Beef Cattle Research

Beef cattle production is vital to most Texans’ economies, cultures, and livelihoods. In a fast-changing world of artificial intelligence, demanding consumers, and the growing importance of environmental stewardship, beef cattle production must strive to stay current, and this is only achievable through committed and focused research. 

The long-term goal for beef cattle research at Texas A&M is to discover, develop, and disseminate management practices that improve the efficiency of production in cattle around the world. Thus, our current beef research programs reflect this mission in their diversity, novelty, and multidisciplinary approach. The beef industry makes up roughly 22-24% of worldwide meat produced for human consumption. With the estimated increase in the world’s population, food production must more than double to meet the growing world demand. One of the unique aspects of the beef industry is its ability to convert low-quality forage (which is not usable for human food) into a high-quality food source for humans.  However, as the world population increases, resources available for beef production become even more limited.  Therefore, the efficiency of beef production must rise to meet the rising demand. 

The beef research program includes fundamental research such as investigating the essential relationships between the bovine animal and their microbiome or unraveling the specific role of bull fertility in pregnancy establishment. Our beef cattle specialists design investigative experiments to answer questions across disciplines of breeding, genetics, nutrition, welfare, reproduction, and management to improve our understanding of cattle physiology and how it impacts production outcomes. 

The basic scientific data obtained from the fundamental research is then tested and refined by applied research trials, aiming to produce innovative technologies to be shared with and utilized by beef cattle producers and other stakeholders. These technologies include but are not limited to, feeding strategies, vaccination programs, reproductive management, and crossbreeding programs.