Kentucky has the largest beef cow herd east of the Mississippi and the eighth largest nationally, with approximately 1 million beef cows.  Beef cattle provide our primary means of converting Kentucky's 7 million acres of pasture and forage into useful products. 

Tremendous potential exists to expand income opportunities from beef cattle to help replace lost tobacco income and sustain Kentucky's agricultural base.  The state-of-the-art facilities at the Animal Science Research Center Beef Unit will allow us to move into this new century with renewed emphasis on development (Research) and transfer (Extension) of knowledge and technologies to ensure that Kentucky's beef industry is competitive in a changing and demanding marketplace.