# Cows & Leather **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 24, 2013, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cows-leather/672122 "2013-10-24T15:34:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cows-leather/672122/21 "2013-10-25T15:02:23Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **Lukeinva** : > > There are farmers who own rough, craggy terrain full of rocks who decide to raise cattle? Well, what else are you going to do with that land? The whole point of raising livestock is that by doing so, you can make some productive use of poor-quality land that’d otherwise be going completely to waste. If you have good land, you don’t waste it on cattle: You grow wheat, or corn, or soybeans (or probably wheat or corn **and** soybeans, in rotation). ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cows-leather/672122/22 "2013-10-25T15:14:49Z")
I personally prefer the rich leather from Corinth. ---
**Author:** ![Gus\_Gusterson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@Gus\_Gusterson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gus_Gusterson)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cows-leather/672122/23 "2013-10-25T17:50:49Z")
> [@Lukeinva](#): > > There are farmers who own rough, craggy terrain full of rocks who decide to raise cattle? > > :dubious: You see it everywhere in Ireland. There are cows and sheep grazing in fields on steep hills that are no good for anything else. If it’s too steep or rocky to drive a tractor on, put some cows or sheep on it. ---
**Author:** ![Belrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@Belrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belrix)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cows-leather/672122/24 "2013-10-25T18:07:15Z")
> [@lost4life](#): > > I personally prefer the rich leather from Corinth. Kaaaaahhhhhhhnnnnn!!! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cows-leather/672122/25 "2013-10-26T18:57:46Z")
> [@RedSwinglineOne](#): > > I’ve heard it said that European leather is prized because **they don’t use barbed wire** Bolding mine - there are lots of people who have ruined expensive Gore-tex who could testify that this is absolutely not true. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cows-leather/672122/26 "2013-10-26T20:29:21Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Well, what else are you going to do with that land? The whole point of raising livestock is that by doing so, you can make some productive use of poor-quality land. I’m not sure that grazing land for cattle is typically “poor quality”. Cattle is much more demanding than, say, sheep or goats. ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cows-leather/672122/27 "2013-10-26T21:41:02Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > I’m not sure that grazing land for cattle is typically “poor quality”. Cattle is much more demanding than, say, sheep or goats. Tell that to the ranchers in Texas. Apparently Texas cows feed on mesquite, prickly pear cactus, and rocks (and maybe a smattering of speargrass). The quality of land used for grazing cattle is rather poor, but there is a lot of it. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cows-leather/672122/28 "2013-10-26T22:17:22Z")
> [@RedSwinglineOne](#): > > I’ve heard it said that European leather is prized because they don’t use barbed wire so the leather is free from scratches, but I can’t find a cite for it. It’s not just the lack of barbed wire. [Bentley](http://www.bentleymotors.com/models/mulsanne/interior_design/) use some of the best > [@](#): > > Take the sumptuous leather, handpicked from herds in cooler climates where the lack of insects means blemish-free hides. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cows-leather/672122/29 "2013-10-26T22:48:35Z")
> [@Lukeinva](#): > > There are farmers who own rough, craggy terrain full of rocks who decide to raise cattle? > > :dubious: What do you think they do with land that is too rocky or steep to row crop? In my little town, where the surrounding farmland is mostly too rocky for crops, we have three stockyards. To answer the OP’s question, some of the meat goes to ground beef blends and some goes to pet food. The hides are used for multiple types of leather goods, hooves and horns are ground for the gelatin and go to old school glue and bones are ground for feed and fertilizer additives. ---
**Author:** ![Tully\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ab992/32.png) [@Tully\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tully_Mars)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cows-leather/672122/30 "2013-10-28T21:47:06Z")
The quality of the leather will also vary depending on what part of the cow it comes from. The skin in the neck and front torso is considerably thicker and tougher. I understand that sometimes it is sliced into thinner layers, hence the term split-grain leather verses full-grain leather. The skin along the loin, where the expensive beef is, will be a bit softer. Says Tully Mars, who has skinned a few cows. ---
**Author:** ![Running\_with\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Running\_with\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Running_with_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cows-leather/672122/31 "2013-10-28T22:53:06Z")
A semi-related question that I’ve been meaning to post for a while: These days it seems that leather seating is available in almost any car you can buy, except for the very cheapest. For some luxury lines, it’s difficult or impossible to buy a car without it, at least in the US. My question is: where is all this leather coming from? In the 1980s and earlier, leather seats were available on only the top-of-the-line models. Are we eating more beef than we did back then? ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cows-leather/672122/32 "2013-10-28T23:13:45Z")
> [@Running\_with\_Scissors](#): > > My question is: where is all this leather coming from? In the 1980s and earlier, leather seats were available on only the top-of-the-line models. Are we eating more beef than we did back then? Several reasons: 1. Yes, we are eating more beef. We being worldwide, not just USA. US beef consumption has leveled off, but in other parts of the world there are now more people who can afford to eat beef more often. 2. Dairy cows produce leather, too. And dairy farming is a very tight operation – when grain/forage prices rise, mny dairy farmers will get out of the market and sell off their herds. 3. Technology has increased the supply of leather. By producing split-grain leather (sometimes splitting a hide several times). Also, technology reduces wasted leather. For example, the Red Wing Shoe Company near here produces a well-respected line of leather construction boots. They now use a computer-controlled machine that scans each leather hide, identifies imperfections in the leather, and re-arranges the cutting patterns so there is a minimum of wasted leather. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cows-leather/672122/33 "2013-10-29T00:28:29Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > There’s also the old pigskin. I had a pair of pigskin gloves once and they were the toughest damn gloves that a pig ever wore. I have [a custom made camera bag that is lined with pig suede.](https://plus.google.com/photos/106569452990457284259/albums/5370272094275224689?banner=pwa) I never heard of pig suede before, but it’s both soft and tough. He described it to me, saying “Cloth wears out, this is what they use to make footballs!” ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cows-leather/672122/34 "2013-10-29T00:38:56Z")
Leather for which you might not want to contemplate the source: eel skin. Comes from the [hagfish](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagfish). ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cows-leather/672122/35 "2013-10-29T00:58:47Z")
Lazy googling didn’t provide an answer, but I thought leather prices had also come down because pigskin can now be tanned in such a way that it is more supple, like cow leather. Perhaps G"W"R can weigh in? ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cows-leather/672122/36 "2013-10-29T20:09:02Z")
> [@TSBG](#): > > Lazy googling didn’t provide an answer, but I thought leather prices had also come down because pigskin can now be tanned in such a way that it is more supple, like cow leather. Perhaps G"W"R can weigh in? I can weigh in on cattle, since I used to raise Corrientes, but I know nothing about pigs except that they are delicious … and their hide has been used to make footballs for a long time. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cows-leather/672122/37 "2013-10-30T08:24:14Z")
The skin of the nauga is also a valuable source of leather. As Alan Sherman noted: _My sofa’s upholstered in real Naugahyde. When they killed that nauga, I sat down and cried._ ETA: Picture of a [nauga](http://www.naugahyde.com/images/naugahis1.gif). ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cows-leather/672122/38 "2013-10-30T08:39:55Z")
Red Wing fan here. Penned, fattened cattle seems to give more consistent quality. Free range cattle hides sometimes have injuries, scars and irritations. ---
**Author:** ![Krav\_Manga](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/krav_manga/32/3153_2.png) [@Krav\_Manga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krav_Manga)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cows-leather/672122/39 "2013-10-30T09:03:14Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > I’m not sure that grazing land for cattle is typically “poor quality”. Cattle is much more demanding than, say, sheep or goats. You should check out some of the cattle stations in Northern Australia some time. The only cattle tough enough to survive those conditions are of such poor quality they are only fit for export to South East Asia. There was a major problem a few years back when the government ceased live cattle export to Indonesia following some reports of appalling treatment in abbatoirs over there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cows-leather/672122.md?page=1)