Northeastfarmer
Member
- Location
- Cleveland
I meant the farmer himself feeding round
UK Feed lots ?
- Thread starter Clive
- Start date
Chae1
Member
- Location
- Aberdeenshire
They said this is in pipeline. It will also scan the animal to predict grade, have seen similar tool in dairy for condition scoring. It could also send message to slaughter house and tell them when animals are fat.
Large scale finishers I know generally keep animals of a weight range in one pen/shed. After a set number of days they just empty pen and slaughter them all.
We are smaller scale only kill about 300 of our own and draw out a load every week.
NZDan
Member
- Location
- Broomfield, New Zealand
Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't most of the UKs cattle finished in indoor feedlots on concentrate? I fail to see much different between the UK system and the US system bar size and a roof?
- Location
- Fife
Standby for a "best welfare standards in the world" salvo.
The US feedlot system turns out a product which is more consistent in terms of tenderness and eating quality. UK beef does not contain any artificial hormones. I also understand that US beef is finished to a higher fat class than UK beef.
No other country has such a variation of breeds ad the uk.
Hilly
Member
- Location
- Scottish Borders.
Always amazes e this, same with sheep hardly two farmers have same breed nower days, yet super markets want uniformity, im surprised they havent dictated as to what breed they want everyone to keep.
- Location
- Fife
Isn't that a Texel terminal sires?
- Location
- North Somerset.
Only a matter of time after Farmers have signed up to Whole Life Farm assurance. This will be closely followed by Farm assurance outlawing any movement through a market and then no option for farmers but to be tied into a vertically integrated supply chain.
By that time the Supermarkets will have so ruined the taste of beef that they will have no market for anything other than mince. Meanwhile the premium market through Farm Shops and independent Butchers, who couldn't give a toss about Farm Assurance will be looking for the variety that Native breeds, grass fed, provide.
Just need to survive long enough for the wheel to turn but looking forward to Tesco going bust!
Then finish cattle on grain diet. Beef in USA is supiorior eating to here. Similar to oz, cattle out of feed lots there are fantastic eating
- Location
- Fife
Not very ecologically friendly though is it?
Has it's pros and cons.
Uses less land for the number of animals it finishes for instance.
Finished by 18 months compared to UK average of.......
- Location
- Fife
Interesting argument. I don't know the answer.
I know NZ dairy bulls can be finished off grass at 18 months.
At what weight, grade and marbling compared to grain finished?
Grass finishing isn't known for it's marbling at young ages, grain finishing is. Dairy is lean meat to begin with so they aren't going to be looking for a fat cover. If they're looking for lean meat for hamburger than no reason for a bull not to finish out on grass at 18 months IMO.
NZDan
Member
- Location
- Broomfield, New Zealand
It depends on the Dairy breed, Jersey and Jersey X cattle tend to have higher marbling and meat quality scores.
https://www.extension.umn.edu/agriculture/dairy/beef/yield-and-quality-of-holstein-beef.pdf
banjo
Member
- Location
- Back of beyond
I've read a lot of this thread and it seems like a good idea and as you get income sheds could follow if the profit allows. The areas with large amounts if straw would obviously be at an advantage.
Regarding the condition of the animals, can't see how they would be worse if the farmer does it properly and uses plenty of bedding. ( plenty of bad farming done in buildings )
The biggest problem would be getting the cattle in to fatten, I'm sure last year there were bugger all for the amount of fattening we do in the uk now, so would they be imported?
Regarding the condition of the animals, can't see how they would be worse if the farmer does it properly and uses plenty of bedding. ( plenty of bad farming done in buildings )
The biggest problem would be getting the cattle in to fatten, I'm sure last year there were bugger all for the amount of fattening we do in the uk now, so would they be imported?
- Location
- Bedfordshire
I very much doubt it as an average.
NZDan
Member
- Location
- Broomfield, New Zealand
Two common systems here, bigger early calves feed well finished at 18 months, later born smaller calves are grown slower and finished at 24 months. There are more management issues with the latter finishing system so few people do it.
There is some work being done on finishing steers at 14-16 months, it seems to be working well.
Finishing on grass at 14-16 months? What kind of weights are they getting?
- Location
- Bedfordshire
I saw good beef bred calves finishing at 24 months, I expect they'd be r grade types over here. I can't remember exactly, but going by memory they'd have been 350-400kg dead.
When are they weaning them?