Cattle (called cows in vernacular usage, kine archaic, or kye as the Scots plural of cou) are domesticated ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. They are raised as livestock for meat (called beef and veal), dairy products (milk), leather and as draught animals (pulling carts, plows and the like). In some countries, such as India, they are subject to religious ceremonies and respect. It is estimated that there are 1.3 billion head of cattle in the world today *.
Cattle were originally identified by Carolus Linnaeus as three separate species. These were Bos taurus, the European cattle, including similar types from Africa and Asia; Bos indicus, the zebu; and the extinct Bos primigenius, the aurochs. The aurochs is ancestral to both zebu and European cattle. More recently these three have increasingly been grouped as one species, sometimes using the names Bos primigenius taurus, Bos primigenius indicus and Bos primigenius primigenius. Complicating the matter is the ability of cattle to interbreed with other closely related species. Hybrid individuals and even breeds exist, not only between European cattle and zebu but also with yaks, banteng, gaur, and bison, a cross-genera hybrid. For example, genetic testing of the Dwarf Lulu breed, the only humpless "Bos taurus-type" cattle in Nepal, found them to be a mix of European cattle, zebu and yak. Cattle cannot successfully be bred with water buffalo or African buffalo. (See aurochs for the history of domestication, and zebu for peculiarities of that group.)
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Cattle :: Livestock
USDA Agricultural Research ServiceFire Ant Outcompetes Other SpeciesEven in its Native Habitat Thu, 02 Jul 2009 08:46:00 -0500
Read the
magazine
story to find out more.
Fire ants have been found to be the most
ecologically dominant species in their environment, according to a new ARS
study. Photo courtesy of Pest and Diseases Image Library,
Bugwood.org.
Nine to 20 individual
fire ant queens started U.S. fire ant population
First virus to infect red
imported fire ants discovered
Red imported fire ant
nemesis gains permanent foothold in Florida
Fire Ant Outcompetes Other SpeciesEven in its
Native Habitat
By Alfredo
Flores
July 2, 2009 Even in its native Argentina, the fire
ant wins in head-to-head competition with other ant species more than
three-quarters of the time, according to Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
scientists.
ARS scientists at the
South
American Biological Control Laboratory (SABCL) in Hurlingham, Argentina,
have been studying how different ant species fare against the fire ant as part
of an effort to learn more about the behavior of this pestan invasive
species in its non-native United States.
Fire ants often attack in swarms--not only causing painful stings to humans,
but can even kill small animals. Little has been known, however, about the fire
ant's competitive nature or how it interacts with other ants.
SABCL biologist Luis Calcaterra, working closely with lab director
Juan
Briano, has been studying interactions between the red imported fire ant,
Solenopsis invicta, and other aboveground foraging ants in two habitats
in northeastern Argentinausing a combination of pitfall traps and baits
to study day-to-day activity in ant communities.
The pitfall trap is a 50 milliliter plastic tube buried in the ground and
half-filled with soapy water. The bait is one gram of canned tuna placed on a
plastic card measuring five centimeters in diameter. The trap and bait gave the
scientists a way to determine ant populations at the sites, and showed the
dominance of each species.
Some 28 ant species coexisted with S. invicta in an open area of
forest growing along a watercourse, whereas only 10 species coexisted with S.
invicta in the dry forest grassland. The researchers found that the fire ants
had the highest numbers in the open forest area along the watercourse.
Prior to these studies, it was thought that the fire antnow
established throughout the Americaswas not dominant in its native land.
But the studies showed that the fire ants were the most ecologically dominant,
winning 78 percent of the interactions with other ants, mostly against its most
frequent competitor, the South American big-headed ant, Pheidole
obscurithorax, an ant of northern Argentina and Paraguay also introduced in
the United States. And in battles with the invasive Argentine ant,
Linepithema humile, the fire ants were even more dominant, winning out
80 percent of the time.
This study was published in Oecologia, a journal
that deals with plant and animal ecology.
Read
more about the research in the July 2009 issue of Agricultural
Research magazine.
ARS is the principal intramural scientific research agency of the
U.S. Department of Agriculture.
New Bait Lures Varroa Mite to its Doom Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:14:00 -0500
Read the
magazine
story to find out more.
ARS scientists have developed
a new bait that may help control varroa mites, the top pest of honey bees.
Click the image for more information about it.
Finding out how genes
govern bees' lives
The latest buzz on Russian
bees
New test on tap for
detecting pesticide-resistant mites
New Bait Lures Varroa Mite to its Doom
By Jan
Suszkiw July 1, 2009
Varroa mites could literally be walking into a trapthanks
to a new attractant developed by Agricultural
Research Service (ARS) scientists in Gainesville, Fla.
The 1/16-inch long parasite, Varroa destructor, is a top pest
of honey bees nationwide, hindering the beneficial insects' ability to
pollinate almonds, blueberries, apples, zucchini and many other flowering
crops.
At the ARS
Chemistry
Research Unit in Gainesville, research leader
Peter
Teal and colleagues are testing a bait-and-kill approach using sticky
boards and natural chemical attractants called semiochemicals.
In nature, Varroa mites rely on these semiochemicals to
locateand then feed onthe bloodlike hemolymph of both adult honey
bees and their brood. Severe infestations can decimate an affected hive within
several monthsand rob the beekeeper of profits from honey or pollinating
services. But in this case, the mites encounter a more heady bouquet of honey
bee odors that lure the parasites away from their intended hosts and onto the
sticky boards, where they starve.
In preliminary tests, 35 to 50 percent of mites dropped off the bees
when exposed to the attractants. Free-roving mites found the semiochemicals
even more attractive, according to Teal.
Moreover, the extra dose of semiochemicals wafting through hives
didn't appear to significantly interfere with the honey bees' normal behavior
or activity, added Teal who, along with postdoctoral associate
Adrian
Duehl and University of Florida
collaborator Mark Carroll, reported the results this past January at the
2009 North American Beekeeping
Conference in Reno, Nev.
The team hopes ARS' patenting of the Varroa mite attractants
will encourage an industrial partner to develop the technology further.
Read more
about the research in the July 2009 issue of Agricultural Research
magazine.
ARS is the principal intramural scientific research agency of the
U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Spraying Herbicide on Invasive Weeds Doesn't Always Pay Tue, 30 Jun 2009 09:52:00 -0500
It may not always pay for
ranchers to use herbicides to kill exotic invasive weeds on the range,
according to a new study. Click the image for more information about
it.
Knowing where to look for
invasive leafy spurge
Seeded pastures can
sustain cattle-and native rangelands
USDA Livestock and
Range Research Lab expansion unveiled
Spraying Herbicide on Invasive Weeds Doesn't
Always Pay, Study Shows By
Don Comis June
30, 2009
It may not always pay for ranchers to use herbicides to kill exotic
invasive weeds such as leafy spurge, according to a 16-year study by the
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and
colleagues.
Rangeland ecologist
Matt
Rinella at the ARS
Fort
Keogh Livestock and Range Research Laboratory in Miles City, MT, and
colleagues conducted the study. Data they collected 16 years after a one-time
aerial spraying of herbicide showed that the invasive leafy spurge
(Euphorbia esula L) may have ultimately increased due to spraying.
Conversely, several desirable native forbs were still suffering the effects of
spraying 16 years after spraying.
Although the herbicide would have dissipated within a few years, it
seemed to cause a long-term plant community shift.
Any increase in grass production from the herbicide spraying only
lasted a year or two.
The study was done on the N-Bar Ranch in Montana. Each plot was either
grazed and sprayed, grazed but not sprayed, not grazed but sprayed or not
grazed or sprayed. Cattle grazing helped maintain native plant numbers when
herbicide was used.
Cattle grazing can help native forbs thrive because cattle prefer
grasses over forbs, and cattle trample soil, loosening soil for seeds that the
animals inadvertently plant when seeds are caught in their hooves or fur. That
said, when herbicide wasn't used, most native forbs did as well with or without
cattle grazing.
Herbicide caused the native plants Missouri goldenrod and yarrow to
become rarer over the 16-year study period. Barring herbicides, these two
species proved capable of co-existing indefinitely with the exotics.
Four native perennials became rarer in sprayed plots, but only when
grazing was excluded: velvety goldenrod, white prairie aster, vetch, and
prairie sagewort. Herbicide spraying caused no long-term harm to four other
native perennials. Rockjasmine and other plants belonging to the
Androsace spp. group were not affected by the herbicide even initially.
The study suggests that applying herbicides over large areas of land
containing herbicide-sensitive native plants is sometimes ill-advised.
The research was published in the journal Ecological
Applications.
ARS is the principal intramural scientific research agency in the
U.S. Department of
Agriculture.
USDA - AgricultureRemarks by First Lady Michelle Obama at the U.S. Department Of Agriculture Transcript: Secretary Tom Vilsack Hosts News Conference Call with Reporters Johanns Signs Framework Agreement with United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization Director General Diouf
Johanns' One Year Report on Avian Influenza ActionsAgriculture Secretary Mike Johanns and Director-General Jacques Diouf of the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today signed a Framework Agreement to coordinate technical assistance between USDA and the FAO. The agreement will help to address issues important to agriculture, such as chronic hunger, plant and animal diseases including avian influenza, conservation, genetic resources and the growing demand for renewable energy resources.
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AGropolis - Extensive links and pdf files presented by Texas AM University relating to health and research issues in beef and dairy cattle including Paratuberculosis, calving problems, predation (coyotes), reproductive diseases.
Meta Description: [ Texas A&M Agricultural Communications ]
Animal Info - Wild Yak - Biology, ecology, habitat, and status of the yak, and information on its wild habitat, including biodiversity, ecosystems, population, and land use.
Meta Description: [ Biology, ecology, habitat, and status of rare, threatened and endangered species of mammals and information on their native countries: biodiversity, ecosystems, population, and land use ]
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Australian Calf Rearing Research Centre - Calf rearing, education, information, products, forum, consultancy, research.
Meta Description: [ This is a support site for all who are interested in calf rearing for the beef or dairy industries. ]
Beef Breeds of Livestock - Class reference material for common U.S. beef breeds.
Beef Stocker USA - Designed specifically for beef producers who background and/or run stocker or yearling cattle on various forages across the United States. A service of Kansas State University.
Calf Country - Information concerning calf rearing including calculators, saleyard, rearing methods, Vet services, shed designs, discussion groups, and industry news. New Zealand based.
Cattle Pages: Beginners' Questions - Discussion board for those that are new to raising cattle. Hundreds of topics, updated daily.
Meta Description: [ The Cattle Pages is the Internet guide to the
cattle industry, including a directory of more than 7000 cattle ranches in over
50 breeds, a web discussion forum, chat rooms,classified ads,
online publications, and directories for cattle services, supplies, equipment,
and breed asso... ]
Center for Bison Studies - Montana State University at Bozeman - The primary mission of the Center is to serve as a regional center for information exchange and research on all aspects of the biology and management of the American bison
Cow Calf Corner - Oklahoma State University's PBS television show web site, with a large library of cattle breeding information.
Foot and Mouth Disease - Comprehensive information on the symptoms and transmission of Foot-and-Mouth Disease, from the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Gala Design - A transgenics company using recombinant proteins for the improvement of livestock genetics. Located in Saulk City, WI, USA.
Meta Description: [ Gala Design has the scientific staff and protein expression systems needed to solve pharmaceutical prodution challenges in the era of genomics ]
Infigen, Inc. - Commercial application of cloning technologies in the cattle breeding, pharmaceutical, and nutraceutical fields - a division of ABS Global.
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Intertribal Bison Cooperative - Information about nonprofit organization formed in 1990 to coordinate and assist the tribes in returning bison to Indian Country. Includes copyrighted photos of bison.
Meta Description: [ Intertribal Bison Cooperative ]
Iowa Beef Center - Provides research based information on beef cattle, production, marketing and management.
Nebraska Extension Publications - Beef - Information and publications catalogue on beef production.
Meta Description: [ The University of Nebraska-Lincoln, founded in 1869, is one if the nation's premier land-grant institutions. UNL is a member of the Association of American Universities and is classified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as a Doctoral/Research University-Extensive. ]
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The Yak - Endangered in the Wild. - World Conservation Monitoring Centre - WCMC/WWF Species Under Threat, presents current statistics on populations of Yaks in the wild.
Meta Description: [ UNEP-WCMC . ]