Beef Cattle Industry — Vocabulary Flashcards (Video Notes)

A vocabulary-style set of flashcards covering key terms and concepts from the beef cattle industry notes. Useful for quick review of industry structure, production stages, Illinois specifics, and market dynamics.

Non-tillable land

Land that cannot be tilled for crops; about 65% of US land used for producing forages in beef cattle production.

Forages

Plants eaten by cattle; on non-tillable land, they are not edible by people.

Rumen microbes

Microorganisms in the rumen that upgrade forages into high-quality protein, micronutrients, and other products.

Grass finished

Cattle finished on grass or forage; lifetime grain-finishing is less than about 10%.

Grain finished

Cattle finished on grain-based diets, typically in feedlots.

Cash receipts

Total cash income from beef cattle; beef is the #1 value agricultural commodity, ~$60+ billion annually.

Economic multiplier

The additional economic activity generated by beef income, estimated at 3–5× the initial cash receipts.

Cow-calf operation

Primary breeding and calf-rearing unit in beef production.

Stocker operation

Intermediate phase feeding calves to heavier weights before entering a feedlot.

Feedlot

Confined operation finishing cattle on high-energy diets.

Cattle on feed

Cattle that are being fed in feedlots; about 14.7 million on feed.

Dairy operation

Dairy farm; calves from dairy operations contribute to beef supply (approximately 10–15%).

Herd inventory

Total number of beef cattle on farms; ~29 million beef cows in 2023.

Average producer age

Typical age of beef producers; about 58 years old.

Average herd size

Average number of cows per operation; ~30 cows.

Top cow-calf states

Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota.

Operation size distribution

Share of operations by size: 1–99 head (81.3%), 100–499 (13.3%), 500–999 (2.8%), 1000–4999 (1.1%), 5,000–12,000 (0.7%).

Packers

Major beef processors; exert control over prices and quality; examples include Tyson–Joslin (IL) and Aurora Packers.

Illinois beef industry value

Illinois: >$800 million industry; >$80 million in local tax revenue; ~14,000 producers.

Illinois off-farm work

About two-thirds of cow-calf producers report some off-farm work; many rely on beef income for less than half of total income.

Illinois opportunities

Available feedstuffs (corn, co-products); large consuming population; strong infrastructure; opportunities in natural, source-verified, and local beef.

Industry limitations Illinois

Urban sprawl; high land costs; limited grazing acres; environmental restrictions.

Distillers grains

By-products of ethanol production used as cattle feed; cost-effective and widely available in Illinois.

Cattle cycle

Short periods of expansion and contraction in cattle numbers; profitability drives herd size changes.

Global beef share

The US provides about 21% of world beef with roughly 10% of world cattle.

Illinois role

Illinois has fewer cows but high-producing cattle; third in inventory; important for feedstuff production.

Calves from dairy

Approximately 10–15% of calves come from dairy operations.

Industry integration

Beef industry links multiple sectors: financial, feed, publications, equipment, marketing, pharmaceuticals.