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Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Feedlots

Feedlots in Arizona....if u buy your beef at the supermarket, here's a look at how they live before they show up on those white styrofoam trays in your store.



This is where they spend their last days...close quarters



getting fattened up on grain


not much room to move around. Just hang out &  lay around in manure....under the power lines. Yummy...not!


How many animals are in there, do you think? Guesses?


At least some of them can get a bit of shade....





This is how we like our beef....grass fed right up until their last bite. Found on more small farms than you'd think!
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4 comments:

Linda Foley said...

Ah yes! That reminds me of the California dairy farms! In one place there were HUGE manure piles in the middle of the yards with cows sandwiched in the yards. When I lived in southern California I refused to buy milk from any dairy that said it was "California" dairy's... so, so totally gross!

Patty S. said...

Hiya Annie...the interesting thing about those pictures is the type of cattle - those are dairy cows, most likely all steers and cast-off heifers because they're not good for milk. So what makes me curious is, what about all the hype for beef cattle? I have to say that I have never seen a feed lot like this in Canada, more specifically northern Alberta, where I am, and where beef is king (next to oil and gas). I DID see feed lots like this in Kansas and Iowa, full of dairy cattle - these little steers can be had for as little as $5.00 as newborns each from some big dairy farms, who don't want to make the investment in milkless steers, they just want to keep their cattle pregnant. From what I understand, ground beef from a dairy cow tastes pretty much the same as from a beef breed; the only difference is that the dairy breeds take a bit longer to mature and they don't have the big muscle mass that beef producers like to see in their animals. Can you taste the difference in your burger? Most likely, not. Can you taste the difference between factory farmed and grass-fed, home grown? Absolutely. Anyways, feedlots are pretty horrible places, that's for sure, and I won't even go INTO the manure and urine run off...yuck!! How are ya feeling these days? Patty

Linda Foley said...

Hey patty I didn't really think about them being dairy, but now that you mention it...

I remember moving back to Oregon and seeing cattle like the bottom picture and thinking how much nicer it was...

Annie said...

Hi Patty...are you putting in a garden this year?? I would LOVE to be able to get a $5 baby calf.

We're always disgusted seeing feedlots like this Linda...yuk! Grass fed beef right up till finish is the only way to go!

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