Beef Cattle

farming · meat production · livestock · agriculture

Three stages of life. Beef cattle go through cow-calf operations where they're born, backgrounding where they grow, and feedlot operations where they get fattened up before becoming meat.

More than just meat. While beef is the main product, cattle also give us leather for jackets and shoes, and their by-products end up in surprising places like candy, shampoo, cosmetics, and even insulin medicine.

Feeder cattle vs. heifers. Some calves are raised specifically to be fattened in feedlots, while female calves called replacement heifers are usually kept to become breeding cows themselves.

Raising for profit. Farmers carefully manage beef cattle through different stages of growth to make sure the animals are healthy and ready for the next phase of production.