Why are dairy farms and beef cattle ranching located in different areas?

Answer 1

Dairy cattle require more higher nutritive feeds than beef cattle do, and so need to be raised in an area where these higher nutritive feeds can be raised and fed to them. Dairy farms are located on or near the "corn belt" or an area of land on the North American continent where crops can grow and have high quantity and quality yields. Pastures in this area where some dairy farms allow their cows and heifers to graze during the summer months (or those months where grass grows the lushest) also need to have this high quantity and quality of grasses. The area also needs to be level and flat enough that barns and silos can be built and that are easily accessible to farm equipment used on the dairy farm.

Beef cattle, on the other hand, are raised in areas where they are on pasture all the time and do not require much human input. Beef cattle can be raised in areas where dairy cattle are raised, or in much more rougher terrain like down in the desert of southern California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and West Texas. Beef cows have a much lower nutritive requirement to thrive and feed a calf than dairy cows do, and so are much more flexible where they can be raised.