Cattle Production In Arkansas
How did the farmer find the missing cow? He tractor down!
That was rough, we really butchered that joke…
All jokes aside, the cattle industry plays a huge role in the Arkansas agriculture industry. But how much do we really know about cows?
Well, for starters, not all cows are called “cows.” In fact, a cow is specifically a female bovine that has produced at least one calf. Here is some additional bovine terminology that will help you understand the cattle industry a bit better:
- Calf – A cow (female or male) that is under one year of age
- Heifer – A young female who has not produced offspring
- Bull – An intact adult male
- Steer – A castrated adult male
Now that we know what to call these familiar farm animals, let’s talk about one aspect that makes them essential to the nutrition and food industry. Cattle can take land that is otherwise unusable for humans and convert and replenish resources to grow and play a role in our food industry. How do they do this? Well, aside from the usual mouth, esophagus, stomach, small and large intestine, cattle have a stomach composed of four compartments. Cattle are ruminants which are grazing animals that get nutrients from plant-based materials through a fermentation process. The work of each component in the stomach is specific and crucial to the overall health of the animal.
- The rumen is the largest component of the stomach and acts as storage for the food. This is where the fermentation happens in the ruminant digestive process.
- The reticulum is a component of the stomach connected to the rumen where heavier pieces of forage and non-food objects such as rocks or metal get trapped.
- The omasum is the component that absorbs the water and additional nutrients that pass through the food.
- The abomasum is the component of the ruminant stomach that resembles the human stomach the most. This is where enzymes are released to breakdown the food that the animal eats.
If you’ve driven through the Natural State, you have likely seen a field full of cows, but how much do you know about beef cattle’s impact on Arkansas agriculture? Arkansas ranks 11th in the nation in beef cattle production with approximately 23,385 farms in the state, accounting for 54% of Arkansas farms! The average herd size on these farms is 40 head. The average cash receipts to Arkansas cattle producers is $600 million which impacts the economy tremendously!
