World’s Largest Beef Producing Countries | Livestock | Geography

Here is a list of beef producing countries in the world:- 1. U.S.A. 2. Argentina 3. Australia and New Zealand 4. European Countries.

U.S.A.:

The U.S.A. is the greatest beef-producer in the world, but because of the large local demand for beef it has little surplus for export. Cattle are raised in the western Prairies and when they reach maturity they are taken, usually by rail, to the cattle-fattening areas. Traditionally cattle were fattened in the maize fields of the Corn Belt and a vast network of railways converges on Chicago, originally built to ship the cattle.

Now however the animals are fed in feedyards. Many fattening concerns are still based in the Mid- West and the cattle gain weight before being slaugh­tered and processed in towns such as Chicago, St. Louis, Omaha and Kansas City.

Many cattle are also bred and fattened entirely in the Corn Belt. However many western cattle are no longer sent east but are fattened on locally-grown, irrigated sorghum in the feedyards of the southern High Plains area or are sent to feeding concerns in California. They may then be sent elsewhere to be slaughtered because this in­dustry has not yet established itself in the south-west.

Argentina:

Argentina has only about 5 per cent of the world’s cattle population, but the vast majority are kept for beef. Despite an enormous per capita consumption of beef in Argentina (about 100 kg/220 lb or almost twice as much as for any other country) there is still a large surplus for export, and Argentina exports about 15 per cent of its produc­tion, its main markets being in Europe, particularly West Germany. It also exports to the Arab states.

Argentina has about 59 million cattle in the Pampas grasslands. The original cattle which grazed on the coarse grasses, were poor-quality animals and yielded only hides, tasajo (beef extract), tallow and tough meat. But when the land was settled by Euro­pean colonists especially during the nineteenth centu­ry, better European cattle breeds, particularly the Shorthorn and smaller numbers of Aberdeen Angus and Herefords, were introduced and alfalfa grass was sown to fatten the cattle.

Maize or corn is also used for this purpose as in the Corn Belt of the U.SA. The vast cattle farms or estancias may be 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) in extent and are manned by gauchos (cowboys). Smaller estates are called chacras. The maritime climate allows grazing to go on all round the year and water is provided by wind pumps.

The cattle are rounded up and sent by rail to the frigorificos or slaughter-houses of the major towns such as Buenos Aires and Rosario. The meat is ex­ported in chilled or frozen form. Much is also pro­cessed in canning factories or saladeros to make corned beef. Other products of the region are beef extracts such as Oxo and Bovril; leather made from the hides; fat or tallow, used in margarine and cooking oil; bone meal for fertilizer; and glues made from the horns and hoofs.

Cattle rearing is also very important in neighbouring Uruguay, the main meat-packing centres being Fray Bentos and Paysandu.

Australia and New Zealand:

Australia has about 3 per cent of the world’s cattle (about 31.5 million head) and is a major beef exporter. Beef cattle are kept mainly in the north of the country on the savanna grasslands, but due to careful management, the use of irrigated fields for fattening and condition­ing the cattle, and preventive measures against disease, cattle raising in the Australian savanna region is more successful than in many tropical areas.

A recurrent hazard, however, is drought, and the number of cattle kept in Australia varies very markedly from year to year. Cattle are also kept in the more humid south­east. More than a third of Australia’s cattle (mainly for beef) are found in Queensland and another third in New South Wales and Victoria (for both beef and milk).

In New Zealand, as in Europe, the cattle are kept not on huge open ranges but on fairly small farms, and are carefully fed to give high quality meat. Dairy farming is much more important than beef produc­tion but New Zealand is nevertheless a major beef exporter.

European Countries:

In Europe beef cattle are kept on moderately-sized farms and, as in other areas, the raising of the cattle is usually separate from the fattening stage. For instance store cattle are raised in northern and western England and are then moved to the lusher pastures of the Midlands for fattening before being slaughtered.

The U.S.S.R. has the largest cattle population but output is fairly small in comparison with other agri­cultural products. Cattle are usually kept in the arable farming areas, often on the personal plots of collective workers. There is an increasing trend towards the growing of fodder crops, which should help to boost production.

Cattle are kept mainly in European U.S.S.R. and western Siberia. France is the leading West European beef producer, followed by West Germany and the United Kingdom. Most European countries are beef importers, especially Italy, West Germany and France, because other agricultural activi­ties often use the majority of the land, e.g. arable farming and dairying, and because demand is very high.