Kermit, I find trying to cause injury to an industry that feeds the world an unusual way to have fun. I am just a country bumkin and not used to big words like apolitical and industrial feed lots. What is an industrial feedlot? You will have to speak plain English for me.
Have you ever been to a feedlot? Yes, I have.
When cattle arrive at a feedlot, they are carefully unloaded and led through a processing barn, where they are tagged for identification purposes, vaccinated, and entered into the operation’s record-keeping system.
Feedlots look different than cow-calf and backgrounding operations because cattle do not graze on pasture. Rather, they typically are separated into herds of 100 animals and live in pens that allow about 125 to 250 square feet of room per animal. Cattle usually spend four to six months in a feedlot, during which they are fed a scientifically formulated ration averaging 70 percent to 90 percent grain, and have constant access to water.
Environmental factors such as water quality, air quality, and land utilization are monitored and manged in feedlots daily. Operators are not only responsible for constantly monitoring the health and well being of cattle, but also for protecting the environment. In fact most large, (is this industrial?), feedlots have environmental engineers on staff or on contract to ensure the operation is in compliance with the strict Environmental Protection agency (EPA) regulations that govern concentrated animal feeding operations.
Cattle can become ill at the feedlot because of changes in the weather and geographic location, and mingling with other cattle that come from a variety of operations. For this reason, feedlot veterinarians may take preventative measures and give cattle vitamin supplements, vaccinations, and parasite treatments to maintain their health. Similar to other stages of productions, sick cattle may be given antibiotics and moved into a separate hospital pen away from their herdmates for treatment. This prevents the spread of illiness and allows feedlot operators to closely monitor the animal’s health.
Facts taken from national cattleman’s Beef Association “Beef--From Pasture to Plate.” January 21, 2010
David Post,
Seminole
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Kermit, I find trying to cause injury to an industry that feeds the world an unusual way to have fun. I am just a country bumkin and not used to big words like apolitical and industrial feed lots. What is an industrial feedlot? You will have to speak plain English for me.
Have you ever been to a feedlot? Yes, I have.
When cattle arrive at a feedlot, they are carefully unloaded and led through a processing barn, where they are tagged for identification purposes, vaccinated, and entered into the operation’s record-keeping system.
Feedlots look different than cow-calf and backgrounding operations because cattle do not graze on pasture. Rather, they typically are separated into herds of 100 animals and live in pens that allow about 125 to 250 square feet of room per animal. Cattle usually spend four to six months in a feedlot, during which they are fed a scientifically formulated ration averaging 70 percent to 90 percent grain, and have constant access to water.
Environmental factors such as water quality, air quality, and land utilization are monitored and manged in feedlots daily. Operators are not only responsible for constantly monitoring the health and well being of cattle, but also for protecting the environment. In fact most large, (is this industrial?), feedlots have environmental engineers on staff or on contract to ensure the operation is in compliance with the strict Environmental Protection agency (EPA) regulations that govern concentrated animal feeding operations.
Cattle can become ill at the feedlot because of changes in the weather and geographic location, and mingling with other cattle that come from a variety of operations. For this reason, feedlot veterinarians may take preventative measures and give cattle vitamin supplements, vaccinations, and parasite treatments to maintain their health. Similar to other stages of productions, sick cattle may be given antibiotics and moved into a separate hospital pen away from their herdmates for treatment. This prevents the spread of illiness and allows feedlot operators to closely monitor the animal’s health.
Facts taken from national cattleman’s Beef Association “Beef--From Pasture to Plate.” January 21, 2010
David Post,
Seminole
