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The Beef LifeCycle

The Beef LifeCycle

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robenson indab
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13 views3 pages

The Beef LifeCycle

The Beef LifeCycle

Uploaded by

robenson indab
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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THE BEEF LIFECYCLE

The journey of raising beef is among the most complex of any


food. Due in part to their changing nutritional needs throughout
their lifetime, beef cattle often times will change hands and
ownership up to three or four times, over the course of two to
three years, as they move through their various life stages.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE JOURNEY
WHERE IT ALL BEGINS: COW-CALF
Raising beef begins with farmers who maintain a breeding herd of mother cows that give
birth to calves once a year. When a calf is born, it weighs about 60 to 100 pounds. Over the
next few months, each calf will live off its mother’s milk and graze on grass pastures.

WEANING
Calves are weaned from their mother’s milk at about 6 to 10 months of age when they
weigh between 450 and 700 pounds. These calves continue to graze on grass pastures.
About 1/3 of the female calves will stay on the farm to continue to grow and to become new
mother cows the following year.

STOCKERS & BACKGROUNDERS


After weaning, cattle continue to grow and thrive by grazing on grass and pastures with
farmers providing supplemental feed, including vitamins and minerals to meet all of their
nutritional needs.

LIVESTOCK AUCTION MARKET


After weaning and/or during the stocker and backgrounder phase, cattle may be sold at
livestock auction markets.

FEEDYARD
Mature cattle are often moved to feedyards (also called feedlots). Here cattle typically
spend four to six months, during which time they have room to move around and eat at feed
bunks containing a carefully-balanced diet made up of roughage (such as hay, grass and
fiber), grain (such as corn, wheat and soybean meal) and local renewable feed sources
(such as the tops of sugar beet plants, potato peelings or even citrus pulp). Veterinarians,
nutritionists and cattlemen work together to look after each animal. Feedlots can range in
size, shape and geographic location.

PACKING PLANT
Once cattle reach market weight (typically 1,200 to 1,400 pounds at 18 to 22 months of
age), they are sent to a packing plant (also called a processing facility), the United States
Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspectors are stationed in all federally-inspected
packing plants and oversee the implantation of safety, animal welfare and quality standards
from the time animals enter the plant until the final beef products are shipped to grocery
stores and restaurants. If animals are sick or have an injury, the USDA inspector will deem
the animal unfit for human consumption and the animal will not enter the food supply.

FOODSERVICE & RETAIL


Beef is shipped and sold in the United States and abroad in the retail and foodservice
(restaurant) channels, operators take steps to provide consumers with the safest, most
wholesome and nutritious products possible.

THE WHOLE PICTURE

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