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Besides how they are housed, where they live and what they are fed, there are almost no significant differences between them. The primary difference is how they are fed. Feedlot cattle are fed an 85% grain or concentrate diet (the rest is forage), and pasture-fed cattle are obviously set to graze grass on pasture.

What's interesting in this respect is that feedlot cattle have been pastured before they entered the feedlot. These cattle have been on pasture pretty well since the day they were born, and remained so for a year and a half (~18 months) before being sent to the feedlot to be "finished" for beef. Even the weaned calves that enter the feedlot are put on pasture in the summer for 5 or 6 months, and in the winter or during the times when they cannot be on pasture they are fed a forage-rich diet. Pastured cattle will also be fed the same way if they do not have pasture to graze on, because not all areas can raise cattle on pasture all year round.


The differences that may be seen is when cattle are mere days away from being sent to slaughter. Feedlot cattle are younger and somewhat fatter than pasture-finished cattle, being finished at around 20 to 24 months of age. Pasture-finished cattle are not as fat, but still well conditioned, but older. By the time they are ready for slaughter, they are around 28 to 30 months of age. Breeds and breeding matters little between feedlot and pastured cattle, feed efficiency is not breed specific, but individual-specific within and between breeds.

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Q: What are the differences between pasture-fed and feedlot-fed cattle?
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