Angus:
which you can see come in red and black. This is what we farm. They are a very
independant breed, but are very good to work with and make excellent mothers.
(OK, so we're a little partial!) These are our cows, by the way.Grass fed beef is raised almost entirely on pasture. Obviously, they have to be in a barn (at least, during our Canadian winters) but they also need to have access to the outside during this time. Grass fed beef are not fed grain, but graze on pasture during the summer and are fed a high quality hay or silage during the winter. Some breeds do better as grass fed than others. Specifically, the breeds with a British origin, such as:
Angus:
which you can see come in red and black. This is what we farm. They are a very
independant breed, but are very good to work with and make excellent mothers.
(OK, so we're a little partial!) These are our cows, by the way.
Hereford:
they are often referred to as 'white face'. When crossed with an Angus, they
give what looks like a black hereford, often called a 'baldy' out west. They
are a very popular breed and most people find them attractive.
Shorthorn:
these are a what is called a dual purpose breed, because they produce a reasonable
beef carcass, plus they milk fairly well. However, like any Jack-of-all-Trades,
they never reach the top of any rating scale, except perhaps in personality.
There is also a meat sub-type, which more closely resemble an angus in body
type and growth characteristics.
Highland
Scotch: kind of a funky looking breed, they are actually pretty quiet and gentle.
They are also fairly small and easy to push around if they get bossy.
These breeds are very efficient--they have what is called a low 'feed-to-gain' ratio. This means that they eat less food to grow than other breeds. Another interesting characteristic is that they tend to have shorter grained meat than some breeds, so it is easier to get tender beef from them.
In a feedlot system, these breeds tend to get too fat before they grow to the right size. As grass fed beef, however, they are superb.
The other group of breed are commonly called the European or Continental breeds. They tend to be larger, with heavier muscle, particularly in the hind end, but take that much more feed to finish. It's very rare to see these breeds finish on grass, because they don't marble as well.
Charolais:
Originally from France, they are now a very popular breed, particularly in crossbreeding
programs. The range in color from cream to wheat and are very heavily muscled.
Blond
D'Aquitaine: Another French breed, they have a finer bone structure than the
Charolais and take a few months longer to get to market size.
Limousin:
They are red gold in color and have a lot of muscling for their bone structure.
Like the Angus, they have a reputation for being high strung, but adapt well
to handling and can be very quiet. Cave paintings in France from 20,000 years
ago bear a strong resemblance to these cattle.
Simmental:
They have the same coloring as the hereford, but a little golder in shade. You
will also see a white patch where their neck joins their back, running down
the shoulder. They are good milkers and their calves grow well (they are still
used as milk cows in Switzerland).
These are the breeds most popular in PEI, although you will find some others, too. Many farms here engage in a crossbreeding program, where the mother is one breed and the father is another, to take advantage of hybrid vigor and characteristics typical of the British and European breeds.There is a listing of beef breed associations in Canada, some of which have their own web pages, if you want more information on any of these breeds. It can be found here.