Cow-calf operation

The life-cycle of the beef cattle begins on a cow-calf farm or ranch where cows are bred and give birth to a calf in a yearly basis. These are farms and ranches like those you come in contact with along highways and country roads. For the first few months of life, calves consume their mother’s milk and spend time grazing on grass pastures.

Cow-calf operation is a method of rearing beef cattle in which a permanent herd of cows is kept by a farmer or rancher to produce calves for later sales. One of the major important parts of the beef industry in underdeveloped and the developing countries in today’s current agriculture is cow-calf operation. The end result of the cow-calf operation is to produce young beef cattle, which are in turn sold out.