Beef cattle on a feedlot in the Texas Panhandle

A feedlot or feedyard is a type of concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) (also known as "factory farming") which is used for finishing livestock, notably beef cattle, prior to slaughter. They may contain thousands of animals in an array of pens. Most feedlots require some type of governmental permit and must have plans in place to deal with the large amount of waste that is generated. Long-running feedlots are often exempt due to various "grandfather clauses", which allow feedlots to wait until a change of ownership before obtaining permits and designing formal waste management plans. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (830x520, 54 KB) Feedlot in the Texas Panhandle taken by myself I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (830x520, 54 KB) Feedlot in the Texas Panhandle taken by myself I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... For general information about the genus, including other species of cattle, see Bos. ... The Texas Panhandle is a region of the state of Texas consisting of the northernmost 26 counties in the state. ... In agriculture, a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) is a farm that raises livestock and seeks to maximize production by making highly efficient use of space and other resources. ... The factual accuracy of part of this article is disputed. ... For other uses, see Beef (disambiguation). ... For general information about the genus, including other species of cattle, see Bos. ...

Prior to entering a feedlot, cattle spend most of their life grazing on rangeland or on immature fields of grain such as wheat pasture. Once cattle obtain an entry-level weight, about 650 pounds (300 kg), they are transferred to a feedlot to be fed a specialized diet which may be made up of hay, corn, sorghum, various other grains, by-products of food processing, such as sugar beet waste, molasses, soybean meal, or cottonseed meal, and minerals. In the American northwest and Canada, barley, low grade durum wheat, chick peas (garbanzo beans), oats and occasionally potatoes are used as feed. Rangeland refers to a large, mostly unimproved section of land that is predominantly used for livestock grazing. ... This article is about cereals in general. ... Pastureland Pasture is land with lush herbaceous vegetation cover used for grazing of ungulates as part of a farm or ranch. ... For other uses, see Hay (disambiguation). ... This article is about the maize plant. ... Species About 30 species, see text Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses, some of which are raised for grain and many of which are utilised as fodder plants either cultivated or as part of pasture. ... Food processing is the set of methods and techniques used to transform raw ingredients into food for consumption by humans or animals. ... Two sugar beets - the one on the left has been cultivated to be smoother than the traditional beet, so that it traps less soil. ... Molasses or treacle is a thick syrup by-product from the processing of the sugarcane or sugar beet into sugar. ... Soybean meal according to AAFCO is the product obtained by grinding the flakes which remain after removal of most of the oil from soybeans by a solvent or mechanical extraction process. ... Cottonseed meal is the byproduct remaining after cotton is ginned and the seeds crushed and the oil extracted. ...

Feedlot diets are usually very dense in food energy, to encourage the deposition of fat, or marbling, in the animal's muscles; this fat is desirable as it leads to 'juiciness' in the resulting meat. The animal may gain an additional 400 pounds (180 kg) during its 3-4 months in the feedlot.^[1] Food energy is the amount of energy in food that is available through digestion. ... Kinnikuman character, see Meat Alexandria. ...

Aside from ethical and environmental concerns, feedlots have come under criticism for human health reasons. The tissues of feedlot-raised cattle have far more saturated fat than that of grass-fed cattle, some sources say up to 500 percent more.^[2] Feedlot-raised beef may after long periods on feed have reduced healthy omega-3 fatty acids because of the corn-and-grain diets of the cattle.^[3] Omega-3 fatty acids are polyunsaturated fatty acids found in certain fish tissues, and in vegetable sources such as flax seeds, walnuts, and canola oil. ...

Once cattle are fattened up to their finished weight, the cattle are transported to a slaughterhouse. For the Batman villain, see Abattoir (comics). ...

See also

• Livestock
• Managed intensive grazing

Sheep are commonly bred as livestock. ... Management Intensive Grazing (MIG,) is the practice of using rotational grazing and careful, usually daily, management to get optimal production. ...

Reference

1. ^ Harris Ranch Beef Company. "Harris Ranch Feedlot...Beef the Way Nature Intended It to Be!" Company official site, accessed September 1, 2006 [1]
2. ^ Hyman, MD, Mark, Ultrametabolism: The Simple Plan for Automatic Weightloss, Scribner (2006), pp.35-36.
3. ^ www.grassrootsbeef.com[2]

External links

• Texas Cattle Feeders Association
• Harris Feeding Company, California's largest cattle feeder
• Clean Water and Factory Farms - Inhumane Treatment of Farm Animals
• Australian Lot Feeders Association