Cattle were one of the earliest animal breeds domesticated by humans, and common cattle were domesticated in West Asia and China as early as 8,000 years ago. The service cattle, dairy cows, beef cattle, etc., which we usually talk about, belong to the category of ordinary cattle, which are closely related to human survival and development. At present, there are 80 local breeds, cultivated breeds and introduced breeds of ordinary cattle in China, with a breeding scale of about 80 million heads, which have played an important role in the development of China's modern cattle industry, the improvement of the dietary structure of urban and rural residents, and the help of the broad masses of peasants to get rid of poverty and become rich.
In 2022, the top 10 provinces in China's beef production were Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Shandong Province, Hebei Province, Heilongjiang Province, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Jilin Province, Yunnan Province, Sichuan Province, Henan Province, and Liaoning Province - these 10 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government) together accounted for 67 percent of the country's total output93%。Among them, the beef production of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region is 71830,000 tons, accounting for the national beef production in 2022 (718260,000 tons), which has ranked first in national beef production for three consecutive years. Today, I will give you a brief introduction to what are the breeds of beef cattle, as well as their origin, body shape and appearance, and production performance.
Figure 1: Comparison of beef cattle production in China in the past five years (unit: 10,000 tons).
1. Domestic beef cattle - Luxi cattle.
Luxi cattle are produced in Heze and Jining in the southwest of Shandong Province, and are known for their combined use of meat and meat, and have now developed to more than 100,000 heads. The body structure of Luxi cattle is well-proportioned, delicate and compact, and the coat is mostly yellow, light yellow and reddish-brown; Most cattle have light hair on the eye circles, mouth rings, lower abdomen and inner limbs, commonly known as "three pink characteristics"; The body of the bull is obviously in the shape of a high front and a low front victory; The body of the cow is short and straight at the back and waist, and the jiri is slightly sloping. The average slaughter rate of adult cattle is 581%, net meat rate 507%, the ratio of flesh to flesh is 1:69. The fat-to-meat ratio is 1:37；The fat content in Luxi yellow beef accounts for 464%, the fat is evenly distributed, the marbled pattern is obvious, and it has the reputation of "five flowers and three layers of meat".
2. Domestic beef cattle - Yanbian cattle.
Yanbian cattle are produced in the long and narrow area in the eastern part of the three northeastern provinces, and are distributed in Yanbian Korean Autonomous Region of Jilin Province, Heilongjiang Province, Kuandian County of Liaoning Province and along the Yajiang River. The coat color is mostly different shades of yellow, and the nasal lens is generally light brown with black spots; The chest is deep and broad, the bones are solid, the coat is long and dense, and the skin is thick and elastic; The head of the bull is broad, the base of the horns is thick, and most of them stretch outward to the rear into a zigzag or inverted figure-eight horn, and the neck is thick and raised; The cow's head is of moderate size, and the horns are thin and long, mostly gantry horns. The slaughter rate of adult Yanbian cattle was 577%, net meat rate 4723%；The meat is tender and juicy, delicious and palatable, with a marbled structure.
3. Domestic beef cattle - Nanyang cattle.
Nanyang cattle are a well-known local cattle breed in China, mainly distributed in the vast plain areas of the Tang River and Baihe River basins in Nanyang City, Henan Province, and there are more than 2 million Nanyang cattle in Henan Province. There are three kinds of coat colors: yellow, red and grass white, with different shades of yellow being the most, accounting for 80%; Generally, the face, abdomen and lower limbs of cattle are lighter, and the nose and neck are mostly flesh red; The hoof shell is yellow wax color, amber with blood tendons; The base of the bull's horn is thicker, mainly radish head horn and flat horn; The horns of cows are thin and short, and most of them are thin horns, pickpocketed horns, and pimple horns; In addition, Nanyang cattle also have the characteristics of good adaptability and resistance to rough feeding. The average slaughter rate for adult bulls is 522%, net meat rate 436%, the ratio of flesh to bone is 1:506The meat is fine, the fragrance is strong, the marbling pattern is obvious, and the quality is excellent.
4. Domestic beef cattle - Qinchuan cattle.
It is mainly distributed in Weinan, Lintong and Fuping in Shaanxi, and is named after the "Eight Hundred Miles of Qinchuan" in the Guanzhong area of Shaanxi Province; The coat color is mostly purple-red and red, accounting for about 80% of the total, and yellow is less. The head is square, the nasal lens is flesh-red, the horns are short, flesh-colored, and most of them are slightly curved outward or backward; Large body size, balanced development of all parts, thick bones, full muscles, strong physique; The limbs are thick and strong, the forelimbs are widely spaced, the hind limbs are close to each other, the hooves are rounded, the hooves are tightly forked, the hooves are hard, and most of them are red; The average slaughter rate of adult cattle is 583%, net meat rate of 505%, carcass meat yield of 868%, with a bone-to-flesh ratio of 1:61. The fat-to-meat ratio is 1:65. The fat content of Qinchuan cattle is higher, generally 2808% ；The meat is fine, the lean meat rate is high, and the marbling is obvious.
5. Domestic beef cattle - Jinnan cattle.
It is produced in the Jinnan Basin in the lower reaches of the Fen River in the southwest of Shanxi Province, and is a large-scale service meat variety. The coat color is mainly jujube red, the nose mirror is pink, and the hooves and toes are also pink; The bull's head is medium-long, the forehead is broad, the downwind horns are downwind, the neck is thick and short, the vertical skin is more developed, the prothorax is broad, the acromion is not obvious, the rump is narrow, the hooves are large and rounded, and the texture is dense; Cows have delicate heads, poorly developed udders, and smaller teats. The slaughter rate of adult fattening cattle was 523%, net meat rate 434%；The meat of Jinnan beef is tender, delicious and delicious.
6. Domestic beef cattle - Bohai black cattle.
Bohai black cattle was originally called "grasping tiger cattle", "Wudi black cattle", the main production area is in Wudi County, Shandong Province, and is now distributed in Wudi County, Xinyang, Zhanhua and other counties along the Bohai Sea in the northern part of Shandong Province. The coat, hooves, horns, nose mirror, and tongue are all black and shiny, so they are known as "Black King Kong"; The structure is well-proportioned, with a low body and a wide body, well-developed hindquarters, and a robust physique; The average slaughter rate of black cattle in Bohai is 5313, net meat rate 4472, carcass meat yield 8418, carcass flesh ratio of 1:509。
7. Domestic beef cattle - Qinghai-Tibet yak.
Yak originated in China, is an ancient and primitive cattle breed, mainly distributed in China's Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and part of the Central Asian Plateau, China's yak number accounts for more than 85 of the world's total, is the Tibetan herdsmen to produce meat, milk, skin, wool and other necessities and important economic income. The body size of the yak is similar to that of a cattle, the chest is deep and broad, the shoulder is high, the waist and back are slightly concave, the forelimbs are obviously thicker than the hind limbs, and the biggest feature is that the whole body is covered with long hair, especially the hair on both sides of the belly and the chest and buttocks is longer, almost hanging to the ground. The coat color is mostly black, dark brown or black and white spots, and the tail hair is unkempt. The slaughter rate of adult steer yaks was 4981, with an average carcass weight of 1271 kg, net meat rate 367. The average net meat yield is 8271 kg. The slaughter rate of female yaks was 4608, the average carcass weight is 10632 kg, net meat rate 3346, with an average net meat yield of 772 kg. Yak has a strong ability to accumulate body fat, and the shoulders, back, and buttocks of a yak carcass with good fat are covered with a layer of yellow fat, and the meat tastes good.
8. Imported from abroad - Simmental cattle.
Simmental cattle are native to the Swiss Alps and are a breed of milk, meat and servant; Due to the different ecological environments of the breeding sites, Chinese Simmental cattle are divided into three groups: plains, grasslands and mountains. It is raised in Northeast China, Inner Mongolia, Henan, Anhui, Shandong, Hebei, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan and other places; The cow's coat color is yellow and white flowers or light red and white flowers, the head, chest, abdomen, limbs and tail broom are mostly white, the skin and limbs are pink, the head is long, and the face is wide; The horns are thinner and curved outwards upwards, with the tips slightly upward; The neck is medium-long, the body is long, cylindrical, and the muscles are full. The average slaughter rate of adult cattle is 80%, and the net meat rate is 55%; The flesh is bright red, the texture is fine, elastic, and the marbling is moderate; The fat color is white or light yellow, the fat texture has high hardness, and the fat coverage rate of the carcass body surface is 100%.
9. Foreign introduction - Limousin cattle.
It is native to the Limousin plateau in central France, hence its name; It is mainly distributed in three northeastern provinces, four provinces in North China, Shandong, Anhui, Hubei, Sichuan, Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia and other provinces and autonomous regions. The cow's coat color is red or yellow, the coat color of the mouth, nose, eye field, inner limbs and tail broom is lighter, the horns are white, and the hooves are reddish-brown; The head of the bull is short, the forehead is broad, the chest is broad and deep, the body is long, the hindquarters are full of muscles, and the limbs are thick and short. The average slaughter rate of adult cattle is as high as 63%, and the lean meat rate is 80%-85%; Limousin cattle have large physique, fast growth, more muscle, less fat, moderate marbling of meat, white or light yellow fat color, and 100% fat coverage on the body surface of the carcass.
10. Foreign introduction - Charolais cattle.
Charolais cattle are native to the Charolais department and the Nevle region from the central west to the southeast of France; The domestic distribution is mainly distributed in the northeast, northwest and southern parts of the country, and the breed is crossbred with local cattle in China to improve cattle, and obvious results have been obtained. The coat is white or creamy, with frequent stains; The whole body is particularly muscular; Strong bones and strong limbs; The head of the ox is small and broad, the horns are round and long, and stretch forward, the sallow, the neck is thick and short, the chest is wide and deep, the ribs are round, the back is wide and the flesh is thick, the body is cylindrical, and the muscles are full; The posterior gluteal muscles are well-developed and protrude posteriorly and laterally, often forming a "double muscle" feature. The slaughter rate of adult cattle is 65%-70%, and the lean carcass rate is 85%-92%; The yield of lean meat is high, the meat color is bright red, the texture is fine, elastic, the marbling is moderate, the fat color is white or light yellow, and the fat coverage rate of the carcass body surface is 100%.
11. Foreign introduction - Haiford cattle.
Produced in Herefordshire, south of England, England, it is the world's oldest breed of early-maturing small and medium-sized beef cattle; Domestic distribution: It has been distributed in the vast areas of northeast and northwest China, with a total of more than 400 heads, and it is used to cross with local cattle in various places; The physique is small, the bones are slender, and it has a typical carnal body shape: the head is short, the forehead is broad, and the horns are flattened to the sides and slightly curved forward and downward; The trunk is rectangular, the limbs are short, the coat color is mainly different shades of red, and has the characteristics of six whites (that is, the head, lower limbs, lower abdomen, neck, sideburns and tail broom appear white); The average slaughter rate of adult cattle is 60-65%, and the net meat rate is 57%; It has the advantages of fast growth, early maturity and easy fattening, tender and juicy meat, delicious taste and good marbling; Fat is mainly deposited in the internal organs, subcutaneous connective tissue, and less fat between muscles.
12. Foreign introduction - Angus cattle.
Originating in the north-east of Scotland, beef cattle, known for many years as Aberdeen Angus cattle and hornless beef cattle; The domestic distribution is mainly distributed in Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Northeast China, Shandong and other provinces (regions); The black coat and the absence of horns are important characteristics of Angus cattle, and the coat is shiny and moist; Angus cattle are smaller, with a low body and a compact, sturdy physique; The head is small and square, the eyes are round and bright, the mouth is broad, the mouth is deep, the nostrils are large, and the nasal lens is wide; The neck is medium-long and thick, the skin is prominent, the dorsal line is straight, the waist is plump, and the body is broad and deep, cylindrical. The slaughter rate of cattle is 60%-65%, and the net meat rate is as high as 538%；Marbling is distinct, Angus beef has good tenderness and flavor, and is the only beef cattle breed in the world that uses the breed name as the brand name for meat.
Summary: China's cattle breed resources are very rich, there are many local breeds, and most of the local breeds have strong stress resistance, tolerance to rough feeding, and there is a large space for beef quality and yield. After years of development in the domestic beef cattle breeding, slaughtering and meat processing industry, a number of industry-leading enterprises have emerged, such as Chongqing Hengdu, Hualing Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Longjiang Yuansheng Wagyu, etc. In order to capture the high added value of downstream terminal consumption, the leading enterprises in the industry have established their own terminal brands and channels through self-cultivation, mergers and acquisitions, cooperation and other ways to reach end consumers, so as to realize the extension to the downstream of the industry, so that the intensive processing of beef cattle can be enhanced and the utilization value is maximized.