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Beef– The Product

The marketing of cattle is not supply-managed, meaning that the market forces of supply and demand will determine the price that the farmer receives.

The beef industry will typically pattern on a multi-year cycle. If you add it all up, it takes nearly three years to produce a hamburger from the time the cow is bred until that calf reaches the marketplace. When you think of it that way, it is easy to see why international trade restrictions such as those caused by Bovine Spongiform Encepalopathy (BSE) may require several years of inventory adjustment to re-stabilize the industry.

What Comes from Beef Cattle?

A typical 600 kg steer (neutered male) will yield about 360 kg of meat (60%) and 240 kg of residuals and offals (tallow, meat & bone meal, hides, waste, etc.) A typical cow (female) yields a little less meat (53%) and a little more residuals (47%).

For more information about beef farming in Ontario, visit the website of the Ontario Cattlemen’s Association at www.cattle.guelph.on.ca . For great recipe ideas, visit the website of the Beef Information Centre at www.beefinfo.org