A feedlot or feedyard is a type of confined animal feeding operation (CAFO) which is usually used for fattening cattle prior 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.
Prior to entering a feedlot, cattle may spend some period of time grazing on a range or on immature fields of grain such as wheat. Once cattle obtain an entry-level weight, about 650 pounds, 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. Feedlot diets are usually very caloricaly dense, to encourage the deposition of fat 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 while at the feedlot.
Once cattle are fattened up to their finished weight, the cattle are transported to a slaughterhouse.
See also
External links
- Texas Cattle Feeders Association (http://www.tcfa.org/)
- Harris Feeding Company (http://www.harrisranchbeef.com/about_feeding.html), California's largest cattle feeder
