Why are feedlots important

Bettering the lot of all cattle will require the continued development and enforcement of standardized practices and regulations, which have already contributed to considerable progress in the industry. If environmental performance and animal welfare are important to us, we need to take stock of the actual realities of the feedlot so that we might work to improve them, rather than rejecting them outright. Overall, beef has a larger environmental footprint than any other food, but U.

When managed responsibly, feedlot operations also have the potential to offer cattle important aspects of a decent life: health, nutrition and relative comfort. And technological innovations and the spread of best practices can further contribute to enhanced animal welfare, while also continuing to drive environmental gains. Productive feedlot systems, when managed well, can be a win-win. Save Save. Ensia shares solutions-focused stories free of charge through our online magazine and partner media.

That means audiences around the world have ready access to stories that can — and do — help them shape a better future. If you value our work, please show your support today. Sign up now for our bi-weekly newsletter and you'll get the latest stories from Ensia delivered straight to your inbox. Although grass-fed is touted as the environmentally and ethically best choice for beef eaters, feedlots often outperform on both fronts.

Illustration by Kelsey King. Get Article. Decreasing Environmental Impacts Cattle have been fed and fattened on grain since farmers in the Midwest began to pick up the practice in the s. Happy Cows Eat Grain While feedlots have been responsible for significant environmental gains, and current practices and promising technological advances indicate that there will be more to come, do these come at the expense of the animals themselves?

Taking Stock If environmental performance and animal welfare are important to us, we need to take stock of the actual realities of the feedlot so that we might work to improve them, rather than rejecting them outright. Show your support for nonprofit journalism!

Yes, I'll support Ensia! Add Your Comments Post a Comment. You care about environmental issues. Before entering a feedlot, cattle have spent their lives in paddocks where they can walk long distances while foraging and grazing on pasture. Providing environmental enrichment, for example foraging devices for hay or some form of physical exercise within the feedlot environment, may go some way towards satisfying this behaviour. Frustration of innate needs can lead to animals carrying out abnormal behaviours.

In animals, positive mental or affective states can be induced by satiety feeling full after a meal , thermal comfort, good health and fitness, friendly social interactions and a sense of control over their environment. Daily inspection of cattle. Hospital pens being available for sick cattle. Pen surfaces draining freely.

Prompt and humane euthanasia of cattle when required. Managing the welfare of pregnant cows and newborn calves. Ensuring antimicrobials are used prudently. Internal animal welfare audits to be conducted every 6 months to review compliance with the standards.

Requirements for reporting of unusual numbers of sick or dead cattle. Preparedness strategies to avoid and manage excessive heat load events. Procedures to investigate incidents of animal cruelty. Bibliography Aus-Meat n. Does extreme heat affect farm animals? How are beef cattle reared? What are the Five Domains and how do they differ from the Five Freedoms? What are the animal welfare impacts of using hormone growth promotants in beef cattle?

What are the animal welfare issues with feedlots for sheep? Tagged: Intensive farming. Feedlots that are dry, roomy and shaded also can make for content cattle, especially when compared to pasture systems not equipped with shade or protection from extreme weather conditions.

In this sense, confinement certainly comes with trade-offs, but it also provides a degree of comfort and protection, so long as PDF pens are kept dry, clean and relatively roomy. As with environmental impact, the question of animal welfare need not come down to the distinction between pasture and feedlot. Instead, it has everything to do with producer-specific practices. Bettering the lot of all cattle will require the continued development and enforcement of standardized practices PDF and regulations, which already have contributed to considerable progress in the industry.

If environmental performance and animal welfare are important to us, we need to take stock of the actual realities of the feedlot so that we might work to improve them, rather than rejecting them outright. Overall, beef has a larger environmental footprint than any other food, but U. When managed responsibly, feedlot operations also have the potential to offer cattle important aspects of a decent life: health, nutrition and relative comfort. And technological innovations and the spread of best practices can further contribute to enhanced animal welfare, while also continuing to drive environmental gains.

Productive feedlot systems, when managed well, can be a win-win. Are feedlots the ingredient to an ethical beef industry? Decreasing environmental impacts Cattle have been fed and fattened on grain since farmers in the Midwest began to pick up the practice in the s. Innovations in veterinary science, animal nutrition and genetics have driven remarkable environmental gains in intensive systems. Show comments for this story. View the discussion thread.

Share this article Twitter Facebook Linkedin. Linus Blomqvist Director of Conservation. Emma Brush Staff Editor. More by This Author. This includes devising systems to allow feedlot owners to communicate regularly with local communities and pollution control officials to manage impacts. We are also working to minimize the impacts of beef feedlot operations on animal welfare and worker safety and ensure that antibiotics are only used to treat sick animals—not to make them grow faster or compensate for crowded, unsanitary conditions.

This will help to protect the effectiveness of our most important antibiotics that doctors use to treat people. Some feedlots have been highlighted in the media for their graphically poor treatment of animals, workers and the environment. Yet for the approximately 97 percent of U. Often, even pollution control officials much less consumers do not know basic facts about these operations, such as how many animals are produced there, how manure is handled, or even where they are located.