Feedlot

Beef cattle in a feedlot in Texas

A feedlot or feed yard is a type of animal feeding operation (AFO) which is used in intensive animal farming, 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[1] and intensive livestock operations (ILOs)[2] or confined feeding operations (CFO)[3] in Canada. They may contain thousands of animals in an array of pens.

The basic purpose of the feedlot is to increase the amount of fat gained by each animal as quickly as possible; if animals are kept in confined quarters rather than being allowed to range freely over grassland, they will gain weight more quickly and efficiently with the added benefit of economies of scale.

  1. ^ "Animal Feeding Operations". U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Archived from the original on 8 June 2010. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
  2. ^ "Intensive Livestock Operation Regulatory Program - Agriculture - Government of Saskatchewan". Archived from the original on 2012-04-28. Retrieved 2012-04-27.
  3. ^ "The Application of the Minimum Distance Separation (MDS) for Siting Confined Feeding Operations in Alberta". agric.gov.ab.ca. Archived from the original on April 27, 2018. Retrieved 15 April 2018.