HI- My name is Celena- I am excited and nervous both, to begin my first blogging experience so I hope you enjoy!

I am going to try my best to provide you with as much education about the “hormones” or “growth promotants” used in the beef industry today and why producers do it.  The majority of beef in the United States today are finished with a grain ration in some sort of feed lot. 

 Most cattle are raised on pasture land for about 12-18 months and then they are transported to a feedlot for finishing. After they are transported, cattle spend about 100-120 days eating finishing rations.  The rations they are feed are very balanced diets of grains, forages and nutrient supplements that are created by nutritionists. Feeding cattle can be expensive so nutritionist work on creating feed rations that are the least expensive for the farmer and give the cattle the most nutrients and energy possible. 

In the young life of a male calf most farmers neuter the bull calves and they become steers. (More information on castrating male calves can be found if you click here.) The hormones that bulls produce cause bulls to grow faster and produce more muscle.  Once these bull calves become steers their hormones change.  

This is similar in heifers, the young heifers produce hormones, but much less than older or pregnant heifers. Producers provide small amounts of similar hormones to the cattle to assist with growth reduces cost and time it takes to finish the cattle.