Cattle On Feed Survey

The United States beef cattle industry is one of the most important national enterprises that exist in our economy today. Beef cattle production takes place in all 50 states and affects either directly or indirectly over 90% of our population. Though some American citizens may not understand or appreciate this industry, without it our nation would be the worse for it. However, there is always a positive and negative side to ever story. This industry has had some challenges which have affected our economy, and there are always new concerns arising that could potentially change the everyday life of the cattle producer and the soccer mom in the grocery store alike. The goal of this paper is to discuss the sheer size of this industry, the amount

Although the Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) was established by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to protect consumers, a number of unintended consequences have arisen that negatively impact producers. These include increased costs of feed, negative impacts of small and rural producers, limitations to meeting new demands and the voluntary nature of the VFD. This letter explores the VFD and identifies challenges with its current implementation that impact our rural and remote producers.

In the US today cattle are part of everyday culture. With more than 93 million cattle in the dairy and beef industry, and tens of thousands in the rodeo business, cattle are definitely a huge part. Lately, there has been many concerns with the bovine friends along with multiple misconceptions. Rodeos may look tough on animals, and todays society is not educated well enough on the beef and dairy industry. People don’t realize that these animals are happy, healthy, and very well cared for.

When eating anything, most people check the labels to see what the food all consists of. Just like when eating hamburger, some people may want to know if the hamburger came from grass-fed or grain-fed cattle. Depending on the person, they might prefer one over the other. Some people may think that one tastes better than the other or they may just think it is healthier. Not only might the meat coming from the cattle be affected, but also the milk coming from a cow. Either way, further explanations for grass-fed vs. grain-fed cattle will be discussed in this paper.

The top four meatpacking businesses hold 20 percent of the nation’s cattle in company owned feedlots or cattle bought before-hand, sometimes using secret pricing contracts (138). These farmers are doing everything they can to make a living. This includes rotation practices that big companies would never care about.

The conditions in which meat livestock live in is not exactly that of a large open green field in which they are free to roam and be merry. In the Economist article, Cows down: The beef business (2008) the effects of the ill conditions cows talks of how a

The reason I chose to use my show cattle as the main part of my video is because they are really important to me and have probably had biggest impact on my life as a whole. For the last 10 years I have been showing cattle and it has been a huge part of my life ever since. Showing cattle has taught me more about life and responsibility then anything else in my life ever has. Throughout the years of showing my cattle I have made many friends and been lots of places. The reason I chose the pictures that I did for my show cattle part of the video is because they show the way that I have grown and learned more over the last few years about showing cattle in specific. Having pictures of multiple years of calves that I have showed, explain how my showing abilities have improved since I started showing cattle. I mixed the different cattle that I have showed so that my video would show different perspectives of my show calves and the different breeds that I have showed. These pictures help me look back at the different shows I have been too with different calves helps me understand what I have improved on. Each calf that I have had, has been different in many ways, and each one has made me go out of my comfort zone in different ways and helped me learn new things such as, showing a different breed that I had no experience in, breaking calves to lead, new techniques for showing and prep, and figuring out new feed rations for my calves.

America is a nation of meat eaters, consuming up to 25.5 billion pounds of meat a year, there are approximately one million farms with livestock, and about 212,000 confine animals and are defined as animal feeding operations (AFOs) under current regulations (USEPA, 2012a) in the United States. In 2015 majority of the population in our country does not actually know where their meat comes from, we can just walk into our local super market and walk out with a plethora of meat products for a relatively cheap price. All of our meat products are nicely packaged with a nice, green, sunny farm right on the front of the packaging. Is that really what our farms look like now? Not exactly, if you went to the farm your animal came from you would walk

Numerous studies attest that fat composition within in animal (specifically cattle) depend and vary on the diet of that animal (Daley et al. 2010). In the case of cattle, grass-fed and grain (concentrate)-fed are amongst the two largest diets used, and this difference in diets is also correlated with a difference in fat composition (Daley et al. 2010). In general, grain-fed cattle have a higher body fat percentage make up, increasing from 9.76g/100g of muscle in grass-fed crossbred steers to 13.03g/100g of muscle in grain-fed steers (Daley et al. 2010). This is a 34% increase due to a diet change, which is a considerable increase since animal fats are connected to health risks; providing the argument that grass-fed cattle are healthier (Daley et al. 2010).

The United States Department of Agriculture estimated there to be three million pig farms with fifty-five million pigs in 1950. Those statistics would round out to approximately nineteen pigs per farm. In 2007, the United States Department of Agriculture estimated there to be 65,640 pig farms with 65 million pigs; resulting in a ratio of 992 pigs per farm. Dairy farms have reduced by more than half and chickens produced for meat has increased from 12,630 in 1950 to 300,000 in 2007 (Johnson, 82). Currently, each minute, fourteen thousand chickens will be killed. Every twenty-four hours, ninety thousand cows and calves will be slaughtered (Wilson, 314). In order for the alarming amount of growth in animal numbers to occur, their quality of life had to diminish. Gene Baur and his colleagues at Farm Sanctuary have been fighting to change laws regarding the treatment of factory farmed animals since 1986. In more recent years their hard work in lobbying has paid off. In 2003 the United Stated Department of Agriculture enacted a policy to remove downed cattle from the food supply. Downed cattle refers to cattle that are unable to walk due to malnourishment or physical abuse. In California, Baur’s home state, it was outlawed that downed cattle be used for slaughter. Farm Sanctuary also promoted the outlaw of foie gras which is a liver meat of forced fed ducks. Both

__T__ 31. The stocker usually purchases animals from a cow-calf producer and sells them to go into a feedlot.

The Canadian Cattle Identification Program exists to track beef cattle from birth to slaughter. This way cattle can be tracked through an approved radio frequency tag in the case of a serious outbreak of disease. Having beef cattle that are trackable through ear tags ensures that beef will be of high quality, and the number of beef cattle are regulated. The cattle identification program radio tags were implanted due to an outbreak of mad cow disease in 2001, the radio tags operate as a way to track back to a source of a disease outbreak; therefore, beef can ensured to be of high quality by managing disease issues in beef cattle.

While grass-fed beef typically has a much deeper flavor than grain-fed, it's important to keep in mind these six simple cooking tips to help ensure the finished product results in the best tasting and most enjoyable meal possible.

I am a hardworking, motivated student that seeks to learn more about the beef cattle industry. Although I grew up showing horses, I became fascinated with the beef industry during my freshman year of college after competing in the UF Little International Livestock Show. I was tasked with breaking a beef heifer within a month’s time and showing in an intercollegiate show. My experiences in class and networking with various beef industry representatives through my involvement with Gator Collegiate Cattlewomen, has only solidified my desire to work in such a vital industry. I believe interning at the NCBA Convention would allow me to cultivate an increased knowledge of the beef industry, make valuable connections with industry leaders, while also gaining important skills in beef advocacy. As an Agricultural and Natural Resource Law Minor, I am also in a special position to learn more about government regulations affecting the beef industry and the actions needed to improve policy and thus, benefit the beef industry as a whole. Overall, I believe I am qualified prospect and I know I can prove myself to be a valuable asset to NCBA. I am a fast learner with a diverse skill set, well versed in social media, very personable, and an effective problem solver that can handle any task assigned to me.

What does one think of when they see cattle at the local county fair? Do they classify them as a red cow or  a black cow, or do they know that each cow is possibly a different breed? In today’s era, most individuals do not understand all the subtitles beneath the title of simply cattle. There are a variety of breeds, and each breed offers different benefits and usages. What lies beneath the title of just cattle is more diverse than black and white.