The Charolais or Charolaise is a French breed of taurine beef cattle. It originates in, and is named for, the Charolais area surrounding Charolles, in the Saône-et-Loire department, in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of eastern France.
Cow and calf
Bull at the Salon international de l'agriculture in 2011
Bull in the Morvan
Feral bull in Sierra Nevada de Mérida, Venezuela
Beef cattle are cattle raised for meat production. The meat of mature or almost mature cattle is mostly known as beef.
In beef production there are three main stages: cow-calf operations, backgrounding, and feedlot operations. The production cycle of the animals starts at cow-calf operations; this operation is designed specifically to breed cows for their offspring. From here the calves are backgrounded for a feedlot. Animals grown specifically for the feedlot are known as feeder cattle, the goal of these animals is fattening. Animals not grown for a feedlot are typically female and are commonly known as replacement heifers.
While the principal use of beef cattle is meat production, other uses include leather, and beef by-products used in candy, shampoo, cosmetics, and insulin.
A young bull of the Blonde d'Aquitaine breed.
Japanese wagyu bull on a farm north of Kobe
Cattle in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso