regolith":23yinflr said:I don't think many of Nesi's organic calves end up in feedlots.
I would prefer Nesikep answer this question but I have one for you now.
How familiar are you with the North American cattle industry?
Most order buyers are filling orders for commercial feedlots for potloads of feeder cattle. Here a load is about 63,000 lbs. A smaller operator such as Nesikep will take 20 calves to the sale. They are not all the same sex or weight so they will be sorted. I have seen 20 calves from 1 contributor sold in 20 lots.
These calves will be bought and penned with other contributors cattle of like quality, sex and weight. Very little attention is paid to who the owner is or how the cattle were raised unless it is a complete potload of reputation cattle. When they arrive at their destination they are all processed, fed and treated for any illness exactly the same.
Unless Nesikep is actually marketing his cattle to another organic producer or directly to consumers there is no point in the extra hassle and cost of staying organic other than being able to claim the title.