Mm-mm, that's my next trip.
This delicious taste scape is exactly where I want to be.
But before we can truly travel to this mountain
of beefy goodness, we must first examine the origin
of this edible beef scape.
Here in Utah, you can find cattle
in nearly all areas of the state.
In fact, beef cattle are the leading source
of farm income in Utah.
Does this dinner plate look delicious to you?
If so, you might be a cow.
Cattle eat grass and other plants
that humans can't digest, turning them
into meat that is tasty and nutritious.
Let's take a look at where it all begins.
Cows are bred in late spring and summer
and like people, their pregnancies last nine months.
New calves are generally born in late winter and early spring.
After a calf is born, its mother will lick it clean.
The newborn calf is able to stand and walk
almost as soon as it is born.
It doesn't eat grass yet, only milk from its mother.
When calves are born, ranchers will carefully check them.
New calves usually weigh between 55 and 90 pounds.
In late spring and summer, cows and calves
are usually turned out to graze in the mountains.
Some ranchers trail their cattle to higher country, which can
take a few hours or a few days.
Other ranchers truck their cattle from place to place.
Some are loaded on semi cattle trucks,
while others use stock trailers.
Bulls and steers are male cattle and are
different from the cows and heifers, which are the females.
But both the males and females can have horns,
it just depends on what breed they are.
Bulls are or will become fathers,
while steers are raised only for meat.
Similarly, cows are female cattle
who have had at least one calf, while a heifer has never
had a calf yet.
So, since both males and females can have horns,
here's how you can tell them apart.
Males are more muscular than females,
they are thicker boned, have larger feet,
and a large, bony head with protective ridges
over their eyes.
Some breeds have a hump on their neck.
Males are often the same height, or a little taller than cows,
but as a rule, they weigh much more than cows.
Full-grown bulls weigh from 1,100
to as much as 2,800 pounds.
Females are big, also, but not quite as big as bulls.
A full grown cow can weigh from 850 to 1,800 pounds.
A cow has an utter with four teats that calves can suck,
in order to get milk.
In addition to physical differences,
cattle have unique personality traits
that make them individuals.
Most are gentle, but some, especially bulls,
can be aggressive.
Their attitudes depend largely on their breed and nature.
For safety, it is important to treat cattle with respect
and stay out of their pens unless you are with someone
who knows what they're doing.
Ranchers take good care of their cattle,
moving them from place to place, to make sure they have enough
to eat and drink.
This is most often done by cowboys and cowgirls
on horseback.
When cows are allowed to graze on public rangeland,
they often mix together in large herds.
Since all cattle look similar, it is important for a rancher
to have a way to identify which cattle belong to him or her.
Ranchers frequently brand or ear tag cattle.
Each rancher has a different brand registered
with the state of Utah.
There are two main uses for cattle, milk and meat.
Some breeds are really great for milk production
and some are best for meat production.
Perhaps the most famous dairy breed of all
is the Holstein, the black and white one
that most people think of when they hear the word cow.
Other popular dairy breeds include Jerseys Guernseys
Ayrshires and Brown Swiss.
In Utah, you have probably seen some
of these breeds of beef cattle Red Angus, Black
Angus, and Herefords.
You may have also seen Black Baldys, which
are actually a cross between Black Angus and Hereford
cattle.
Cattle are able to thrive on public land that is well
managed because they can eat many different kinds of grasses
and brush that grow naturally.
Ranchers need to work with nature
to prevent overgrazing and ensure that the grass will grow
back every year, by using good, sustainable land management
practices.
As you see a cow standing or laying in a field,
you may notice that they are chewing, even though they
don't appear to be eating.
This is called chewing the cud.
In order to digest grass, cows must chew it twice.
Cattle have a four compartment stomach,
like other ruminants such as elk, deer, and giraffes.
As cattle eat, the food passes from the mouth,
through the esophagus, and into the rumen,
where the food is partly digested by tiny bacteria.
The food is then passed to the reticulum,
which is a membrane with honeycombed ridges.
These ridges break the food down into smaller pieces.
The cow regurgitates those pieces,
now called cud, and chews them again.
The cow rechews the food with its powerful back teeth
to break it down even more.
As the cow swallows and saliva washes the cud back
into the cow system, the food now flows into the omasun.
This is where the food finally breaks down
into vitamins and nutrients that the cow's body can use.
The final digestive process takes place in abomasum,
before passing into the intestines.
The intestines can store the unused food portions
and continue to absorb some nutrients from them,
until there is enough to be removed as cow manure.
Of course, in the fall and winter,
there is little for the cattle to eat
and the harsh weather can harm them.
So they must be moved back to an area with access
to food, water, and shelter.
Ranchers then give them hay to supplement their diet.
At this point, the calves are weaned,
meaning they don't need their mother's milk anymore.
Some ranchers have their own feedlots,
where they fatten their steers and heifers
before selling them.
Some cattle are sold to feedlots.
Here, the steers and heifers are fed grain and hay
to get them into the perfect beef scape, such as burgers,
roasts, and steaks.
And that's just the beginning of another adventure,
where no appetite has ever gotten lost.
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