Facts About Aberdeen
There is a lot of talk about sustainability and profit but ask yourself what you can control and what you can’t. Can you control the markets or weather? Look at your yearly expenses and marketing plan to find leverage points.
For most people, harvested feed and labor are their biggest expenses. Even if you do all of the labor yourself, time is valuable.
Large scale or small, profitability over time is what sustains an operation. American Aberdeens give you the opportunity to make more of your pasture and feed resources. They have the potential to reduce labor at calving time and can generate more dollars per acre.
If you are new to American Aberdeens, check out the free cow efficiency brochure. Plug in the current values from your local sale barn for the different weight classes and prove to yourself the value of moderate-framed cattle. Remember, it’s not the value of one calf that pays the bills, it’s the net value of all of the cattle you sell in a year.
Throughout history, the ‘superpower’ cattle have is the conversion of low-quality roughage to high-quality food for human consumption.
Attend nearly any grazing seminar and the talk will be about smaller, more efficient, highly fertile cattle. Why? They are more profitable and have the potential to be better pasture improvers.
Moderate cows produce more pounds as a percentage of their body weight and larger ribeye area per hundredweight. They consume less feed per head on a daily basis.
Need more? Check out the Montana Grazing Animal Unit Month (AUM) Estimator. Put out by the USDA NRCS, this worksheet is designed to help you determine how many animals to graze in a pasture and for how long. A 1,000-pound American Aberdeen cow needs about 900 pounds of forage per month. A 1,400-pound cow requires about 1,260 pounds of forage per month. These are averages, but the numbers hold up.
The American Aberdeen cow can likely wean 50% of her body weight. In the same period, the bigger cow might wean 40% of her body weight.
If you are new to American Aberdeens, check out the charts in the free cow efficiency brochure. Plug your numbers into the equations and prove to yourself the American Aberdeen advantage. Profits are produced by optimum production and total net revenue, not maximum individual weaning weights or gross sales.
American Aberdeen cattle are easy calving, good natured cattle that are very feed efficient and maintain themselves on grass. They have excellent taste, texture and tenderness beef characteristics and exceptional ribeye area per hundred pounds of body weight which translates to very high yielding, high quality, high value beef carcasses.
American Aberdeen cattle answer the challenges of both the large-scale rancher and the small acreage farmers.
For the large-scale ranch operation, American Aberdeen lower labor and veterinary costs and provide many economic advantages. Commercial heifers bred to Fullblood American Aberdeen bulls calve easily and breed back quickly, reducing the calving interval. Halfblood American Aberdeen cows maintain themselves on about half the feed that is required by a full-size crossbred cow and wean more pounds of calf per acre.
American Aberdeen cattle are also a perfect choice for small acreage farmers. Their moderate size makes them easy to handle and minimizes equipment requirements. Their feed efficiency improves the carrying capacity of a farm. They produce exceptional quality beef. They are ideal show animals for 4-H and other youth projects bringing in the next generation of cattle people. They may also offer the tax advantages of an agriculturally based property and business.
American Aberdeen cross cattle are extremely well suited to grass-fed beef production as they are easy fleshing and will finish on a high roughage ration, producing high value carcasses with a minimum of input costs. The American Aberdeen Association®, headquartered in Big Horn, Wyoming requires that all Fullblood American Aberdeen cattle have DNA parentage verification to assure their genetic purity providing a breed integrity that is unmatched among other small breeds. The national registry has also established the tradition of an Annual National Show and Sale and Convention at the National Western Stock Show in Denver, providing a prestigious showplace for the top bloodlines in the breed as well as an ideal setting to share thoughts, ideas and mingle with other American Aberdeen breeders as well as the nation’s top cattlemen of all breeds.
American Aberdeen cattle were developed from a herd of 100% Registered Angus, which was established at the Trangie Research Center in Australia in 1929 to provide quality beef breeding stock for the New South Wales industry. From that early beginning and after decades of selection to moderate frame size came this exciting beef breed we call American Aberdeen cattle. See a more thorough history.
Mature American Aberdeen bulls generally fall into a range of 45-48 inches measured at the hip and weigh from 1,300 to 1,600 pounds. Mature cows generally measure from 42-46 inches at the hip and weigh between 900 and 1,100 pounds.
Yes, due to the smaller size of a newborn calf, assistance is not generally required at calving time and American Aberdeen cows make excellent mothers.
No, they don’t require expensive handling facilities. Being naturally polled and docile, they make for easier handling. They are an excellent choice for those just getting started in the cattle business.
American Aberdeen cattle thrive on smaller amounts of feed, whether grass or hay because of their efficient conversion of grass to meat. American Aberdeen cattle require limited amount of feed, and this makes them ideal for smaller acreage and allows for more American Aberdeens to be stocked in the same area that would support traditional cattle. Rotational grazing more numbers of smaller animals on a property creates more hoof action that is beneficial to implanting seeds to reestablish grasses and legumes in sensitive areas. This makes American Aberdeen cattle a better choice for riparian areas as well as arid or sandy soils. Being of true Angus, they adapt well to all weather conditions and climates as is demonstrated by the wide variety of American Aberdeen Association members located in different areas of the country.
Given their feed requirements for a commercial operation there are less inputs, higher stocking rates and more rib eye area per 100 pounds of carcass weight.
Visit our herdbook for American Aberdeen Breeders where you’ll find breeders in almost every state. Most members are more than happy to show you their American Aberdeen cattle. On the Events Calendar link, you’ll find shows, sales and other events where you can also see American Aberdeen cattle as well as visit with breeders.