Last week, work took me on a trip to Phoenix to tour a cattle feedlot and ranch with a group of dietetic interns and the Arizona Beef Council. This is one of the exciting programs with my job where we help future dietitians learn more about how beef cattle are raised and the nutritional science … Continue reading Arizona Cattle Ranch and Feedlot Tour
During the past few years, I’ve frequently shared my experience working in and with a cattle feedlot. From a young age, my family sent our cattle to feedlots in the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles and our Spring Break “vacation” involved a drive to Amarillo to see those cattle. During college, I had the opportunity to … Continue reading Feedlot Employees Tweet Experiences Raising Cattle
When winter storms strike, livestock farmers and ranchers do a number of things to prepare, not only for their home and family but also for their livestock before the storm hits. On occasion, these storms strike with such a fury, that impacts may be catastrophic and historic in nature. Even in a cattle feedlot. … Continue reading Caring for Feedlot Cattle During a Winter Storm
What’s really going on in the cattle feedlot aerial images you see on Google maps or online stories? Google cattle feedlot aerial photos and you come up with a number of results that describe the “horrors of industrial beef”. People like to make these images out to be scary and damaging for conventional cattle operations. … Continue reading Explaining Cattle Feedlot Aerial Images
(In case you missed it, check out the first part of this series about my introduction to feedlots as a kid to learn where my interest for feeding cattle began.) During the next few years, my interest in the cattle business grew even stronger. I focused on college courses in nutrition and managing feedlot cattle. … Continue reading People Behind The Beef | What Happens in a Cattle Feedlot
So what really takes place at a cattle feedlot? Many folks refer to these places of business as factory farms. There is strong fascination among activist groups to uncover acts of cruelty and abuse from these locations, not only animal abuse, but irrevocable harms to the surrounding environment and communities. I have been lucky enough … Continue reading My Introduction As A Kid | What Happens In A Cattle Feedlot
Last week, I brought forward some Food For Thought on the issue of antibiotic use in livestock. The concerns surrounding an increase in antibiotic resistance seem to raise a lot of emotion and controversy around our food supply, just as the use of other feed additives, chemicals, herbicides, and countless other technologies and applications of … Continue reading Antibiotics Use in Cattle Feedlots | Ask A Farmer
I had an interesting conversation with a young woman from a Journalism class a few weeks ago who asked to interview me about Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) in livestock production, specifically the environmental impacts of cattle feedlots. A Meat Science professor had recommended me since I have spent most of my life acquainted with … Continue reading What Can We Do About Environmental Impacts of Cattle Feedlots?
I have had several conversations where folks assume that grain-finished cattle have little to no access to grass. That is not the complete truth and many are surprised to learn just how short the period is that those cattle remain in the feedlot. The majority of the animal’s life is on pasture. Recently I have … Continue reading What do feedlot cattle eat? Ask a Farmer
What is a factory farm? What is a CAFO? What is a cattle feedlot? These and numerous other questions are some that I receive on a weekly basis pertaining to cattle production. I have spent most of my life becoming better acquainted with many aspects of cattle production. Over the next several posts, I hope … Continue reading What is a cattle feedlot? | Ask a Farmer
