Care and Handling

Cattle are raised in large herds on the range—any large, open, sparsely populated area—or in smaller numbers on farms.

In the early days of the American West, when most of the land of the Great Plains region belonged to the government, many cattlemen kept their herds on the public domain. As there were no fences, the cattle wandered widely. Ownership was indicated by branding cattle with hot irons that had designs on them unique to each owner. Ear tags were sometimes used in place of branding. Roundups were held twice a year, in spring to brand the newborn calves, and in fall to pick mature steers for market. The cattle drives to railway shipping points often covered long distances. Also, cattle were sometimes driven long distances—as far as from Texas to Montana—in a search for better grazing land.

As settlers moved into the Great Plains, open range conditions became impossible. Ranchers then had to buy or lease grazing land, and put up fences to protect their property. The open range still exists in a few areas in the United States, however. Range raising on a large scale is still practiced in Argentina and Australia.

This type of livestock raising has increased in proportion to the growth of the nation's population. On some farms, cattle feed in pastures during the summer. Livestock raisers also feed them corn, barley, cottonseed cake, oats, wheat, soybean meal, and linseed meal. Cattle are fed root crops, alfalfa hay, and silage during the winter. They also require salt, and in certain areas phosphorus, calcium, and iron.

Stall barns and loafing barns, in which cattle are kept when they are not in pastures, are commonly used. They are large, well-insulated structures. .