Beef cattle

[4] However, beef cattle can also be bred through artificial insemination,[1] depending on the cow and the size of the herd.

Owners can select the breeding time based on a number of factors, including reproductive performance, seasonal cattle pricing and handling facilities.

[1] Cattle handlers are expected to maintain a low-stress environment for their herds, involving constant safety, health, comfort, nourishment and humane handling.

[5] If an animal is infected or suspected to have an illness, it is the responsibility of the owners to report it immediately to a practicing veterinarian for either treatment or euthanasia.

The standard text in the United States, Nutrient Requirements of Beef Cattle, has been through eight editions over at least seventy years.

[12] Already in 1970, the Food and Drug Administration was regulating pharmaceutical supplements in beef cattle feed such as hormones and prophylactic antibiotics.

Backgrounded calves and feedlot animals tend to have different diets that contain more grain than the pasture type.

Since cattle are herbivores and need roughage in their diet, silage, hay and/or haylage are all viable feed options.

[16] They need a constant supply of good quality feed and potable water according to the 5 Freedoms of Animal Welfare.

Some of these feedlots grew so large they warranted a new designation, "Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation" (CAFO).

The carcass is then hung in a cold room for between one and four weeks, during which time it loses some weight as water dries from the meat.

It is then deboned and cut by a butcher or packing house, with the finished carcass resulting in approximately 430 lb (200 kg) of beef.

Stress at this time can cause adverse effects on the meat, but water access and lower stocking densities have been allowed to minimize this.

[20] Cattle farming is one of the most emissive forms of food generation, and least effective uses of land and water as resources.