All right, put on your thinking caps, folks, because in honor of May, I have a little quiz for you. May is National Beef Month, so we could talk about how healthy, nutritious and great beef is. But, since this is an ag newspaper, that would only be preaching to the choir.
Instead, I did this little test to see if you beef producers know your stuff. Ready? Here we go:
1. What breed of cattle originated in France and is NOT Charolais?
2. What are beef cattle good for, besides eating?
3. Cattle outnumber people in nine states, including Nebraska. Name five more
of them.
4. The U.S. is one of the top cattle producing countries in the world. What is another one?

5. Beef is the number one source of zinc in a balanced diet. Is zinc a big deal?
6. On which day of the year is the most
beef eaten?
All done? Let’s see how you did.
1. The Limousin breed was named after the area in south-central France where they originated. If you thought they were called Limousins because the bulls are as long as a limousine car, (like I did) you were wrong.
2. Just a few cattle by-products are bone china, piano keys, glue, fertilizer, and over a hundred types of medicine, including insulin and estrogen.  
3. Besides Nebraska, cattle outnumber people in Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma and Wyoming.
4. India and China both produce more cattle than the U.S. but they are mostly dairy cattle, not beef cattle. The U.S. and Brazil are the top beef cattle producing nations.
5. Zinc is a real big deal. A trace element, it is essential for growth, immunity, vision, and a lot of other functions. And since zinc is a big deal, getting zinc from beef is a big deal.
6. More beef is eaten on Memorial Day than any other day of the year. Fourth of July and Labor Day are close seconds. I think it’s fitting and proper that we celebrate important days in this country with good ol’ beef.
So, how did you do? If you got 1-2 right, you need to study. Go eat a hamburger while you’re at it. If you got 3-4 right, you did pretty good. Have a couple of ribs on the grill. And if you got 5-6 right, you win. Have a steak. Better yet, have a steak with friends.
After all, you need to practice for
Memorial Day.