Advice.

[gcreekrch]

 

[J+ Cattle]

It's also very difficult to sell a dead calf,

 

[Rmc]

It's also very difficult to sell a dead calf,

My understanding is they are in very high demand and the slaughter houses make a ton of money off them.
Look at the price for bovine fetal serum.

 

[Shoestring]

Was told that this may be who is buying the pregnant heifers at the sale barn.

 

[Hpacres440p]

My understanding is they are in very high demand and the slaughter houses make a ton of money off them.
Look at the price for bovine fetal serum.

We used to use that in cell cultures when I worked in a lab. There was a shortage for about 4 months one year-had a lot of difficulty growing the cell specimens without it. Lots of new drugs being tested in cell cultures first...

 

[SBMF 2015]

Was told that this may be who is buying the pregnant heifers at the sale barn.

I was at a lunch meeting where a large dairy owner was one of the speakers. He said he gets a premium on pot loads of mrkt dairy cows if they are bred.

An old cattle feeder I knew really well told me he used to send semi loads of heavy bred fat hfrs to a buyer at the Chicago Stock Yards. He said the buyer told him they had a market for unborn calf skin. It was used as lining in high end women's coats.

 

[Hpacres440p]

I was at a lunch meeting where a large dairy owner was one of the speakers. He said he gets a premium on pot loads of mrkt dairy cows if they are bred.

An old cattle feeder I knew really well told me he used to send semi loads of heavy bred fat hfrs to a buyer at the Chicago Stock Yards. He said the buyer told him they had a market for unborn calf skin. It was used as lining in high end women's coats.

That's kinda gross. And we wonder why people don't want to work in certain jobs. Growing a calf for beef is one thing. Intentionally creating and butchering heavy bred cows for the almost-born calf inside for a hide is a whole level that I don't want to acknowledge.

 

[SBMF 2015]

That's almost gross.

Yep.
There is a lot of dark, yet interesting history surrounding the U.S. Meat packing industry and especially the Chicago Stock Yards.

 

[SBMF 2015]

Long before implants were invented. Some cattle feeders ran bulls in their feeder heifer lots. It solved some of the problems associated with feeding hfrs. Bred hfrs don't ride and cause disruption. A bred hfr is cranking their hormones so they grow better (like an implanted hfr).
It might be wrong, but it's still interesting how those old timers over came issues.

 

[ClinchValley86]

Long before implants were invented. Some cattle feeders ran bulls in their feeder heifer lots. It solved some of the problems associated with feeding hfrs. Bred hfrs don't ride and cause disruption. A bred hfr is cranking their hormones so they grow better (like an implanted hfr).
It might be wrong, but it's still interesting how those old timers over came issues.

Interesting. And makes sense.

 

[Ebenezer]

I was told that the blood from a fetus is used in the manufacturing of some fake meat. Sounds delicious and so non-meat!

 

[Hpacres440p]

I mean, using an otherwise wasted byproduct of a one-off situation is one thing. An industry goal to create that previous waste situation is different. I'm not PETA, by any means, but it saddens me to see how industrialized life has become. Probably why I'm able to sell my home-raised beef at a premium. Makes me rest easier knowing my meal had a really good life with only a couple of bad days.

 

[WFfarm]

Some companies collect the white foamy lung surfactant right on the line of the larger slaughter houses. It's used in human premie babies to keep their lungs from collapsing.