Chronic is not the same as condemned. Most cattle moved to feedlot chronic pens still reach market weight: 62 percent of 52,886 chronic animals tracked across 17 operations and seven years of records shipped at full weight. Respiratory disease led the diagnosis groups at a median 45.2 percent, lameness came second at 23.9 percent, and mortality took 23.1 percent. The spread between yards is wider than any of those figures. Why feedlot chronic pens have been so poorly described Beef production talks about animal welfare constantly. Industry policy books carry sections on cattle well-being, and the international animal health code has a chapter covering beef systems. The animals that actually…

Chronic is not the same as condemned. Most cattle moved to feedlot chronic pens still reach market weight: 62 percent of 52,886 chronic animals tracked across 17 operations and seven years of records shipped at full weight. Respiratory disease led the diagnosis groups at a median 45.2 percent, lameness came second at 23.9 percent, and mortality took 23.1 percent. The spread between yards is wider than any of those figures. Why feedlot chronic pens have been so poorly described Beef production talks about animal welfare constantly. Industry policy books carry sections on cattle well-being, and the international animal health code has a chapter covering beef systems. The animals that actually…