Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
enables ruminants to use fibrous plant parts for food. Humans have only a limited
ability to absorb nutrients from very tender plant leaves such as lettuce. Ruminants
are able to use coarse stems and leaves of plants, which are completely indigestible
by humans.
Cattle were domesticated by 6500 BC or earlier in Turkey and the Near East. There
are some indications that domestication occurred much earlier. Modern cattle evolved
from aurochs, a wild ox. The last known surviving aurochs was killed by a poacher in
1627 in a Polish game park.
Cattle occupy different roles in many societies. In some African cultures, cattle
are synonymous with wealth. They are kept not as a business enterprise but as a
type of savings account. Calves are the “interest” and when cash is needed, one is
sold. In India, cows are considered sacred by Hindus and killing a cow is a mortal
sin. It should be noted that buffalo are not treated the same as cows and can be
used as food. In Spain and many Latin American countries, bulls are considered to
be a symbol of strength. Thus, a man who defeats a bull in the ring (bullfighting) is
considered a hero. For most farmers in the world, cattle serve several tasks: providing
milk, meat, and as a draft animal. Special breeds of cattle have been developed for
each task. The Holstein breed has been bred to produce large quantities of milk.
The Black Angus was developed specifically for beef production. The Brahma
breed has a distinct hump behind the head that makes it useful for pulling a plow
or cart.
Some breeds have developed tolerance, or even resistance, to ticks that enable
them to survive in specific ecosystems. The Brahma is a breed well known for its tol-
erance to heat, ticks, and ability to utilize coarse grasses. They have been widely
crossed with temperate climate beef breeds to obtain more productive meat breeds
for tropical areas.
In contrast to cattle, buffaloes have received relatively little systematic effort for
breed improvement. As a result there are large variations between animals for meat
and milk production. In some countries there are only a few recognized breeds. The
most distinct breeds are found in India and Pakistan. India and Pakistan have at least
five generalized groups of buffalo breeds named as Murrah, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh,
Central Indian, and South Indian. Within each group are several distinct breeds. 16
Although there are genetic differences between swamp buffalo and river buffalo,
they will interbreed and their offspring are fertile. This is one of the arguments for con-
sidering them as one specie.
The major role of buffaloes is as draft animals in rice-producing countries. Buffalo
males are often neutered, or castrated, to enhance their performance as draft animals.
The result is that there is a selection of faster growing, large animals for work, and
these are removed from the gene pool. Mostly smaller bulls are left for breeding.
Over the years there has been a tendency for many breeds to grow slower and
mature smaller. There are very few large herds of buffalo. Most are kept on small,
mixed farms as a work animal and to supply incidental milk and meat.
Comparison with cattle shows that buffalo have greater resistance to internal and
external parasites than cattle. Buffalo calves are born at a lighter weight than cattle, but
they tend to grow faster due to the high butterfat content of the milk. The mature
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