At what age is a beef cow ready for market?

Answer 1

This depends on the breed. traditional breeds, like Highland, Galloway, shorthorn, moile, etc. take about 3 years to mature because they are normally much slower growing.. but the beef is much more flavoursome, ad it too, has had time to accumulate the nuances of flavours from the feed given to the animal. A traditional breed will be around 2 years old by the time it is used for breeding, and the first calf will, a large %age oif the time, be much smaller than subsequent calves... so it would pay to buy a cow that has already had one calf, (as it also proves she is not infertile). Commercial breeds, such as Limousin, Charolais, Belgian Blue, etc. are far faster growing, and can even have had a calf by the time they are 2 years old... they are ready to go to market by the time they are around 20 months, but they are both extremely lean, (ending up with a dry meat) and have significantl;y less flavour than a slower growing tradityional breed... they are also FAR more expensive, as they need high concentrate feeds and plenty of silage to make their weight within that time. Unfortunately in Europe, some short sighted ignoramous put severe restrictions on cattle over 2 1/2 years (30 months) old going into the food chain, because of the BSE scares... brought about by concentrate feeds containing animal proteins... but traditional breeds like Galloways and Highlands do not do well on concentrates, and are mostly grass fed, with some additional grain or silage when near to calving... although I agree with the restrictions, they should be limited to intensive farmed cattle, and extensive, natural-fed cattle, should be exempted, to encourage the native breeds, which have a synergistic relationship with the wildlife around them... Galloways of all types, are significant 'conservation' grasers, eating out the dry rough grasses, alowing wildflowers beneath, to see light and flourish, which in turn support insect life, and the satart of the food chain.

Answer 2

When they are calves.