While modern "factory breeds" probably wouldn't be practical, beef cattle won't be boat anchors in a long term SHTF. Here's why. In the long run, survival will necessitate trade. Mankind has relied on division of labor for 10s of thousands of years. Look at frontiersmen and homesteaders in North America in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. They had a supply line eastwards to the coastal cities and even Europe, and many also traded westward with the Indians. Even those rugged individualists, the trappers of the early 19th century, had their rendevouz and relied on handcrafts made by Indians.

So lets consider an extended community of 100 households. 50 have a beef cow. Once a week, one of the beef cow households kills and slaughters their cow, and trades the meat for milk, poultry, grain, whatever. So once a week each household buys 5 lb of meat.

If things are so bad that everybody is pushed back to a 19th century existence, cattle will become critical for leather as much or more so than meat. Footwear, harness and tack, drive belts, the list is endless.

How does the taste of goat milk compare to cow's milk? I have had "raw" cows milk on a few occasions so I do know what it tastes like. I hear alot of talk about neubian (sp) goats for milking; is this because they have the best tasting goat's milk?

Chickens: Meat and eggs.
Rabbits: Meat
Goats: Dairy
Pigs: Taste