Livestock is the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals who are raised for consumption and sometimes used to refer solely to farmed ruminants, such as cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs. Horses are considered livestock in the United States. The USDA classifies pork, veal, beef, and lamb (mutton) as livestock, and all livestock as red meat. Poultry and fish are not included in the category. The latter is likely due to the fact that fish products are not governed by the USDA, but by the FDA.
The breeding, maintenance, slaughter and general subjugation of livestock, called animal husbandry, is a part of modern agriculture and has been practised in many cultures since humanity’s transition to farming from hunter-gatherer lifestyles. Animal husbandry practices have varied widely across cultures and time periods. It continues to play a major economic and cultural role in numerous communities.
Livestock farming practices have largely shifted to intensive animal farming. Intensive animal farming increases the yield of the various commercial outputs, but also negatively impacts animal welfare, the environment, and public health. In particular, beef, dairy and sheep are an outsized source of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture.
Etymology:
The word livestock was first used between 1650 and 1660, as a compound word combining the words “live” and “stock”. In some periods, “cattle” and “livestock” have been used interchangeably. Today,[specify] the modern meaning of cattle is domesticated bovines, while livestock has a wider sense.
United States federal legislation defines the term to make specified agricultural commodities eligible or ineligible for a program or activity. For example, the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act of 1999 (P.L. 106–78, Title IX) defines livestock only as cattle, swine, and sheep, while the 1988 disaster assistance legislation defined the term as “cattle, sheep, goats, swine, poultry (including egg-producing poultry), equine animals used for food or in the production of food, fish used for food, and other animals designated by the Secretary”.
Deadstock is defined in contradistinction to livestock as “animals that have died before slaughter, sometimes from illness or disease”. It is illegal in many countries, such as Canada, to sell or process meat from dead animals for human consumption.
History of Livestock:
The history of livestock dates back to the early days of human civilization, when humans began to domesticate animals for various purposes. Livestock refers to domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting for the production of food, fibre, and other products. The history of livestock is closely linked to the history of human development and agriculture.
Domestication of Animals:
The domestication of animals began around 10,000 years ago during the Neolithic Revolution. Humans began to domesticate wild animals like cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs for meat, milk, wool, and leather. These animals were kept in pens and were bred selectively for desirable traits like size, strength, and productivity.
The Ancient Civilizations:
In ancient civilizations like Egypt, Greece, and Rome, livestock played an important role in the economy and society. Cattle were used for plowing fields and pulling carts, while sheep and goats were used for their wool and milk. The Romans also used horses for transportation and in the military.
Medieval Europe:
In medieval Europe, livestock continued to play a crucial role in agriculture and commerce. Cattle were used for meat and dairy products, and sheep were raised for their wool. Horses were used for transportation and in warfare. Livestock also played a key role in the feudal system, where peasants were required to provide labor and produce for their lord in exchange for the use of land and protection.
Industrial Revolution:
During the Industrial Revolution, livestock farming underwent significant changes. Advancements in transportation and refrigeration allowed for the mass production and distribution of meat and dairy products. Factory farming practices emerged, with animals being raised in confinement for maximum efficiency and profitability.
Modern Times:
In modern times, livestock farming has become a highly specialized and industrialized industry. Livestock are raised in large numbers for their meat, milk, and other products, and are often subjected to intensive farming practices. Concerns have been raised about the welfare of these animals, as well as the environmental impact of livestock farming.
The history of livestock is closely intertwined with the history of human civilization and agriculture. From the domestication of animals to modern industrialized farming practices, livestock have played a crucial role in providing food, fiber, and other products for human use.
Types of Livestock:
Livestock refers to domesticated animals that are raised for commercial purposes, such as meat, milk, eggs, and other products. There are several types of livestock that are commonly raised around the world. The term “livestock” is indistinct and may be defined narrowly or broadly. Broadly, livestock refers to any population of animals kept by humans for a useful, commercial purpose. Here are some of the major types of livestock:
Cattle:
Cattle are domesticated animals that are raised for their meat, milk, and hides. They are one of the most common types of livestock and are found in almost every country in the world. There are many different breeds of cattle, such as Holstein, Angus, and Hereford.
Pigs:
Pigs are domesticated animals that are raised for their meat, which is known as pork. They are also used for their skin, which is used to make leather. Pigs are found in many parts of the world and come in different breeds, such as Hampshire, Duroc, and Yorkshire.
Sheep:
Sheep are domesticated animals that are raised for their wool, meat, and milk. They are commonly found in many countries around the world and come in different breeds, such as Merino, Dorset, and Suffolk.
Goats:
Goats are domesticated animals that are raised for their milk, meat, and fiber. They are found in many parts of the world and come in different breeds, such as Nubian, Boer, and LaMancha.
Poultry:
Poultry refers to domesticated birds that are raised for their meat and eggs. This includes chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese. They are found in many parts of the world and come in different breeds, such as Rhode Island Red, Leghorn, and Cornish.
Horses:
Horses are domesticated animals that are raised for transportation, racing, and recreation. They are commonly found in many parts of the world and come in different breeds, such as Thoroughbred, Arabian, and Quarter Horse.
Camels:
Camels are domesticated animals that are raised for transportation, milk, and meat. They are commonly found in desert regions of the world and come in different breeds, such as dromedary and Bactrian.
Bees:
Bees are domesticated insects that are raised for their honey, wax, and pollination services. They are commonly found in many parts of the world and come in different breeds, such as Italian, Carniolan, and Russian.
There are many types of livestock that are raised around the world for different purposes. Each type of livestock has different breeds that are adapted to different environments and production systems. Understanding the characteristics of different types of livestock is important for sustainable and efficient livestock production.
Farming practices:
Traditionally, animal husbandry was part of the subsistence farmer’s way of life, producing not only the food needed by the family but also the fuel, fertiliser, clothing, transport and draught power. Killing the animal for food was a secondary consideration, and wherever possible their products, such as wool, eggs, milk and blood (by the Maasai) were harvested while the animal was still alive.
In the traditional system of transhumance, humans and livestock moved seasonally between fixed summer and winter pastures; in montane regions, the summer pasture was up in the mountains, the winter pasture in the valleys.
Animals can be kept extensively or intensively. Extensive systems involve animals roaming at will, or under the supervision of a herdsman, often for their protection from predators. Ranching in the Western United States involves large herds of cattle grazing widely over public and private lands.
Similar cattle stations are found in South America, Australia and other places with large areas of land and low rainfall. Ranching systems have been used for sheep, deer, ostrich, emu, llama and alpaca.[20] In the uplands of the United Kingdom, sheep are turned out on the fells in spring and graze the abundant mountain grasses untended, being brought to lower altitudes late in the year, with supplementary feeding being provided in winter.
In rural locations, pigs and poultry can obtain much of their nutrition from scavenging, and in African communities, hens may live for months without being fed and still produce one or two eggs a week. At the other extreme, in the more Western parts of the world, animals are often intensively managed; dairy cows may be kept in zero-grazing conditions with all their forage brought to them; beef cattle may be kept in high-density feedlots; pigs may be housed in climate-controlled buildings and never go outdoors; poultry may be reared in barns and kept in cages as laying birds under lighting-controlled conditions.
In between these two extremes are semi-intensive, often family-run farms where livestock graze outside for much of the year, silage or hay is made to cover the times of the year when the grass stops growing, and fertiliser, feed and other inputs are bought onto the farm from outside.
Predation:
Livestock farmers have often dealt with natural world animals’ predation and theft by rustlers. In North America, animals such as grey wolves, grizzly bears, cougars, and coyotes have sometimes been considered a threat to livestock. In Eurasia and Africa, predators include wolves, leopards, tigers, lions, dholes, Asiatic black bears, crocodiles, spotted hyenas, and other carnivores.
In South America, feral dogs, jaguars, anacondas, and spectacled bears are threats to livestock. In Australia, dingoes, foxes, and wedge-tailed eagles are common predators, with an additional threat from domestic dogs who may kill in response to a hunting instinct, leaving the carcass uneaten.
The disease of Livestock:
Livestock refers to domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce food, fibre, or labour. Livestock diseases are a significant concern for farmers and animal health professionals. These diseases can affect animal welfare, productivity, and profitability, and can also pose a risk to public health. Here are some of the most common diseases of livestock:
Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD):
This is a highly contagious viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs. FMD causes blisters and sores on the mouth, hooves, and teats of the infected animals, resulting in lameness and reduced milk and meat production.
Bovine Tuberculosis (TB):
This is a chronic bacterial infection that affects cattle, buffalo, and other livestock. TB can cause respiratory problems, weight loss, and chronic coughing, and can also be transmitted to humans through the consumption of unpasteurized milk or meat.
Brucellosis:
This is a bacterial infection that affects cattle, goats, and sheep, and can also be transmitted to humans. Brucellosis causes reproductive problems in animals, such as abortion, stillbirth, and reduced milk production, and can cause fever, joint pain, and fatigue in humans.
Anthrax:
This is a bacterial disease that affects cattle, sheep, goats, and other livestock, as well as humans. Anthrax can cause sudden death, fever, and bloody diarrhea in animals, and can also cause skin lesions and respiratory problems in humans.
Rabies:
This is a viral disease that affects mammals, including livestock, dogs, and humans. Rabies is transmitted through the bite of an infected animal and can cause neurological symptoms, such as aggression, seizures, and paralysis, leading to death if left untreated.
Newcastle Disease:
This is a viral infection that affects poultry, including chickens and turkeys. Newcastle Disease causes respiratory problems, nervous system disorders, and reduced egg production in infected birds.
Livestock diseases can have a significant impact on animal health, welfare, and productivity, as well as pose a risk to public health. Preventing and controlling these diseases through vaccination, biosecurity measures, and appropriate management practices are essential for maintaining the health and well-being of livestock and the sustainability of the agricultural industry.
Transportation and marketing of Livestock:
Since many livestock are herd animals, they were historically driven to market “on the hoof” to a town or other central location. The method is still used in some parts of the world.
Truck transport is now common in developed countries.
Local and regional livestock auctions and specialized agricultural markets facilitate trade in livestock. In Canada at the Cargill slaughterhouse in High River, Alberta, 2,000 workers process 4,500 cattle per day, or more than one-third of Canada’s capacity. It closed when some of its workers became infected with coronavirus disease 2019.
The Cargill plant together with the JBS plant in Brooks, Alberta and the Harmony Beef plant in Balzac, Alberta represent fully three-quarters of the Canadian beef supply. In other areas, livestock may be bought and sold in a bazaar or wet market, such as may be found in many parts of Central Asia.
In non-Western countries, providing access to markets has encouraged farmers to invest in livestock, with the result being improved livelihoods. For example, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) has worked in Zimbabwe to help farmers make the most of their livestock herds.
In stock shows, farmers bring their best livestock to compete with one another.
Biomass of Livestock:
Biomass refers to the total mass of living organisms present in a given area or ecosystem. Livestock biomass refers to the total mass of domesticated animals raised for food, fibre, or other products. The biomass of livestock includes all animals, such as cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry, and others, that are raised for human consumption.
The biomass of livestock is an important component of the global biomass, accounting for a significant portion of the total biomass. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the global livestock population was estimated to be around 23 billion in 2020, with cattle being the most populous livestock, followed by poultry, pigs, and sheep.
The biomass of livestock has significant implications for the environment, as it has a direct impact on land use, water resources, and greenhouse gas emissions. The livestock industry is one of the major sources of greenhouse gas emissions, mainly due to the production of methane by ruminant animals such as cattle and sheep.
The biomass of livestock is also closely linked to the global food system and has significant implications for food security and nutrition. Livestock products such as meat, milk, and eggs are important sources of protein and other nutrients for many people, particularly in developing countries.
Efforts to manage and optimize the biomass of livestock are therefore critical for achieving sustainable development goals and addressing the challenges of global food security and climate change. Strategies to reduce the environmental impact of the livestock industry include improved animal management practices, increased use of renewable energy sources, and the development of more sustainable and efficient feed and food production systems.
Environmental impact:
Animal husbandry has a significant impact on the world environment. It is responsible for somewhere between 20 and 33% of the freshwater usage in the world, and livestock, and the production of feed for them, occupy about a third of Earth’s ice-free land. Livestock production is a contributing factor in species extinction, desertification, and habitat destruction. Meat is considered one of the prime factors contributing to the current sixth mass extinction.
Animal agriculture contributes to species extinction in various ways. Habitat is destroyed by clearing forests and converting land to grow to feed crops and for animal grazing (for example, animal husbandry is responsible for up to 91% of the deforestation in the Amazon region, while predators and herbivores are frequently targeted and hunted because of a perceived threat to livestock profits.
The newest report released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that between the 1970s and 2000s agricultural emission increases were directly linked to an increase in livestock. The population growth of livestock (including cattle, buffalo, sheep, and goats) is done with the intention of increasing animal production, but in turn, increases emissions.
n addition, livestock produce greenhouse gases. The IPCC has estimated that agriculture (including not only livestock but also food crop, biofuel and other production) accounted for about 10 to 12 per cent of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions (expressed as 100-year carbon dioxide equivalents) in 2005 and in 2010. Cattle produce some 79 million tons of methane per day. Livestock enteric methane account for 30% of the overall methane emissions of the planet.
Livestock are responsible for 34% of all human-related emissions of nitrous oxide, through feed production and manure. Livestock offers significant potential for reducing GHG emissions. Best production practices are estimated to be able to reduce livestock emissions by 30%.
Economic and social benefits of Livestock:
The value of global livestock production in 2013 has been estimated at 883 billion dollars, (constant 2005–2006 dollars). However, economic implications of livestock production extend further: to the downstream industry (sale yards, abattoirs, butchers, milk processors, refrigerated transport, wholesalers, retailers, food services, tanneries, etc.), upstream industry (feed producers, feed transport, farm and ranch supply companies, equipment manufacturers, seed companies, vaccine manufacturers, etc.) and associated services (veterinarians, nutrition consultants, shearers, etc.).
Livestock provides a variety of food and non-food products; the latter include leather, wool, pharmaceuticals, bone products, industrial protein, and fats. For many abattoirs, very little animal biomass may be wasted at slaughter. Even intestinal contents removed at slaughter may be recovered for use as fertilizer. Livestock manure helps maintain the fertility of grazing lands.
Manure is commonly collected from barns and feeding areas to fertilize cropland. In some places, animal manure is used as fuel, either directly (as in some non-Western countries), or indirectly (as a source of methane for heating or for generating electricity). In regions where machine power is limited, some classes of livestock are used as draft stock, not only for tillage and other on-farm use, but also for the transport of people and goods. In 1997, livestock provided energy for between an estimated 25 and 64% of cultivation energy in the world’s irrigated systems, and 300 million draft animals were used globally in small-scale agriculture.
Although livestock production serves as a source of income, it can provide additional economic value for rural families, often serving as a major contributor to food security and economic security. Livestock can serve as insurance against risk and is an economic buffer (of income and food supply) in some regions and some economies (e.g., during some African droughts).
However, its use as a buffer may sometimes be limited where alternatives are present, which may reflect strategic maintenance of insurance in addition to a desire to retain productive assets. Even for some farmers in Western nations, livestock can serve as a kind of insurance. Some crop growers may produce livestock as a strategy for diversification of their income sources, to reduce risks related to weather, markets and other factors.
Many studies have found evidence of the social, as well as economic, importance of livestock in non-Western countries and in regions of rural poverty, and such evidence is not confined to pastoral and nomadic societies.
Social values in developed countries can also be considerable. For example, in a study of livestock ranching permitted on national forest land in New Mexico, US, it was concluded that “ranching maintains traditional values and connects families to ancestral lands and cultural heritage”, and that a “sense of place, attachment to land, and the value of preserving open space were common themes”. “The importance of land and animals as means of maintaining culture and way of life figured repeatedly in permittee responses, as did the subjects of responsibility and respect for land, animals, family, and community.”
In the US, profit tends to rank low among motivations for involvement in livestock ranching. Instead, family, tradition and a desired way of life tend to be major motivators for ranch purchase, and ranchers “historically have been willing to accept low returns from livestock production”.
See more:
