Aberdeen Angus (breed of cows)

Cattle hornless (hornless), black (sometimes red) color, compact physique. Animals have short, correctly set legs and well-defined meat forms ^[1] , the body is wide and deep, with a flat top line; the neck is short, seamlessly merging with the shoulder and head, the lower back and sacrum are well made, the musculature of the ham descends to the hock and is well developed ^[2] .

The skin is loose, thin, elastic. The skeleton of animals is thin ^[2] and accounts for 15-18% of the carcass weight, and the fatty layers in the muscle fibers increase the tenderness, taste and nutritional qualities of meat.

Measurements of livestock: height at the withers of bulls is 125-130 cm, cows 120-125 cm ^[1] . Breast width 45–65 cm; width in maclocs 50-60 cm; oblique body length 135-140 cm. The live weight of bulls is 750-800 kg, sometimes up to 1000 kg, cows - 500-550 kg, sometimes up to 700 kg. In the USA, a tall type of Aberdeen-Angus breed was created: the height at the withers of the bulls is 145-147 cm, the live weight of the bulls is more than 1000 kg. Animals are early. The mass of newborn heifers is 16 kg, calves 28-30 kg. The mass of calves by 7-8 months of age up to 200 kg. Calves are raised on suction for up to 8 months, which is facilitated by the highly developed maternal instinct of cows. The average daily gain is 700–800 g. The live weight of castrati bulls with intensive rearing and fattening is 400–450 kg by 14–15 months and 450–460 kg by 15–16 months. Slaughter yield 58-60% ^{[1] [2]} . The cost of feed per 1 kg of weight gain is 6.5 feed units . The average annual milk yield is about 2000 kg of milk ^[3] .

Cattle quickly and well fattened, and in terms of roundness of form, early maturity and quality of carcasses, it comes first. When cross-breeding with other breeds, animals transmit meat qualities well to offspring ^[2] . Animals differ in that they can be kept outdoors, even in the most severe frosts.

Of the shortcomings, it should be noted saber legs, carp back, heavy head.

Breeding in the USA

• In 1873-1878 Aberdeen-Angus breed was imported to the United States (about 8500 animals).
• In 1878, the first thoroughbred herd was organized.
• In 1883, the American Association of Aberdeen Angus Livestock Breeders was established.
• In 1886, 1 volume of the studbook was published, in which since 1887 only those animals whose parents have already been registered in it are recorded.

Breeding in Russia and the CIS countries

In Russia, Aberdeen-Angus cattle are bred in the Moscow region, the Volga region, the Central region, the North Caucasus, the steppe regions of the Voronezh, Volgograd and Orenburg regions, the Stavropol and Krasnoyarsk and Altai territories.

In 2008, Zarechnoye LLC delivered purebred Black Angus cattle from the USA (250 heifers and 10 bulls). In 2009, in the Kaluga Region, the Angus Genetics Center began its work ^{[4] [5]} . On its territory in 2010, the first auction of breeding bulls in Russia, having a certificate and registration number in the American Angus Association, was held in Russia. ^[6]

Since 2011, Zarechnoye LLC has been implementing a large-scale project in the Voronezh Region for the breeding of Aberdeen-Angus breed and the production of marbled beef.

In 2013, over 4,000 cows of this breed were brought to Kaliningrad to revive livestock in the region. The breed is also bred in Kazakhstan and Ukraine.

In 2010, a project for breeding Aberdeen-Angus cattle was launched in the Bryansk Region (as part of the livestock development program from Miratorg Agribusiness Holding and with the support of the Government of the Russian Federation). In 2014, in the Bryansk region there are more than 180,000 head of cattle of this breed .

According to the results of 2014, the total number of specialized cattle of Aberdeen-Angus cattle in the Bryansk region grew to 250 thousand heads, and the mass calving in 2014 became the largest in the history of the Russian animal husbandry industry - 74.8 thousand appeared on the company's farms calves ^[7] .

In Ukraine, Aberdeen-Angus cattle are bred mainly in the Kiev region and regions of western Ukraine. The main population was imported from the countries of the European Union, for a subsequent increase in the gene pool.

In 2014, Tibon LLC launched a program to popularize the use of beef, as part of the program of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy of Ukraine . At the capacities of two farms of Tibon LLC (Kiev and Cherkasy regions), a livestock of Aberdeen-Angus cattle was placed.

Aberdeen-Angus meat, along with Hereford meat, is considered the best for cooking steaks . Certified USDA (US Department of Agriculture) certified "Angus Beef" is considered valuable. The meat is highly marbling . It should be noted that the “Certified Angus Beef” marking does not necessarily imply the Angus breed: a number of requirements are imposed on the exterior of the cattle and on the quality of the carcass, which may be met by carcasses of cows of other breeds, or not by carcasses of Angus cows. Among these requirements are the age and breeding variety of livestock, the type and duration of fattening, the level of marbling (the amount of fat in the meat).

Recommended degrees of steak frying: “rare” (steak with red juice, red-pink inside, temperature 42–49 ° C) and medium (pronounced pink juice inside, temperature 55–60 ° C).

• Cattle breeds

• Aberdeen-Angus breed / G.P. Legoshin // A - Questioning. - M .: Big Russian Encyclopedia, 2005. - P. 21. - ( Big Russian Encyclopedia : [in 35 vols.] / Ch. Ed. Yu. S. Osipov ; 2004—2017, vol. 1). - ISBN 5-85270-329-X .
• Aberdeen-Angus breed // A - Angob. - M .: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1969. - ( Great Soviet Encyclopedia : [in 30 vol.] / Ch. Ed. A. M. Prokhorov ; 1969-1978, vol. 1).
• Aberdeen-Angus breed // Agricultural Encyclopedic Dictionary / Editorial: V.K. Mesyats (chap. Ed.) And others - M .: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1989. - P. 7. - 655 p.