breeds that grass finish

[angusdave63]

does anyone grass finish cattle and what breeds or cross breeds do you like in your experience i just bought a red poll bull this spring and one of the things that sold me on the bull is the claim the breed grass finishes with the future of grain going who knows where i think more grass fed is in our future thanks David

 

[KNERSIE]

Its types that grass finish more so than breeds. Saying that all the british breeds will typically be better grass finishers than your faster growing continentals or your heat tolerant Indicus breeds. I can think of better grass finishing british breeds than red polls though.

 

[wbvs58]

I think it is more to do with the country your on. Where I am it is classed as breeding country, cows do ok, the weaners are good, but if I kept them on it would take forever to finish them. The district weaner sale has a reputation for producing calves that grow well when put onto differant country.

 

[angusdave63]

i also have angus and hereford as well as some charolais cows between the 4 breeds i should have something there that would come close to a grass finish i was just stating what the red poll web site said about there cattle my honest thoughts on finishing cattle in the future at least on my farm is forage based diet until about the last 90 days on full feed we have a herfy/char cross steer we fed this way he is going for a ride monday morning to the packer i will know in a couple weeks how he turns out David

 

[sandvalley]

what about North Devons? I have a Devon bull over red angus cows and plan on butchering a steer I raised this fall. I am worried that if this fall is like last I won't have the forage quality to successfully fatten any animal regardless of breed.

 

[Dylan Biggs]

We have killed many cattle off grass in the last 16 years.

Like Knersie says type in our experience is more the issue then breed.

Specificity of type will depend at what age you plan to kill them and the quality of your forage.

What is your carcass target weight?

 

[tsmaxx47]

what about North Devons? I have a Devon bull over red angus cows and plan on butchering a steer I raised this fall. I am worried that if this fall is like last I won't have the forage quality to successfully fatten any animal regardless of breed.

i hear that...we need some rain bad, i'm trying to repair the damage the dry spell did last year but can't even get enough rain to apply fertilizer to the pasture

 

[Dylan Biggs]

what about North Devons? I have a Devon bull over red angus cows and plan on butchering a steer I raised this fall. I am worried that if this fall is like last I won't have the forage quality to successfully fatten any animal regardless of breed.

A definite risk with grass finishing.

 

[angusdave63]

yes i guess type is correct maybe the easy keeping type not to tall long or lanky would work shortg stocky more of the old fashioned type of cattle i still like the british breeds over the continentals for grass finish in the feedyard the continentals might have an advantage jmo David

 

[goddy]

We are grass finishing here in Central Oregon - our cows are predominantly Red Angus some with a touch of Simmental. I like the red angus a lot and will be continuing in that direction. We aim for around the 650 - 700 pound carcass weight at time of finish ( 17 - 19 months). We kill on farm to eliminate stress and like to kill while the animals are still growing fast and before our first hard frosts ( usually mid september).

 

[novatech]

what about North Devons? I have a Devon bull over red angus cows and plan on butchering a steer I raised this fall. I am worried that if this fall is like last I won't have the forage quality to successfully fatten any animal regardless of breed.

I don't know the difference betwen North and South Devon but a guy down here raises Devon (North or South?) X Red Angus and does well.

 

[ANAZAZI]

There are two breeds with similar names; South Devon, and Devon.

 

[brandonm_13]

Well, I know that breeds that focus their traits on grass finishing, on average have a higher percentage of their animals that do well on grass finishing versus breeds that focus on faster growth, feedlot traits, etc.

Knersie, what breeds do you think are better for grass finishing? Here in the states, I would easily put Red Poll cattle into the top 5 because they follow the profile of grassfed cattle- Smaller frame, easy fatteners, thick winter coat that sheds off nice and slick, the red coat doesn't get as hot as darker haired cattle so they are not stressed as much in summer, etc.

 

[Jovid]

Well, I know that breeds that focus their traits on grass finishing, on average have a higher percentage of their animals that do well on grass finishing versus breeds that focus on faster growth, feedlot traits, etc.

Knersie, what breeds do you think are better for grass finishing? Here in the states, I would easily put Red Poll cattle into the top 5 because they follow the profile of grassfed cattle- Smaller frame, easy fatteners, thick winter coat that sheds off nice and slick, the red coat doesn't get as hot as darker haired cattle so they are not stressed as much in summer, etc.

I can confirm every thing you said Brandonn.

 

[Jovid]

The cattlemen here in the states that I know that are grass finishing cattle for a living are using:

Senepol

South Poll

Red Poll

Devon

Red Angus

Several of them are making composites by using combinations of the above breeds.

 

[Dylan Biggs]

The cattlemen here in the states that I know that are grass finishing cattle for a living are using:

Senepol

South Poll

Red Poll

Devon

Red Angus

Several of them are making composites by using combinations of the above breeds.

Jovid, what age are most of the cattle being killed at?

 

[Jovid]

The cattlemen here in the states that I know that are grass finishing cattle for a living are using:

Senepol

South Poll

Red Poll

Devon

Red Angus

Several of them are making composites by using combinations of the above breeds.

Jovid, what age are most of the cattle being killed at?

20 months

 

[brandonm_13]

Although that can range from 18-24 months depending on how good your grasses are and if you're killing heifers or steers. Steers grow a little faster, but grassfeed heifers fatten about 100 pounds lighter than their mothers, steers 100 pounds heavier.

 

[robert]

most any animal can fatten on grass, it all depends how long you want to wait.....

 

[Jovid]

most any animal can fatten on grass, it all depends how long you want to wait.....

The folks raising and selling grass fed beef can't wait 3 to 4 years for some breeds to fatten. That is why they are using the proven breeds that do well on grass.