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

[ollie989898]

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.

Thank you for this, I guess the non-feedlot stuff just doesn't get as much press.

 

[digger64]

I'm not thinking anything about KO% at all and I'm not comparing hard pushed bulls round forage reared.
I'm simply not in agreement that 809 or the other weird looking record priced bull are going to be made into a tight middled animal with clean lines just by putting him onto a maize diet.

You are in directly , the concept /opinion of what a " good " animal should look like is influenced by what you experience in the market place and what you think would sell best which would probably be right for your circumstances , which is influenced down the line by what buyers / agents think and pay for their own benefit per kg , but they don't care about calving cows , feed costs or other management / financial factors that the producer has to deal with . Take the eur op grid away and shorten the supply chain and the concept of what " good " is would change .

 

[M-J-G]

You are in directly , the concept /opinion of what a " good " animal should look like is influenced by what you experience in the market place and what you think would sell best which would probably be right for your circumstances , which is influenced down the line by what buyers / agents think and pay for their own benefit per kg , but they don't care about calving cows , feed costs or other management / financial factors that the producer has to deal with . Take the eu op grid away and shorten the supply chain and the concept of what " good " is would change .

Afraid you're mistaken on that assumption, I'm not so please don't tell me what I'm meaning when you clearly don't understand my point.
I asked about the physical differences between the breeding stock and the finishing animals.
I didn't state any preference apart from when I suggested I wouldn't like to keep a greyhound like a blonde.

 

[digger64]

I'm not thinking anything about KO% at all and I'm not comparing hard pushed bulls round forage reared.
I'm simply not in agreement that 809 or the other weird looking record priced bull are going to be made into a tight middled animal with clean lines just by putting him onto a maize diet.

So why perhaps in your opinion would the weird looking bull have achieved a record price ?

 

[M-J-G]

So why perhaps in your opinion would the weird looking bull have achieved a record price ?

Big money isn't always a sign of a good animal, we all know that.

 

[Y Fan Wen]

In the global picture of food production the UK is really a pi55 in the ocean !

I thought that when I visited a sheep ranch in the Argentine Andes foothills. One hundred and forty thousand Merinos kept primarily for the wool.
With the language difficulty I couldn't find how many were hoggets.
It was near Esquel and the wool was exported from Puerto Santa Cruz because there was an export subsidy available and was higher the further South the port was, 850km in a straight line.
There are all sorts of sub available in Argentina all in an effort to keep a good population South. If you went to work in Ushuaia on the Straits of Magellan you could retire at 45. They are afraid of the Chileans moving into any empty space.

 

[digger64]

Big money isn't always a sign of a good animal, we all know that.

Are you possibly suggesting that the american beef industry that we are apparently unable to compete, etc with , works on a similar logic with its replacement policy to paying more for mule ewe lambs with trimmed necks and dark spotty faces then ?

 

[M-J-G]

Are you possibly suggesting that the american beef industry that we are apparently unable to compete, etc with , works on a similar logic with its replacement policy to paying more for mule ewe lambs with trimmed necks and dark spotty faces then ?

I wouldn't rule it out anyway

 

[Banana Bar]

My knowledge of the beef industry is limited to the fact that the best steaks come from Argentina, followed by the US. Whatever they feed them works, I’m also fairly certain that whatever it is will not be used here.

BB

 

[Y Fan Wen]

My knowledge of the beef industry is limited to the fact that the best steaks come from Argentina, followed by the US. Whatever they feed them works, I’m also fairly certain that whatever it is will not be used here.

BB

Alfalfa and maize grains.

 

[Blaithin]

Can’t find a full ration recipe unfortunately.

Did find the receiving ration where I worked. 62% silage, 20% DDG, 17% grain, 1% mineral. After this they would be put onto the step up rations.

Feedlots generally do a four step process to full feed. The traditional amounts for concentrations are around 65/75/85/92% so by the time they’re on full feed you’re looking at about 7% long stem fibre, usually just straw, to keep the rumen going.