Virginia’s cattle are raised on pasture and the manure

Virginia’s cattle are raised on pasture and the manure is put back directly on the grazing land where it fertilizes forage growth and helps maintain water and mineral cycles. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has reported that soil productivity, water quality and air quality are better maintained under the permanent vegetative cover of wellmanaged grazing land than any other land use system.

Manure from commercial feed lots have been closely monitored by EPA for 20 years and manure wastes are handled in accordance with EPA regulations. The benefits of this natural resource are distributed widely and tests in leading cattle feeding regions show that ground water quality is not affected by feed lots.

Cattle producers as well as other farmers and ranchers are increasingly involved in soil and water conservation programs. Farmers are sensitive to environmental quality because they make a living from healthy soil, water and air and hope to pass these resources on to future generations.

Fact #8. The grain fed to cattle is feed grain, not human food grain.

Feeding grain to cattle for 90-120 days before they go to market produces the tasty, affordable beef the American consumers prefer and assures a plentiful beef supply year round. An average of 4.5 pounds of grain is used to produce a pound of beef (retail weight). This grain is largely low-grade corn called feed grain, not food grain such as rice and wheat that is produced for human consumption.

Fact #9: Cattle production provides open spaces and habitat for wildlife.

The combination of Virginia’s hardwood forest and pasture land provide an ipcreased area of “edge” habitat. The “edge” habitat is extremely important to many wildlife species such as deer, grouse and turkey. The mix of pasture land and forest in Virginia contributed to the excellent deer population in the state.

Fact #10. The beef cattle