10 Interesting Facts About Beefalo

Beefalo are a hybrid species that are a mix of cattle and bison, which forms a leaner, meatier, offspring that is plentiful in protein and low in cholesterol. According to americanbeefalo.org, beefalo became popular in the early 1970's with a Time Magazine article titled "Have a Slice of Beefalo (1973)". This article will examine 10 interesting facts about the hybrid, beefalo.

1. Heartier meat

The cross between bison and cattle produces meat that is high in protein but low in cholesterol, which makes it the ideal choice for health conscious meat consumers.

2. Low in saturated fats

According to flightpathfarms.com, beefalo is lower in saturated fats than beef and pork, thus making it the ideal alternative.

3. Grow faster with less food

Beefalo have the ability to grow faster with less food required from birth to the butcher than traditional beef cattle.

4. Beefalo grew in popularity during the 1970s

According the americanbeefalo.org, in 1976 beefalo production reached nearly 6,000 cattlemen.

5. Proportion of cattle to bison

In order for beefalo to qualify as beefalo it must contain 3/8^th Bison genetics, and 5/8^th cattle genetics. Although early testing of beefalo was not done to make sure of this proportion, which allowed for greater proportions of cattle than bison.

6. Less calories

100g of beefalo has approximately 111 calories, compared to chicken with no skin, which has 190 calories, and lean beef with 230 (americanbeefalo.org).

7. Beefalo can trade its ancestry back to the 18^th century

Beefalo production started in the mid 18^th century by accident, but became famous in the U.S. in the 1970s.

8. Beefalo are a cross between female bison and male cattle

Optimal breeding of beefalo is done by crossing a female bison and male cattle. This creates more offspring, and few birth defects. Beefalo by nature are hardy and have fewer problems than other cattle hybrids do.

9. Beefalo offspring produce smaller calves

On odd fact about beefalo is that the calves are actually smaller than traditional cattle, but due to their nature of being able to consume grass earlier, actually get larger faster. Beefalo are used crossed for their meat, and grow much faster than traditional cattle. Due to lower birthing sizes, there are fewer complications with the offspring than with traditional cattle.

10. Less likely to use growth hormones or steroids to promote growth

According to natureswayfarm.net, beefalo farmers are less likely to use any sort of growth hormone or steroids during beefalo production due to quality of meet, and the natural reliance that beefalo are genetically imprinted with.

Sources:

http://www.natureswayfarm.net/beefalo.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beefalo

http://americanbeefalo.org/beefalo-articles/beefalo-history/#earlyyears

http://www.flightpathfarms.com/