strategies that beef producer have in order to improve heifer development programs, and hence the entire profitability of cow-calf production systems.

Bruno I. Cappellozza | Sep 2019 | Educational document Peer reviewed (Gray level)

More reproductive resources

Calves

Advantages to cows and their calves: creep-feeding vs. early weaning

Creep-feeding and early weaning are two options for managing cows and calves. Each practice has a specific purpose, but these strategies can be misapplied.

Shelby Filley | Jun 2018 | Article

Extra pounds on weaned calves may pay dividends

Although calves are typically sold for high dollars per pound and at a lighter weight, having the calves sold with higher weight may be worth more than the resources put into making the calf larger.

Shelby Filley | Jan 2011 | Article

New Calf Information and Care

People buying a new calf often have questions about the animal's care. Here are some answers to common questions about food, housing and health care.

Jenifer Cruickshank | Feb 2020 | OSU Extension Catalog Peer reviewed (Orange level)

More calving resources

Man leaving hay for cattle in snow covered field

Photo by Lynn Ketchum (Cropped from original)

Management

We encourage cow-calf producers to evaluate their individual operation(s) and use these suggested management guidelines to determine a system that works best for their ranch, environment, and facilities. This article covers general cattle management issues related to the production year including suggested herd health programs.

Download the management guide for beef cattle

Meat

Aging Beef

This American Meat Science Association website article is a short, but informative piece on aging beef.

Jun 2020 | Online resource

USDA Carcass Beef Grades and Standards

The amount of beef from a carcass is termed "yield" and is the pounds of closely trimmed retail cuts you get. Of course you want to get a large percentage of meat from your animal. This website contains the legal definitions that can help you understand what goes into this measurement.

Shelby Filley, USDA | Jun 2020 | Online resource

Browse more meat resources

Nutrition

Protein nutrition for cattle

This article will provide some basic concepts associated with protein nutrition in cattle, aiming to help beef producers on detecting and designing nutritional strategies to enhance cattle performance and, consequently, productivity and profitability of beef operations.

Bruno I. Cappellozza | Sep 2019 | Article

Water nutrition and quality for beef cattle

Inadequate water intake can limit growth and production, which can translate to narrower profit margins for producers. That is why it is important to understand factors that influence water nutrition and quality for beef cattle.

Sergio Arispe | Sep 2019 | Article

More nutrition resources

Breeding and Genetics

Understanding EPDs for Selecting Bulls - Sergio Arispe and Morgan Johnsrud

In this video, Dr. Arispe and Morgan (Select Sires) discussed several aspects of EDP values for bull selection and different traits that producers should consider when selecting bulls. Other resources from presentation: Slides Breed EPD averages for and $Values

Sergio Arispe, Morgan Johnsrud | Jan 2021 | Video

Temperament and performance of beef cattle

For over a century, the word temperament has been used to define the fear-related behavioral responses of cattle when exposed to human handling. As cattle temperament worsens, their response to human contact or any other handling...

Reinaldo Cooke | Oct 2018 | Article

More breeding and genetics resources

OSU Soap Creek Ranch

Photo by Shelby Filley (Cropped from original)

Learn directly from Extension faculty

Find out about upcoming OSU Beef Cattle Sciences Extension activities happening across Oregon. We have OSU Calving Schools, Artificial Insemination School, Cattlemen’s Workshops, OSU – Range Field Day, OSU – Beef Industry Tour, and more.

Extension activities

Latest Resources

AgLink Northwest

AgLink NW is a web portal you can use to access a wide range of resources tailored to the needs of farmers, farm workers, agricultural communities and their families.

Nov 2021 | Online resource

Balancing Livestock Rations

The practice of knowing the nutrient content of feeds and matching those up with the nutrient requirements of your livestock is very important. Balancing rations can help with keeping feed costs in check with production level ...

Shelby Filley | Nov 2021 | Article

Mineral Supplementation: Options for comingled livestock species

Minerals are critically important for the health and well-being of livestock. Cattle, sheep, and goats are frequently pastured together, but sheep are vulnerable to copper toxicity which cattle and goats need. Learn methods for managing this.

Shelby Filley | Sep 2021 | Article Peer reviewed (Gray level)

Browse All Resources

News

OSU Extension’s Western Meat School goes hybrid and attracts hundreds

Western Meat School, which runs for six weeks in November and December, will cover key topics in production, processing and marketing to produce high-quality meat and sell to diverse market channels.

Kym Pokorny | Oct 28, 2020 | News story

Extension coordinates hay donations to relieve those affected by wildfires

More than 500 tons have been donated and moved around the state through partnerships.

Kym Pokorny | Oct 19, 2020 | News story

OSU Extension assists with livestock rescue efforts as Oregonians flee fires

When the fires started raging on Tuesday, OSU Extension employees started preparing barns and other buildings for animals, in addition to sorting through donations of food and water. Since then, they’ve been working day and night.

Chris Branam | Sep 11, 2020 | News story

All News

Similar information and scholarly work can be found from the OSU College of Agricultural Sciences - Animal and Rangeland Sciences.

Visit the Beef Sciences website

Photo by Reinaldo Cooke. (Cropped from original)

Explore more resources

Business Management

Pasture and Forages

Rangeland Conservation and Management

Upcoming Events

Dec 13

Lane County Livestock & Forages Breakfast

6:30 am - 8:00 am Springfield, OR

Jan 27

Entrenamiento sobre la prevención del suicidio de QPR para agricultores y ganaderos (en español)

3:00 pm - 5:00 pm PST Online

Feb 2

QPR Suicide Prevention Training for Farmers & Ranchers

3:00 pm - 5:00 pm PST Online

Mar 8 - Mar 11

Cattle Artificial Insemination School

1:00 pm - 3:30 pm MST Marsing, ID

Meet Our Experts

Juliana Ranches

Assistant Professor, Extension Beef Specialist

David Bohnert

Director

Contact for questions associated with beef cattle management, grazing behavior, supplementation, and ration evaluation

Sergio Arispe

Associate Professor, Livestock and Rangeland

Shelby Filley

Regional Livestock & Forage

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Is beef with liver flukes safe to eat?

Q: I'm in the process of buying some grassfed beef through an Oregon coast farmer on Craigslist. The beef was recently processed and is ready to pick up, however we won't be getting any liver as the cows had liver flukes. ...

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