UK Feed lots ?

[More to life]

Anyone fancy stocking a feedlot at a £1000 a pop I don't. Of the many problems that would come with one can you imagine an outbreak of digital dermatitis in a thousand plus head.

 

[Northeastfarmer]

Anyone fancy stocking a feedlot at a £1000 a pop I don't. Of the many problems that would come with one can you imagine an outbreak of digital dermatitis in a thousand plus head.

Think I'd be more worried about pneumonia than digi

 

[More to life]

Think I'd be more worried about pneumonia than digi

I don't think your going to improve the ventilation

 

[capfits]

Could you imagine trying to stock one in the UK, with the all too common practice of store cattle going through the ring 1 at a time .
Of course you may get lucky an buy private in decent numbers but constant quality supply tricky.
I have wondered if reasonable size finishing unit could happen here circa 1000 head on say a 4 month turnaround ,cattle supplied on a cost per kilo gain basis but I suspect it is the old trust issue that would get in the way. Cooperative? Beef finishing group?
Sure there are synergies to be made in the UK. Site it in an area that produces by product, vegetables, peelings, brewing waste, distressed grain( amazing amounts available) so East Central Scotland ,Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, East Anglia? Hungry ground needs shite aswell or shite into AD. Proximity to abbatoirs, market.
Of course compared to Feedlots in US and other parts of world we live on a densely populated temperate island. In other parts of the world where there are feedlots the climate tends to be much drier. Welfare can be pretty ropey in feedlots in terms of injuries. Seeing one in Argentina was an eye opener in that respect. We would not get away with it here in Europe for sure.
Personally I think it along with a few other thinks it is only a matter of time before one of the processors goes for it somewhere possibly black and white bull calves we will see?

 

[Lovegoodstock]

Be five I know of fattening over 5000 a year within 25 miles of me, arguably why majority of fatteners on forum saying the job not profitable. Will get a premium price on dw, average out set costs far better, feed far cheaper, in sheds on straw, difficult how you term feed lots, those numbers to me means feed lot? 3 I know have pen adjoining each large shed to kick hem out whilst doing passageways, run through bath to cover digi, pneumonia maybe less prevalent as buying older cattle but obviously still an issue, but sadly it becomes a per centage thing, fattening 100 a loss is a big blow, fattening 5000 on percentages means 50 is a big blow!!

 

[Bill the Bass]

They blew over a million in three years doing it. Wagon drivers said the place was like a war zone they had so many casualties.

I guess they won't be the last to blow a fortune feeding cattle..

 

[Yale]

No we won't, we will get really good steak, I can't wait

You might have bigger breasts after eating it though.

 

[Bill the Bass]

Anyone fancy stocking a feedlot at a £1000 a pop I don't. Of the many problems that would come with one can you imagine an outbreak of digital dermatitis in a thousand plus head.

I've never been to the USA but understand the feedlot model is largely a 'Custom' or contract arrangement where the cattle are effectively on B and B. I always assumed that this way, the actual feed lot owners don't have the capital outlay/ownership of the stock.

 

[Bill the Bass]

You might have bigger breasts after eating it though.

 

[Hilly]

When the UK begins to adopt US style pig or beef type systems, it is the day it deserves to be shut down forever in my book.

It might be big but it sure as heck is not clever. The UK consumer would never put up with it, they don't even like 1000 cow dairies.

1000 cow dairy will have better conditions wealfair then some of the below 100 cow sh!t holes in the uk.

 

[Hilly]

You fatten one beast or you fatten a million beasts who cares everything is relative.

 

[Fish]

Like direct drilling it's been tried before, a few tried it up on the wolds, remember going up to Boythorpe in the 60s with grandfather and dad to see their set-up, it all started with the early days of maize growing in this country.

 

[foxbox]

We would have no trouble competing if they have to meet the same standards and were HORMONE FREE.
But yes, we'll be in the .

If being hormone free is the only thing stopping US beef being sold in the UK then we're stuffed; the scale of operation in the US will comfortably allow production without hormones for the UK market and that's assuming we keep the current EU stance anyway.

Others have mentioned the climate and need for sheds; I know of one farm with over 500 cows on light land who was able to justify sheds based almost entirely on the savings associated with the reduced energy demand of the cattle from being indoors.

 

[joe soapy]

Something strange with what happens with cattle. Experimental work says cattle have trouble getting rid of heat most of the time, yet practical experience shows they do better indoors in England, Yet the outdoor performance of american cattle is impressive in quite harsh conditions

 

[Drillman]

Look on google earth around Malton, north yorks. Birdsall used to have big outdoor cattle yards up on the wolds. Don't know if they still do or not.

Personally, if that is the production systems we are aspiring to in the U.K. I would rather quit cattle production.

#Race to the bottom!

Birdsall still do it. Ok in a dry time but not so good in a wet year. They don't have them quite as thick on the ground nowadays and have stopped feeding them reject onions which stank. They do have a lot of covered yards dotted about as well. At one point they were buying a lot and i mean a lot of stores in. Don't think there doing much of that now either. They do have a lot of cows though so i'm assuming it's mainly home reared stuff.

 

[Drillman]

Something strange with what happens with cattle. Experimental work says cattle have trouble getting rid of heat most of the time, yet practical experience shows they do better indoors in England, Yet the outdoor performance of american cattle is impressive in quite harsh conditions

Different kind of cold. as anyone who has been to America/Canada skiing in winter will know.

 

[JP1]

Different kind of cold. as anyone who has been to America/Canada skiing in winter will know.

These are American galloways foraging in Montana yesterday

 

[joe soapy]

Different kind of cold. as anyone who has been to America/Canada skiing in winter will know.

Nebraska was pretty wet when we went, although you could see that everything was set up to handle
some pretty low temps.
I sometimes look in on DV auctions online, its not unusual to see the cattle make as much or more than here

 

[ollie989898]

These are American galloways foraging in Montana yesterday

View attachment 443008

Animals in those conditions can't be growing a chuff, surely.

 

[ollie989898]

If I was wealthy enough I would pay someone to keep 1000 beef cattle in a small field held in by crash barriers, if only to see the merry hell the RSPCA and EA would play with you.
Can you imagine the grief you would cause just running a diet feeder out there daily? It would be the Somme in no time.

We can all think of beef cattle on some farms that don't look too far off the Somme anyway, and that is with them under a roof....