Beef Cattle Production
Overview
Drive out of any northern Nigerian town at dawn and you will meet them: long lines of cattle moving behind a herdsman, dust rising off the road as the animals head to whatever pasture the season has left standing. That single picture is Nigeria's beef industry in miniature, still built mainly on herding rather than on the fenced ranches and feedlots that supply beef in many other countries. Cattle move because the grass does not stay put and because a wide belt of the country remains too infested with tsetse fly for a Zebu-type animal to survive.
In this lesson you will meet the three breeds behind Nigerian beef, White Fulani, Sokoto Gudali and Muturu, and see how each breed's build fits the land it is kept on. You will compare the extensive, ranching and feedlot systems that turn a growing animal into marketable beef, work through the management and cost calculations examiners set on this topic, and learn the factors, disease chief among them, that hold Nigerian beef production back from its full potential.
Objectives
- State the common breeds of beef cattle reared in Nigeria
- Explain the systems of beef cattle production
- Explain the management practices in beef cattle production
- Explain the factors affecting beef production in Nigeria
- State the economic importance of beef cattle production
Lesson Note
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Lesson Evaluation
Congratulations on completing the lesson on Beef Cattle Production. Now that youve explored the key concepts and ideas, its time to put your knowledge to the test. This section offers a variety of practice questions designed to reinforce your understanding and help you gauge your grasp of the material.
You will encounter a mix of question types, including multiple-choice questions, short answer questions, and essay questions. Each question is thoughtfully crafted to assess different aspects of your knowledge and critical thinking skills.
Use this evaluation section as an opportunity to reinforce your understanding of the topic and to identify any areas where you may need additional study. Don't be discouraged by any challenges you encounter; instead, view them as opportunities for growth and improvement.
- Which of the following beef cattle breeds is small, humpless and strongly trypanotolerant, making it suited to the humid south of Nigeria? A. White Fulani B. Sokoto Gudali C. Muturu D. Friesian Answer: C
- The White Fulani (Bunaji) is best described as a: A. Small humpless breed B. Dual-purpose breed with black points and long horns C. Purely dairy breed D. Draught-only breed Answer: B
- The traditional system in which cattle herds follow seasonal grazing on open, unfenced land is called: A. Ranching B. Feedlot fattening C. Extensive (transhumant) grazing D. Zero-grazing Answer: C
- A steer weighs 240 kg at the start of a feedlot period and 300 kg after 60 days. Its average daily gain is: A. 0.5 kg/day B. 1.0 kg/day C. 1.5 kg/day D. 5.0 kg/day Answer: B
- The disease that most limits where large Zebu-type beef cattle can be kept in Nigeria is: A. Newcastle disease B. Trypanosomiasis C. Coccidiosis D. Foot rot Answer: B
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Past Questions
Wondering what past questions for this topic looks like? Here are a number of questions about Beef Cattle Production from previous years
Question 1 Report
(a) State six causes of low egg production in chicken
(b) Name three parts of the digestive system of pigs.
(c) Enumerate six ways ways in which cattle production is important in West Africa.
(d) State five uses of poultry eggs.
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