Foot Scoring Beef Cattle MontGuide is Available at the Chouteau County Extension Office
A new MontGuide (MT2024AG) has been created by Taylre Sitz, MS in Animal and Range Sciences from MSU: Tim DelCurto; MSU Professor and Endowed Chair, and Megan Van Emon, MSU Extension Beef Cattle Specialist. There are some great photos of claw scores and pastern angles that may be helpful when culling or selecting breeding livestock.
Due to various selection pressures, beef cattle have been transformed in size and shape over the last 75 years. Increased demand for cattle performance may have inadvertently put extra stress on foot and leg structure. While some research has been performed in the dairy industry, limited work has been conducted in extensive beef production systems on foot and leg structure. Currently, the American Angus Association (AAA) is the only breed association that has established expected progeny differences (EPDs) for foot angle and claw
set. The American Simmental Association, Red Angus Association, and American Gelbvieh Association are currently developing EPDs related to feet and leg structure as well. Therefore, information provided on foot scoring in this document will be based on the AAA guidelines. Both the foot angle and claw set traits are critical to structural soundness, which can have long-lasting impacts on production and longevity in a herd. Structural soundness is important for cattle locomotion when grazing extensive rangeland systems. Therefore, the objective of this MontGuide is to provide information about scoring foot angle and claw set in beef cattle, which can be used to assess structural soundness. The complete document is available at MSU Extension publications, or you can stop by our office and pick up a copy. The Extension office is located in the green building behind the courthouse.
Montana State University U.S. Department of Agriculture and Montana Counties Cooperating. MSU Extension is an equal opportunity/affirmative action provider of educational outreach.
