150000 head feed lot....is it a factory farm ?

[dairydurham]

No that was the Chicago Saleyard , I think set up some where around 1870. Then it was used to accomodate large herds driven on foot sometimes over a thousand miles from Texas. Most of these animals were sold on to fatteners and then brought back and sold fat to butchers . It incorporated large lairage facilities

Saw Harris Ranch feedlot 100,0000 cattle back in 1995, very impressive own rail siding, feed mill, abbatoir & restaurant.We can never match the scale & efficiency of that kind of operation. Just hav,nt got the land, climate & too many people would object

 

[Bald Rick]

This is a saleyard not a feed lot!

or possibly lairage for an abattoir?

Actually known as the Union Stockyard developed on marshland and served by a railhead.

What it does do though is to demonstrate the scale of US operations

Union Stock Yards - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[Cows 'n grass]

Saw Harris Ranch feedlot 100,0000 cattle back in 1995, very impressive own rail siding, feed mill, abbatoir & restaurant.We can never match the scale & efficiency of that kind of operation. Just hav,nt got the land, climate & too many people would object

Yet the US beef price is still higher than the UK price most of the time.

 

[kiwi pom]

Take a look inside one of the nation's largest cattle feedlots | AGDAILY

Michelle Miller was excited to tour a massive cattle feedlot where they have more than 150,000 head of beef cattle and over a hundred employees.

www.agdaily.com

Looks pretty good to me.
Big employer too, they'll be jobs connected indirectly as well.
Low rainfall and a good set up, plenty of space for the animals etc.

 

[kiwi pom]

Hauled feed into there years ago, never been round the pens though.
I understood at the time it was beef for a specific market, Japan I think.
Those wanting to ban it are using it as a good starting point, shut them down, get the public on side then go after other farms.

 

[Will 1594]

Cows look clean ,and a tidy set up , Bet those cows better looked after than a lot of places

 

[atlas]

I got to go to a feed lot in texas there was 100000 cattle on a 700 acre site if you look on You Tube for BAR-G Hereford Texas there is a video it is just vast just one building in the sick pen and stables for horses

 

[Lofty1984]

Cows look clean ,and a tidy set up , Bet those cows better looked after than a lot of places

I agree but then they are hardly likely to show anything different

 

[NZDan]

I wonder how they breed these long tidy growth types of cattle from from the short legged gutty breeding stock that is so common there.

It's those short legged gutty cows that produce the best beef, if you breed for long legs and tight guts you finish with dry tasteless beef.

 

[M-J-G]

It's those short legged gutty cows that produce the best beef, if you breed for long legs and tight guts you finish with dry tasteless beef.

My question was, how come a lot of cattle in feed lots like the cattle that the cowboy was checking on the horse aren't gutty and short legged.

 

[Blaithin]

My question was, how come a lot of cattle in feed lots like the cattle that the cowboy was checking on the horse aren't gutty and short legged.

What do you consider to be gutty and short legged? (Because the only thing that fits that description to me are some lines of British breeds....)

Breeding stock you want good depth and sprung ribs A mature animal is always going to look different to something under 2 years old. Take that into consideration along with the fact they aren’t on bulky forage rations to fill their gutty barrels and the fact that they are heavily fed to pack on muscle mass that helps keep them in proportion...

I don’t really know why you would ever expect fat cattle on full feed to look like breeding stock. If you’re breeding for something to look like that in maturity... well gross. You must breed Blond d’Aquitaines.

 

[essexpete]

No that was the Chicago Saleyard , I think set up some where around 1870. Then it was used to accomodate large herds driven on foot sometimes over a thousand miles from Texas. Most of these animals were sold on to fatteners and then brought back and sold fat to butchers . It incorporated large lairage facilities

Thanks for your memories Mr C.

 

[M-J-G]

What do you consider to be gutty and short legged? (Because the only thing that fits that description to me are some lines of British breeds....)

Breeding stock you want good depth and sprung ribs A mature animal is always going to look different to something under 2 years old. Take that into consideration along with the fact they aren’t on bulky forage rations to fill their gutty barrels and the fact that they are heavily fed to pack on muscle mass that helps keep them in proportion...

I don’t really know why you would ever expect fat cattle on full feed to look like breeding stock. If you’re breeding for something to look like that in maturity... well gross. You must breed Blond d’Aquitaines.

Blonde d'A good lord no! Too much like a greyhound for me.
I'm not speaking about my preference I'm just curious about the transformation.

When I suggest gutty breeding stock I mean this type

https://www.facebook.com/1149342112/posts/10214955682902763

I've fattened a few cattle in my time but I've never managed to change that to
This

Or this

I'm guessing @Bill the Bass won't be far away with his suggestion.

 

[ollie989898]

It is insanity however you look at it.

Thousands of acres of native grass in many countries. In the USA there are endless acres of it. A gang of folk like Kiwi Pete on horseback, mob stock it and keep them moving and you'd have virtually zero carbon beef production that would probably benefit the environment.

Keeping thousands of head of cattle in an area that small is a recipe for ground water pollution just from them all dunging in such a concentrated area.

 

[Blaithin]

You’ve never fattened cattle like a feedlot does.

And they aren’t given ‘roids. They’re given a few things, that’s not one of them.

Probably any animal who’s rumen is completely switched over to become so acidic with the minimal forage required for 200 days is going to lose some gut.You put that 809 onto a fat schedule at a feedlot and he’ll turn into those bottom photos too just like if you see him after he’s got his working clothes on he’s going to look completely different.

 

[Highland Mule]

And they aren’t given ‘roids. They’re given a few things, that’s not one of them.

Is this link wrong? https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterina...e-implants-used-growth-food-producing-animals

 

[Blaithin]

Is this link wrong? https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterina...e-implants-used-growth-food-producing-animals

No. I’ve never seen anyone call them steroid implants though.

Much like Beta Agonists are never called hormones.

And ionophores aren’t usually called antibiotics.

Either way, to be caught up and think steroids or hormones (whatever term you’re going to use for the implants) is the cause would be a stretch. They’re also available for cow calf producers to use on calves still on the cow and you’d struggle to tell them apart from any non implanted animal simply based on gut.

 

[Exfarmer]

Thanks for your memories Mr C.

Sadly never got there

 

[holwellcourtfarm]

Very interesting. On the flip side we in the Uk don't have an environmental resource consenting regime anywhere near as precriptive as the NZ one.

 

[Cows 'n grass]

It is insanity however you look at it.

Thousands of acres of native grass in many countries. In the USA there are endless acres of it. A gang of folk like Kiwi Pete on horseback, mob stock it and keep them moving and you'd have virtually zero carbon beef production that would probably benefit the environment.

Keeping thousands of head of cattle in an area that small is a recipe for ground water pollution just from them all dunging in such a concentrated area.

Plenty of beef is produced in the system you describe with sucker cows at very low stocking rates over vast areas.

The animals in the feedlot are either the calves produced on the extensively grazed ranges or they are dairy bred.