America's top five cattle breeds are Angus from Scotland, Hereford from England, Limousin from France, Simmenthal from Switzerland, and Charolais from France.

CNN: How to buy the best beef

"The economy has driven the price of commodities up in the last five years, including the price of elite cattle, " says Joe Epperly from the North American Limousin Foundation, which monitors sales of the highly-muscled Limousin breed.

BBC: Investors bet on breeding success