The Cow as an Ultimate Recycler
I have always been interested by statistics, facts, numbers and quirky information. Some of this comes into the foreground when looking at ag stats for the state of Colorado. Most people associate Colorado with tourism, skiing, hiking and mountains. All of which, of course, are valuable and prominent industries and aspects of our state. I love and participate in each and every one as often as I can! (see our website www.canyon-journeys.com)
However, being a rancher too, the fun and interesting thing to me is that agriculture is mixed into every landscape in across the state. Did you know that cattle are raised in every county in Colorado? The state encompasses 66.3 million acres, half of which is farms and ranches!* I love being out on a hike and coming across cattle grazing forest lands in the mountains. They play an important role in keeping those open vistas we cherish so much open, utilizing and renewing forage and grasslands through grazing, managing brush, spreading manure, helping mitigate fire with undergrowth control. So many good things happen naturally as animals graze.
Part of the reason cattle are so wide spread (not just in Colorado but across the world) is that they are amazing up-cyclers. There are many breeds of cattle developed all over the world. These different breeds are adaptable to nearly every landscape, this has allowed them to make use of land that historically has had very few alternative uses.
“Cattle have a unique four-chambered stomach, the largest chamber being the rumen, which helps them get the nutrients they need from parts of fruit and vegetable plants that humans don’t consume or can’t digest—like carrot tops, almond hulls or grasses. These leftovers are often mixed into their feed, along with other grasses or hay like alfalfa and grains like corn. Cattle are acting as “upcyclers” in our food system by upgrading human inedible material or food waste into high-quality protein and essential micronutrients.” -https://www.coloradocattle.org
Some other fun and interesting facts about Colorado’s cattle industry
Livestock grazing is the primary use of 27 percent of all U.S. land including grassland, pasture and rangeland.
Traditionally, Colorado has around 2.85 million head of cattle each year, valued at over $2.8 billion
Cash receipts for Colorado livestock and products total more than $3.7 billion, of which more than 75 percent of cash receipts come from cattle and calves.
Colorado ranked 10th in the United States in total cattle in the year 2018.
Colorado is the fourth largest exporter of fresh and frozen beef in the United States, the export market is worth over $1 billion (Beef, fresh $523.7 million and Beef, frozen $406.8 million).
Total Farm Marketing Receipts for Colorado: $7.6 Billion
Livestock and Livestock Products: $4.7 Billion (62% of total)
Crops (including fruit and vegetable: $2.9 Billion (38% of total)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dKp9b-OBlv1K6uLYNsFotAnVp_bSxY0uVNXUmYgcBNo/edit#
*https://www.coloradocattle.org
