Live Cattle

Question 01

A Match in the Feedlot

Methane / feedlots

Fifty thousand cattle, one lit match. What is the TNT yield of the simultaneous exhale?

Question 02

The Cow Snake

Packer concentration

Twenty-two million cattle slaughtered by four companies, laid nose to tail. How far does the line stretch?

Question 03

The Hamburger Tower

Daily cutout print

Ninety-two million daily quarter-pound hamburgers, stacked one on another. How tall does the tower reach?

Question 04

The Mother Cow’s Big Macs

Biology sets the pace

One mother cow, four or five calves over her lifetime. How many Big Macs is that?

Question 05

The Chicken Replacement

Chicken ate the share

Beef per capita fell 32 lbs since 1976. Chicken rose 70 lbs. How many chickens have replaced each lost cow?

Question 06

The Coffee Break

Single-plant risk

Cargill Dodge City runs 5,600 head a day. How many cows does the plant process while you grab a coffee?

Question 07

The $100 Cart

Farm-share dollar

You spend $100 at the grocery store on retail beef. How many dollars reach the ranchers and feedlots?

Question 08

The Container Line

Export demand

China reopened US beef in 2017 after a 14-year ban. Line up a year of containers at Qingdao, how far does it stretch?

Question 09

The Feedyard Bill

Supply shock at cycle bottom

2025 Screwworm closed the US-Mexico cattle border. How much more does the feedyard sector pay each year to replace the supply?

Question 10

The Calving Clock

Herd rebuild math

28 million beef cows, 85% calving rate, running around the clock. How many calves per minute?

Question 11

The Blend

Trade elasticity

Every American hamburger is a blend of US fatty trim and imported lean trim. How many pounds of each 100 come from abroad?