Beef production efficiency.

In the production of high quality protein, feed grains will continue to be used to finish cattle for market as long as economics dictates. Production systems could be developed that would make ruminant animals less competitive with humans for feed grains, but the costs of instituting such programs would be prohibitive. Sufficient genetic variation exists either between or within breeds for the cattle population to be adapted to new management programs and for current methods of beef production to be significantly improved.