During our stay in the United States, we visited the dairy industry and had a general impression that it is very well developed. In addition to pasture farming cows, almost all farms in agricultural areas also raise them.

According to statistics, the U.S. farm income from animal husbandry accounted for an average of 35% to 48% of the total income; and the share of dairy products in the livestock industry is second only to meat.

Thus, the status and economic benefits of dairy farming in the U.S. agricultural structure are very prominent.

According to incomplete statistics, the United States has a total of about 90 million cattle, of which Texas has more than 10 million head, accounting for 15% of the total number.

With so many cattle, there are naturally many cattle ranches, and of the 700,000 ranches and farms in the United States, there are nearly 250,000 ranches in Texas, covering an area of 770 million acres.

The state of Texas has been raising cattle for more than 300 years and is the largest cattle ranch in the United States. Due to its unique geography and climate, Texas is a natural ranch with unique natural resources.

The most densely populated part of the state is a narrow strip of land in North Texas, bisected by Highway 60, which is lined with ranches. When driving through there, the smell of cattle manure can be smelled for miles, and even after passing through, the smell of cattle manure still lingers, thus earning the area the nickname "Cattle Manure Capital".

The United States currently has nearly 80 breeds of cattle, with different characteristics and meat qualities. Among them, there are seven breeds of cows most preferred by ranchers: Angus, Charolais, Seaforth, Simmental, Texas Longhorn, Holstein, and Scottish Highland cattle.

Of these seven breeds, Angus cattle are the most widely raised on Texas prairie ranches and are the source of the "Angus steak" that we hear and eat more often in our daily lives.

Cows are distributed in a temperature range of 40 to -40 degrees Celsius, and their performance varies greatly depending on the type of feed, feeding management, and environmental conditions. However, milk production does not significantly change when temperatures drop below freezing.

Dairy cows usually have four teats, with two rows evenly spaced and 5-8 cm long; the extra lateral teats are generally short and small, not producing milk and naturally atrophying. Adult bulls are typically 143-147 cm tall and weigh 900-1200 kg, while purebred females are 130-145 cm tall and 650-750 kg.

Dairy cows are characterized by their large size, high milk production, and mild temperament, making them easy to manage. However, cows are not heat-resistant and have weak disease resistance. The development of the U.S. dairy industry has the following characteristics.

Due to differences in geographic climate and feed sources, the United States can be divided into at least seven different cattle regions: the Southeast, the Southwest, the Northern Plains Corn Belt, the North American Lake Front, the Northwest Mountains, the Pacific Coast, and the Northeast.

Most of the cattle industry is in the Corn Belt, with the greatest concentration of cows located in the Northeast and the Lake Shore region. These cows usually graze in the West to feed and breed, and then are transferred to the North-Central Corn Belt region off-site. This not only makes full use of the natural forage resources of the prairie but also saves a lot of feed and other subsequent costs.