DOMESTICATION AND

IMPORTANCE OF LIVESTOCK

Downloaded from national ag ed site. Author unknown. Edited by Jaime Gosnell and Dr. Frank Flanders, Georgia
Agricultural Education Curriculum Office, to accompany lesson 01.432-1.1
 OBJECTIVES
 Define livestock
 Explain why animals were domesticated
 Explain the uses of livestock
 Describe the scope of the livestock industry in the
United States
 Determine modern consumption trends
 LIVESTOCK DEFINED:
 The term livestock is normally defined as animals
raised to produce milk, meat, work, and wool.
 It includes beef and dairy cattle, swine, sheep,
horses, goats, and poultry.
 Other animals used in agriculture such as emus,
bees, fish bait, etc. are considered alternative
animal agriculture and are not covered here.
WHAT DOES THE DOMESTICATION
OF ANIMALS MEAN?
 To adapt animals for use by humans
 Animals taken from nature and raised under the
care of humans
WHY WERE ANIMALS
DOMESICATED?
To Provide a Steady Food Supply
To Provide Transportation
To Perform Work
To Provide Raw Materials for Clothing
TO INCREASE DESIREABLE
CHARACTERISTICS
To Provide Pleasure and Recreation
 WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF
LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION IN THE
U.S.?
 CATTLE
 Cattle were on the the first ship
to arrive in Jamestown in 1607
 There are about 115 million
head of cattle in the U.S.
 Cattle are divided into beef and
dairy breeds
 Angus is the most popular beef
breed and holstein is the most
common dairy breed
SWINE
 Swine were on the first ship in
Jamestown in 1607
 Wild hogs are the descendants
of escaped domesticated hogs
 Today’s trend in the industry is
to produce lean hogs as
opposed to the fatter hogs that
were grown in the early and
middle 1900’s
 SHEEP
 Sheep were domesticated
about 8,000 years ago
 They are raised for meat
and wool
 There are over 200 breeds
of domestic sheep
 The management of sheep
is more complex than the
management of most
animals
GOATS
 Goats were one of the first
animals to be domesticated,
about 9,000 years ago
 They are raised for food and
clothing
 Goats are excellent scavengers
 There are 300 breeds of
domestic goats
 Production of meat-type goats
are a current trend
 HORSES
 In the 1800’s and early
1900’s, horses were used
for power and
transportation
 Most horses are owned for
recreation and personal
pleasure
 There are about 6.6
million horses in the U.S.
CHICKENS
 Chickens are the most
important poultry species
 They are raised for meat
and eggs
 Today chicken production
is a large commercial
industry as opposed to the
small flocks seen in early
America
 WHAT ARE THE COMMON
FUNCTIONS OF LIVESTOCK IN
TODAY’S SOCIETY?
CONVERTING GRAIN AND
ROUGHAGE INTO MEAT
CLOTHING
POWER
RECREATION
PRODUCTS
HOW HAVE LIVESTOCK
CONSUMPTION TRENDS
CHANGED?
 CONSUMPTION TRENDS
 The consumption of beef has declined since 1970
from about 79 pounds to about 65 pounds per
person per year.
 Pork consumption has remained relatively stable at
just under 50 pounds per person per year.
 CONSUMPTION TRENDS

 Theconsumption of lamb and mutton has declined

from 1.9 pounds per person to 0.9 pounds per
person per year since 1970.
 Chicken Consumption Trends

 Chickenconsumption had steadily increased from

27 pounds to about 50 pounds per person per year
 Diary Consumption Trends
 The consumption of all dairy products has slightly
increased from 554 pounds in 1970 to 585 pounds
per person per year
 Turkey Consumption Trends
 Turkeyconsumption has increased from 6.71
pounds to 14 pounds per person per year.
 Consumption Trends
 Theincrease in the consumption of poultry and the
decrease in the consumption of beef can be
explained by new health concerns such as high
cholesterol
 WHAT IS THE ECONOMIC
IMPORTANCE OF THE
LIVESTOCK INDUSTRY IN THE
UNITED STATES?
 MEAT ANIMALS: production and
income in the U.S. 1997 - 1999
year production marketings Value of Cash Value of Gross
production receipts home income
consumption
-------million pounds------- ---------------- million dollars ----------------

65,692 81,915 37,983 49,689 382 50,070

1997
67,890 82,478 33,181 43,344 347 43,691
1998
68,478 84,471 33,970 45,614 362 45,975
1999
 THE BEEF INDUSTRY
 Beef accounts for 6% of all supermarket sales
 Beef cattle and calves accounted for
$31,376,515,000 of gross income in the U.S. in
1996
 Texas is the leading state in beef cattle production
 THE DAIRY INDUSTRY
 The U.S. produced $23,057,197,000 worth of milk
in 1996
 Wisconsin is the leading dairy producing state
 Milk is produced in all 50 states
 THE SWINE INDUSTRY
 The U.S. ranks second to China in the number of
hogs produced
 Iowa is the number one hog producer in the U.S.
 In 1997 the U.S. had a gross income of
$13,246,479,000 from the hog industry
 THE SHEEP INDUSTRY
 Colorado is the number one sheep producing state
 In 1997 sheep had a gross value of $645,941,000
in the U.S.
 THE GOAT INDUSTRY
 Texas is the number one goat producing state
 THE POULTRY INDUSTRY
 Chicken, turkey, and eggs account for a high
percentage of farm income for all products
 In 1997 the value of poultry production in the U.S.
was $21,635,976,000
 Georgia is the number one broiler producing state
and Ohio is the number one egg producing state
 THE HORSE INDUSTRY
 There is no accurate count of the number of horses
in the United States
 It is estimated that over 16 billion dollars is spent
in the horse industry every year.
 Most horses and mules are owned for pleasure
however, they are a major factor in creating jobs in
vet services, feeds and feeding, and equine
equipment and supplies
 REMEMBER
 Livestock was domesticated for convenience of humans
 The term livestock generally refers to horses, cattle,
swine, poultry, sheep, and goats
 Livestock production is a major economic factor in the
U.S. economy
 Consumption of poultry has increased in recent years
while red meat consumption has declined or remained
stable