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There are different systems of feeding cattle in animal husbandry. For pastured animals, grass is usually the forage that composes the majority of their diet. Grazing by cattle is practiced in rangelands, pastures and grasslands. In this system, cattle are primarily fed on pastures, crop residues and fallows. Mixed farming systems are the largest category of livestock system in the world in terms of production. Lot feeding and intensive finishing are intensive forms of animal production. Cattle are often “finished” here, spending the last months before their slaughter gaining weight.
Grass and other forage compose most or the majority of a grass-fed diet. Cattle called corn-fed, grain-fed or corn-finished are typically raised on maize, soy and other types of feed. Some corn-fed cattle are raised in concentrated animal feeding operations known as feed lots. In the United States, dairy cattle are often supplemented with grain to increase the efficiency of production and reduce the area needed to support the energy requirements of the herd. A high-energy diet increases milk output, measured in pounds or kilograms of milk per head per day.
In Western Canada beef cattle are usually finished on a barley-based diet. This practice contributes to the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Antibiotics are used in the cattle industry for therapeutic purposes in the clinical treatment of infections and prophylactically for disease prevention by controlling the growth of potentially harmful bacteria. A critical journalist has claimed that the lower population density in free-range animals need decreased antibiotics usage, and has conjectured that cattle would not get sick if they were not fed a corn-based diet. Due to concerns about antibiotics residues getting into the milk or meat of cattle, there are regulatory agencies and measures in place in order to ensure that foods produced do not contain antibiotics at a level which will cause harm to consumers in the United States and Canada. The use of supplemental growth hormones is controversial.
The benefits of using growth hormones includes improved feed efficiency, carcass quality and rate of muscle development. The cattle industry takes the position that the use of growth hormones allows plentiful meats to be sold for affordable prices. Bovine somatotropin, or bovine growth hormone, is a naturally produced protein in cattle. There exists customer concern about growth hormone use being linked to a number of human health problems, such as precocious puberty or cancer. However, there is no concrete evidence to give credence to these concerns.