History & Facts:
There are many benefits to eating beef, and you don't have to absorb unnecessary fats when you eat it. The cut of meat determines the amount of fat, not the kind of meat. The six leanest cuts are: Eye of Round, Tenderloin, Top Round, Sirloin, Top Loin, and Round Tip.

Florida cattle and calf prices rebounded in 1997 after a two-year free fall, lifting cash receipts to more than $312 million. Year-long average calf prices were $81.20 per hundred weight, an increase of more than $25 from the year before. Cow prices averaged $42.20 per CWT, nearly $10 more than 1996.

Floridas cattle numbers, however, continued to decline, but farmers still marketed over a million head for the fourth year in a row.

Florida remains ranked 10th nationally in the number of beef cows with more than a million head spread among 20,000 herds, some of which are the largest in the county. Florida ranks 4th nationally behind only Texas, Montana and Nebraska in number of herds with 500 or more brood cows. Florida has four of the nations 15 largest cattle ranches, including the largest in the country with more that 35,000 cows on more than 300 thousand acres.

Nutritional Value:
Red meat is an excellent source of iron, and contains iron that is easier to absorb. Red meat also has a high zinc content and availability. It is also a good source of protein, vitamin B12 and riboflavin.

Storage:
Beef should be refrigerated at 32 to 35 degrees fahrenheit, with a relative humidity of 85 to 90 percent. The approximate storage life for ground beef is four days, and 10 to 14 days for other cuts.

Availability:
Year-round