Pros and Cons of raising Angus cattle?

Answer 1

The Pro's of Angus cattle and raising them include:

• Following the so-called "black fad' which will more than likely give you a good price (plus a premium) when selling calves to the salebarn
• Good mothering ability (sometimes too good)
• Good milking ability
• Good calving ease (this can be disputed among cattlemen as not all Angus bulls are calving ease bulls)
• Good ability to do well on grass alone
• Good ability to marble well in the feedlot
• Cows have good maternal characteristics
• Can find bulls with maternal and terminal characteristics to breed cows
  • This makes them great for use in cross-breeding operations
• Very popular breed, especially in the USA (easy to find ranchers/farmers with cows/heifers/bulls to sell to you). There are also a lot of Angus producers in Canada as well.
• CAB (Certified Angus Beef) product great for consumers because of the reliability American Angus Association (AAA), partnered with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and consistency that is provided with Angus beef.

The Cons of Angus cattle and raising them include:

• Can be more aggressive and flighty than other breeds
  • May not be best for beginners to start out with
• Finding small cow size for grass-fed/ range cow operation can be a bit of a problem, however there are breeders that select for and raise miniature or low-line Angus cattle. It just takes a little looking to find them!
• Could find yourself buying a breed that may loose its popularity, finding prices aren't as great for black cattle as they are for other colours
• Not great for the Southern climate, as the hide and hair coat absorb solar and atmospheric heat more than other breeds like Brahman, Brangus or Hereford
• Too popular a breed can lead to problems with not buying the right cows or bulls for your herd (especially a problem with buying a good bull; bulls are always in excess, and breeders are always looking to make a buck; many beginners are suckers for buying what looks like a good bull but to the trained cattleman's eye, is a very poor bull that should've been steered)
  • There have also been reported problems of more genetic diseases coming up because of the increased popularity of this breed. There are only a few main strains of Angus cattle in the USA, and interbreeding and linebreeding (without even meaning to do so!) starts becoming more common, allowing such genetic diseases such as Curly Calf Syndrome to occur.
• Animals have gotten too big (bigger is not always better! Big cows and bulls mean a lot more feed to feed them and more pasture space to allow for them.)
• A British breed that tends to mature too early, putting on more fat per lb of gain than continentals do (more fat in a cut of steak contains more saturated and trans fats than a steak from a lean cut of beef from grass-fed cattle, continentals or bison; more of these fats in the diet is unhealthy)
• More fat gained in the feedlot means more fat that has to be cut off and goes to waste. Seems like Angus cattle are not meant for the feedlot after all, but to be finished on grass instead!
• Black hide is really difficult to see at night, especially when checking calving cows or trying to chase a bunch of escapees back in at night