Beef Production - Start To Finish

     A brief and simple "Start to Finish" explanation of beef production.
 
     Beef production begins with a cow-calf producer who maintains a breeding herd of cows that raise calves every year. When a calf is born, it weighs 60 to100 pounds. Beef calves are weaned at six to 10 months of age when they weigh in the range of 450 to700 pounds.

     Calves normally leave their ranch or farm of origin between 6 and 12 months of age. Younger or lighter weight calves may be sent to a backgrounder or stocker who continues to graze them on grass or other forages until they are 12 to 16 months old. Both the cow-calf and stocker segments graze cattle on range and pastureland that is largely unsuitable for crop production. In fact, about 85 percent of U.S. grazing lands is unsuitable for producing crops and utilizing this land for beef production is an efficient use that more than doubles the area that can be used to produce food.

     After the calves are weaned, some are sold at an auction market. A cow-calf producer may also choose to keep the best females to add to the breeding herd. Some animals may not be sold at an auction market, and instead will go directly from the cow-calf producer to the feedlot or from the backgrounder/stocker to the feedlot for the final growing phase in beef production.

     Most beef cattle spend approximately 4 to 6 months in a feedlot just prior to harvest where they are fed a grain-based diet. At the feedlot (also called feedyard), cattle are grouped into pens that provide space for socializing and exercise. They receive feed rations that are balanced by a professional nutritionist. Feedlots employ a consulting veterinarian, and feedlot employees monitor the cattle’s health and well-being daily. Feedlots are efficient and provide consistent, wholesome and affordable beef using fewer resources. The time cattle spend in a feedlot is often called the “finishing phase.” Beef production through the feedlot system is safe and economical.

     Some producers may choose to finish cattle on grass pasture. The beef derived from these animals is “grass-finished” and may also be referred to as “grass fed.”  Beef production from grass finished animals is said to appeal to certain healthy diets. This is a significantly smaller segment of modern beef production because it requires unique climate conditions, and it takes the cattle longer to reach market weight. All cattle, whether they are grass-finished or finished in a feedlot spend the majority of their lives grazing on grass pasture.

     Once cattle reach market weight, typically 1,200 to 1,400 pounds and 18 to 22 months of age are sent to a processing facility to be harvested. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspectors are stationed in all federally inspected packing plants and oversee the implementation of safety, quality and animal welfare standards from the time animals enter the plant until the final beef production phase ends and the products are shipped to retail and food service establishments for consumers to purchase.