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But how much of the cows actually graze on open fields? Or much of their food doesn't come from plants like soy which is pretty edible for humans too...
by mburee 5y ago
But how much of the cows actually graze on open fields? Or much of their food doesn't come from plants like soy which is pretty edible for humans too...
- Symmetry 5y agoMost cows grow up on pasture land before being moved to feed lots for bulking up before slaughter. My sense is that the US could sustain about half of its current beef production just with pasture grazing.
- Swizec 5y agoI think this depends on the area. Back home in Slovenia, you see cows grazing all summer up in the alps where no sane person would ever farm. I wouldn’t even call it “agricultural land”. Cows roam free on the mountains among hikers and tourists. Here in California, any rolling grassy hill you see has cows on it year round. Cows everywhere. Doesn’t look like anyone’s interested in building housing on that land and you rarely see any crop fields in those areas. Whether that’s because letting cows graze is cheaper or the land is unsuitable for crops, I don’t know. But there are also feedlots where cows are “finished” before slaughter. How much grain and soy they eat there to be fattened up … probably a lot. I’ve heard of feedlots that stretch horizon to horizon in the midwest
- CapitalistCartr 5y agoIn the United States, in most states, agricultural usage, such as grazing cattle, is the basis for an agricultural exemption on property tax. Here in Florida, it's about 90%.