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Breeding / Calving Issues
Cost of Using a Maternal Bull ?
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<blockquote data-quote="simme" data-source="post: 1646484" data-attributes="member: 40418"><p>Interesting issue. 40 years ago, many farms raised hogs. There were many breeds - Hampshire, Duroc, Landrace, Yorkshire, Tamworth, Berkshire, Hereford, Chester White, etc. Remember all those breeds? Lots of fat on pork. Then the pork industry saw vertical integration. The breeds pretty much disappeared and a composite white pig began to dominate. Less fat, less feed to make the product, Concentrated ownership of the industry, large farms. Chicken business did this earlier. Whereas it did take 2.2 to 2.4 pounds of feed to make a pound of chicken, now it take 1.6x pounds of feed. No more Rhode Island Reds in big commercial operations. The composite white chicken is king with very few genetic lines used. Lower cost to bring the product to the market, more consistent product. Many of these chickens being produced without antibiotics in the feed. 7 weeks from hatched to harvest. No one would have believed it to be possible 40 years ago.</p><p></p><p>You know where I am headed. The consumer likes low cost consistent product. Will the beef industry go this way? Chickens and pigs are raised in confinement. Not practical for beef. Cheapest way to raise beef is on grass for a large part of the life cycle. Generally on land not suited for row crops. An advantage of the vertical integration in pork and chicken is the genetic improvement that has come with the concentrated ownership. Resulting in better feed conversion, lower cost of product and more consistent product. But, it has produced a more "sharecropper" situation for the farmer tending the herd. Has the beef industry achieved as much genetic improvement in the last 40 years? Progress has been made with higher weaning weights, better yield, etc. Has improvement in the beef industry been as good as pork and chicken? What could be done to move beef further in terms of consistency and efficiency? And most important to increase returns for the beef farmer?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="simme, post: 1646484, member: 40418"] Interesting issue. 40 years ago, many farms raised hogs. There were many breeds - Hampshire, Duroc, Landrace, Yorkshire, Tamworth, Berkshire, Hereford, Chester White, etc. Remember all those breeds? Lots of fat on pork. Then the pork industry saw vertical integration. The breeds pretty much disappeared and a composite white pig began to dominate. Less fat, less feed to make the product, Concentrated ownership of the industry, large farms. Chicken business did this earlier. Whereas it did take 2.2 to 2.4 pounds of feed to make a pound of chicken, now it take 1.6x pounds of feed. No more Rhode Island Reds in big commercial operations. The composite white chicken is king with very few genetic lines used. Lower cost to bring the product to the market, more consistent product. Many of these chickens being produced without antibiotics in the feed. 7 weeks from hatched to harvest. No one would have believed it to be possible 40 years ago. You know where I am headed. The consumer likes low cost consistent product. Will the beef industry go this way? Chickens and pigs are raised in confinement. Not practical for beef. Cheapest way to raise beef is on grass for a large part of the life cycle. Generally on land not suited for row crops. An advantage of the vertical integration in pork and chicken is the genetic improvement that has come with the concentrated ownership. Resulting in better feed conversion, lower cost of product and more consistent product. But, it has produced a more "sharecropper" situation for the farmer tending the herd. Has the beef industry achieved as much genetic improvement in the last 40 years? Progress has been made with higher weaning weights, better yield, etc. Has improvement in the beef industry been as good as pork and chicken? What could be done to move beef further in terms of consistency and efficiency? And most important to increase returns for the beef farmer? [/QUOTE]
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