How are Cattle Raised?
All cattle start out eating grass; three-fourths of them are “finished” (grown to maturity) in feedlots where they are fed specially formulated feed based on corn or other grains. Can Hormones & Antibiotics Be Used in Cattle Raising? Antibiotics may be given to prevent or treat disease in cattle. A “withdrawal” period is required from the time antibiotics are administered until it is legal to slaughter the animal. This is so residues can exit the animal’s system. FSIS randomly samples cattle at slaughter and tests for residues. Data from this Monitoring Plan have shown a very low percentage of residue violations. Not all antibiotics are approved for use in all classes of cattle. However, if there is a demonstrated therapeutic need, a veterinarian may prescribe an antibiotic that is approved in other classes for an animal in a non-approved class. In this case, no detectable residues of this drug may be present in the edible tissues of the animal at slaughter. Hormones may be used to pro
