Angus cattle
Encyclopedia : A : AN : ANG : Angus cattle
Aberdeen-Angus is the original name of the breed as developed in Scotland and the term is still in use as such in the United Kingdom. Angus cattle are solid black cattle, although white may appear on the udder. However, there is a fairly recent, recognized, American breed called Red Angus. They are hardy, undemanding, adaptable, mature at around two years of age, and have a high carcass yield with marbled meat. They are good natured in comparison to several breeds but are more aggressive than the breeds such as the Hereford. Angus are advertised as a carcass breed despite the fact that their carcasses exhibit lower dressing percents, smaller ribeyes and have significant outer fat layer requiring trimming.[[Citing sources citation needed]] They are used widely in crossbreeding to improve marbling and milking ability. Angus females calve easily (i.e., give birth without as much stress), partly because of the small size of a typical Angus calf, and have good calf rearing ability at a cost of overall performance. They are also used as a genetic dehorner as the polled gene is passed on as a dominant trait.
The breed arose in north-east Scotland in the counties of Aberdeenshire and Angus. Deliberate breeding began at the end of the 18th century. The breed was first formally recognized in 1835 with the first herd book published in 1862. Animals were first exported to the USA and other countries in 1878.
As of the latter part of 2003 and early 2004, the American fast food industry has assisted in a public relations campaign to promote the supposedly superior quality of beef produced from Angus cattle (“Angus beef”). This promotion for Angus beef took hold in the consumer public, despite complaints that beef suppliers were merely presenting the same quality beef with a fancy name and a higher price ([link] "Mad about Angus," Philippine Daily Inquirer, February 24, 2005).
See also
Breed Associations
- [Official website of the Aberdeen-Angus Cattle Society]
- [Red Angus Association of America]
- [American Angus Association]
- [A*L*O*T Angus Association]
- [The Angus Society of Australia]
- [Canadian Aberdeen Angus Association]
- [Iowa Angus Association]
- [Iowa Red Angus Association]
- [Miami Valley Angus Association]
- [New Zealand Angus Association]
- [Ontario Angus Association (Canada)]
- [Red Angus Association of America]
- [Texas Angus Association]
External links
- [Certified Angus Beef Program]
- [History of the Angus cattle] - Oklahoma State University
- [Angus Breed Information] - Cattle.com
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.