Abstract
<jats:p>During the time period of the feudal system and serfdom, meat production and beef cattle breeding were not observed in the territory of the modern Kurgan region. The first mentioning of the meat industry appeared in 1907, when the Danish firm Tegersen and Bruel built a pig slaughterhouse in Kurgan. The first slaughterhouse appeared in 1910 in Shadrinsk. In 1909-1913, refrigerators for storing meat were built in Kurgan, and in 1916, construction of slaughterhouses with refrigerators began. In 1936-1940, the Shumikha Poultry Processing Plant was founded. In 1939, the Petukhovo Poultry Processing Plant was equipped with refrigerators. In the early 60s, renovation of all meat processing plants in the Kurgan region was carried out. In 1963–1968, a meat processing plant was built in Shadrinsk with a production capacity of 40 tons of meat per shift. In 1964, a building with refrigerators was erected at the Kurgan Poultry Processing Plant, and in 1965 at the Shadrinsk Poultry Processing Plant. The profile of meat production in 1945, 1956, and 1963 demonstrated the dominance of beef – 79.88 %, 55.81 %, and 40.71 % of the total volume. In 1960–1965, the main breeds were Kurgan (or Kurganskaya) (74 %), Simmental (11 %), and black-and-white (8 %). In 1964, 101,198 cattle heads were slaughtered, most of them (81.54%) were characterized by average fatness, 3.81 % had the highest fatness, 12.49% were below average, 2.16 % were skinny. Of the total purchased cattle, 63.18 % were purchased from collective farms. The history of specialized beef cattle breeding in the Kurgan region began in 2007. The animals of the Aberdeen Angus, Hereford, Kazakh white headed, Auliеkol, Charolais and Aubrac breeds were brought to the region. From 2013 to 2023, the number of beef cattle increased 7.2 times, reaching 33,935 heads. We believe that maintaining the current pace of the industry will allow us to achieve beef production rates that meet the needs of the regional population by mid-2032.</jats:p>