Annie Lowrey

Yes. So dairy cows are kind of beef cows with a job to do first.

Yes. So dairy cows are kind of beef cows with a job to do first.

Beef cows, they're both male and female. And most beef cows in the United States are kept on range. They're kept outside in big herds. And they're not really messed with, right, until they are brought to a feedlot to fatten up and then they're sent to slaughter. That's the life cycle of your average beef cow in the U.S., Dairy cows are inseminated or bred, the calves are taken away.

Beef cows, they're both male and female. And most beef cows in the United States are kept on range. They're kept outside in big herds. And they're not really messed with, right, until they are brought to a feedlot to fatten up and then they're sent to slaughter. That's the life cycle of your average beef cow in the U.S., Dairy cows are inseminated or bred, the calves are taken away.

Beef cows, they're both male and female. And most beef cows in the United States are kept on range. They're kept outside in big herds. And they're not really messed with, right, until they are brought to a feedlot to fatten up and then they're sent to slaughter. That's the life cycle of your average beef cow in the U.S., Dairy cows are inseminated or bred, the calves are taken away.

The male calves are generally not worth very much because they can't become dairy cows and they don't make great meats. You're not going to spend a lot of money raising them and fattening them up. So the male calves often are slaughtered quite quickly and they become something like dog food. The dairy cows then are milked for a couple of years, somewhere between usually two and six years.

The male calves are generally not worth very much because they can't become dairy cows and they don't make great meats. You're not going to spend a lot of money raising them and fattening them up. So the male calves often are slaughtered quite quickly and they become something like dog food. The dairy cows then are milked for a couple of years, somewhere between usually two and six years.

The male calves are generally not worth very much because they can't become dairy cows and they don't make great meats. You're not going to spend a lot of money raising them and fattening them up. So the male calves often are slaughtered quite quickly and they become something like dog food. The dairy cows then are milked for a couple of years, somewhere between usually two and six years.

and then they also become sort of lower quality beef.

and then they also become sort of lower quality beef.

and then they also become sort of lower quality beef.

And the auction is, you know, this isn't Sotheby's. It is like a small kind of rickety roadside operation. This is in the far north of California. It's like four or five hours north of San Francisco. So it's sort of in the middle of nowhere. It's a public auction. You can go sit on like these plywood bleachers and cows come in and the auctioneer sort of mumble chants and the cows get a price.

And the auction is, you know, this isn't Sotheby's. It is like a small kind of rickety roadside operation. This is in the far north of California. It's like four or five hours north of San Francisco. So it's sort of in the middle of nowhere. It's a public auction. You can go sit on like these plywood bleachers and cows come in and the auctioneer sort of mumble chants and the cows get a price.

And the auction is, you know, this isn't Sotheby's. It is like a small kind of rickety roadside operation. This is in the far north of California. It's like four or five hours north of San Francisco. So it's sort of in the middle of nowhere. It's a public auction. You can go sit on like these plywood bleachers and cows come in and the auctioneer sort of mumble chants and the cows get a price.

Exactly. That's what's happening. That is precisely what's happening. There's cowboy hats involved. And a lot of the cows are going for like a couple dollars per pound, $2 per pound maybe. And then some other cows go for really, really cheap, like $0.05 a pound, $0.10 a pound.

Exactly. That's what's happening. That is precisely what's happening. There's cowboy hats involved. And a lot of the cows are going for like a couple dollars per pound, $2 per pound maybe. And then some other cows go for really, really cheap, like $0.05 a pound, $0.10 a pound.

Exactly. That's what's happening. That is precisely what's happening. There's cowboy hats involved. And a lot of the cows are going for like a couple dollars per pound, $2 per pound maybe. And then some other cows go for really, really cheap, like $0.05 a pound, $0.10 a pound.

And after the auction was over, later that night, all of the animals that were sold are kept in these pens back behind the auction house. And so we went with one of the buyers of some of the cows to look at them and got a copy of the auction affidavit, which is a legal document kind of showing the chain of title of who's owned a cow. And you can look at the cow's ear tag and see who owned it.

And after the auction was over, later that night, all of the animals that were sold are kept in these pens back behind the auction house. And so we went with one of the buyers of some of the cows to look at them and got a copy of the auction affidavit, which is a legal document kind of showing the chain of title of who's owned a cow. And you can look at the cow's ear tag and see who owned it.

And after the auction was over, later that night, all of the animals that were sold are kept in these pens back behind the auction house. And so we went with one of the buyers of some of the cows to look at them and got a copy of the auction affidavit, which is a legal document kind of showing the chain of title of who's owned a cow. And you can look at the cow's ear tag and see who owned it.