Breeds of Cattle & EPDs

As a part of an agriculture class, learning the breeds of cattle are very important to the average student, especially those who are looking into one day having a career in the production field. Because of how many different breeds there are and how similar they are, it can be a difficult task for many students. One thing that many people in the cattle industry rely heavily on are things called EPDs or Expected Progeny Differences, so being said, that is another part of this lesson that we will focus on. It is one of the many things that will help a future breeder or person that is planning to go into the production industry. 

Some questions that will needed to be kept in mind and answered throughout this study is as follows: 

1. Identify the breeds in each section of cattle (American, British, and Exotic)
2. List 5 EPDs of each breed and the definition.
3. What are some basic characteristics among British cattle? American? Exotic? 
4. What is another name for British cattle? American? Exotic? 
5. Know how to spell each breed correctly. 

Your task is to complete each of these questions that I have asked of you as you do your research. Keep extensive notes throughout the research because you will be tested over those questions at the end of this. Along with that, I wanted some added facts and information that you find interesting, didn't know, and thought was important to put in the research and in a report to turn in at the end of the 2 weeks when the assignment is due. You will be tested over this research project at the begininning of the month which we wil discuss more once the project is done and all of your reports have been turned in. 

Each student will be required to answer the questions stated in the introduction which I have listed again below. You will be required to make a report that must be a minimum of 3 pages long, double spaced,  12 pt. font in Times New Roman. 

I want each question to be answered in a seperate paragraph with the question as the sub-heading. You will need to get it bound and turned in with a title page, your name, date, and class period and then turned in the correct box for your period. 

You must work on this independently and you can not work in groups or partners. If you are confused about a question or are having trouble navigating through information, do not hesitate to ask me for help. This is a lot of information that you will be searching through and therefore I suggest you work on it outside of class as well. This is 1 of 3 reports we will be doing this semester and I can tell you from experience, this will be the most difficult one that you will do because of the amount of information and that is why I chose it as the first one to do.

Here are the questions again that I want answered in your report:

1. Identify the breeds in each section of cattle (American, British, and Exotic)
2. List 5 EPDs of each breed and the definition.
3. What are some basic characteristics among British cattle? American? Exotic? 
4. What is another name for British cattle? American? Exotic? 
5. Know how to spell each breed correctly. 

Below I have left links to help you get started on this report. 

• www.angus.org
• www.hereford.org
• www.redangus.org
• https://shorthorn.org/
• www.charolaisusa.com
• www.chicattle.org
• www.nalf.org
• www.nalf.org/limflex.php
• www.maine-anjou.org
• www.simmental.org
• www.brahman.org
• www.beefmasters.org
• www.gobrangus.com
• www.americanredbrangus.org
• www.santagertrudis.com

Please note that I have only given you the breed association websites. From there you will have to navigate throughout to find what you are looking for and whethere are not they are a part of the British, American, or Exotic divisions. You will need to navigate through their websites to find their EPDs and other breeds that are a subsection of a main breed such as a Mainetainer or Simbrah. 

Assignment Rubric: 

100 points:

• All information was correct;
• No gramatical or spelling errors;
• Met the page requirements; 
• Creative, interesting, and thoughtout; 

75 points: 

• Most information was correct; 
• Some gramatical or spelling errors; 
• Met the page requirements; 
• Creativity, interest, and thoughtfullness could have been improved

50 Points: 

• Some of the information was correct
• Many gramatical or spelling errors; 
• Page requirements were not met; 
• Creativity, interest, and thoughtfullness needs improvement 

25 Points:

• Majority of the information was incorrect; 
• Gramatical and spelling errors exceeded the paper; 
• Page requirements were not met; 
• No creativity, interest, or thoughtfullness to this report; 

0 Points: 

• Paper was not attempted or turned in. 

For everyday that the paper is late, 5 points will be deducted from you overall grade. After a week I will no longer accept the report and you will automatically fail this report. This is a major portion of your grade this semester so I suggest that you all take it very seriously.

By the end of this report, you should know confidentaly the: 

• breeds of cattle 
• 5 (or more) EPDs
• what division the breed is in
• each divisions characteristics
• each breeds characteristics

All information came from knowledge that I have for the breeds of cattle that I had to learn in college whenever I was a member of the livestock judging team. The picture on the front page came from Oklahoma State University and is cited in the bottom of the picture.