How cattle are raised
Beef cattle go to slaughter at about 18 months, while a dairy cow is typically kept for about five years.
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The short version
Cattle are bred and raised on pasture and feed for beef, milk and hides. A cow carries her calf for about nine months, and farms often use artificial insemination to pick genetics.
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Breed the cows
Gestation takes about nine months. Many farms use artificial insemination, which lets a farmer choose from many bulls. Calves are born roughly 52:48 male to female.
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Graze and feed
Cattle graze on pasture, preferring a mix of about 70% clover and 30% grass. Cattle can live naturally for 25 to 30 years.
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Send to slaughter
Beef cattle go for slaughter at about 18 months. Their meat is called beef, and calves' meat is veal. About 300 million cattle, including dairy animals, are slaughtered each year for food.
Worth repeating
- There were over 940 million cattle in the world by 2022.
- Cattle supply about a quarter of the world's meat, with world cattle meat production at 72.3 million tons in 2021.
- Taurine cattle were domesticated about 10,500 years ago from wild aurochs.
Where it goes next
Cattle feeds 2 lines directly.
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Sources
Cite this page: "How cattle are raised." Assembly Line, 2026-11-03. https://assemblyline.org/make/cattle