Feedlot

A feedlot or feed yard is a type of animal feeding operation (AFO) which is used in intensive animal farming for finishing livestock, notably beef cattle, but also swine, horses, sheep, turkeys, chickens or ducks, prior to slaughter. Large beef feedlots are called concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO) in the United States and intensive livestock operations (ILOs) or confined feeding operations (CFO) in Canada. They may contain thousands of animals in an array of pens.

The basic principle of the feedlot is to increase the amount of meat each animal produces as quickly as possible; if animals are kept in confined quarters rather than being allowed to range freely over grassland, they will put on weight more quickly.

Most feedlots require some type of governmental permit and must have plans in place to deal with the large amount of waste that is generated. The Environmental Protection Agency has authority under the Clean Water Act to regulate all animal feeding operations in the United States. This authority is delegated to individual states in some cases. In Canada, regulation of feedlots is shared between all levels of government, whilst in Australia this role is handled by the National Feedlot Accreditation Scheme (NFAS).

Prior to entering a feedlot, cattle spend most of their life grazing on rangeland or on immature fields of grain such as green wheat pasture. Once cattle obtain an entry-level weight, about 650 to 700 pounds (290 to 320 kg), typically at about a year old, they are transferred to a feedlot for the next six to eight months to be fed to gain weight for eventual slaughter. They eat a specialized animal feed which consists of corn, corn byproducts (some of which is derived from ethanol and high fructose corn syrup production), milo, barley, and other grains as well as roughage which may consist of alfalfa, corn stalks, sorghum, or other hay, cottonseed meal, and premixes composed of microingredients such as vitamins, minerals, chemical preservatives, , fermentation products, and other essential ingredients that are purchased from premix companies, usually in sacked form, for blending into commercial rations. Because of the availability of these products, a farmer who uses his own grain can formulate his own rations and be assured his animals are getting the recommended levels of minerals and vitamins. In the American northwest and Canada, barley, low grade durum wheat, chick peas (garbanzo beans), oats and occasionally potatoes are used as feed.

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