Explanatory sentence taken from the reference below, although in Europe there is an increasing movement to "retire" dairy cows and use them to manage the land.

Though not necessarily in order of priority, the role of livestock, particularly cattle, in traditional societies, is: (a) the provision of drought animals for land preparation; (b) the provision of milk for home consumption; (c) the provision of manure for fertilization of cropping lands; (d) as a source of wealth and status; (e) for religious, social and ceremonial purposes; and (f) as a source of cash from the sale of beef.

https://encyclopedia.uia.org/problem/non-productive-use-catt...

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Note added at 1 hr (2025-05-08 12:47:40 GMT)
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Lots of refs for "non-productive cattle" in Google btw.

Ojo que puede referirse a ganado utilizado para otros fines. En ese caso tendría sentido que las utilicen para comerse las hierbas (weeding).