Yesterday morning started out like any other. I arrived at work, checked my email, made a cup of tea, and opened up Windows Explorer to start working with the 1900 agricultural census. When I got to the data about cattle, however, I realized I was in way over my head. What was the difference between a bull one year or older and a two-year-old steer? What could be meant by a cow used for "other purposes"? Which kind do we eat? I spent the rest of the morning with my Dictionary of Agricultural and Allied Terminology learning all about cattle.
It turns out that there are basically four kinds of cattle (not including oxen, which haven't been counted by the census since 1890): male cattle are either steers or bulls and females are either heifers or cows. Then they start getting broken down by age and reproductive capability. All females under the age of two are heifers. Once they reach two years of age, if they have calved twice, they become cows. Cows (and heifers that have calved once) can be used for milk, but they can also be used for beef (those mysterious "other purposes"). All males under the age of one are steers. After that age, if they have not been castrated, they become bulls; if they have been castrated, they remain steers. Apparently all male cattle are used for beef (though bulls are also used for rodeos and, presumably, breeding). The last distinction is that all cattle under the age of one year are calves, but calves can be either steer calves (boys) or heifer calves (girls).
The way cattle have been counted by the census has changed over time. At first, there were three categories: working oxen, milk cows, and other cattle. Presumably, anything that hadn't calved and wasn't being used for labor would be an "other cattle." In 1900, the USDA decided that it needed WAY more detail, so it counted separately calves; bulls one year and older; steers of age one, two, and three or more; heifers of age one and two; cows used for dairy and cows not used for dairy. After that, the categories contracted to calves, steers and bulls, heifers, and dairy and beef cows. Then in the 1950s, calves were no longer counted separately, so the category of steers and bulls included boy calves and the category of heifers included girl calves. Finally, in 2002, the USDA returned to a three-category system: dairy cows, beef cows, and all other cattle (steers, bulls, and heifers). What I don't know, of course, is why the government wanted more detail 100 years ago and needs less today. I'm not sure I care enough to try to find out, but it is an interesting question.
File this under things I never thought I would need to know when I went to grad school in history!
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