Finishing grassfed cattle

[Travlr]

I apologize I sell my meat per pound package weight so 300# final product per animal is what we usually bring back from the butcher

That's about half the weight most of the people here get from an animal that is 16/20 months old and fed to finish on grain. Most of the people here are getting their calves to wean at over 600 pounds at seven months, and by a year they would have that much meat or more on them.

Are your Herefords inbred? Do you raise your own bulls? Is your herd closed to outside genetics? Most full size Hereford cows would be maturing around 12/1500 pounds. What do yours weigh?

So three things. 1. As someone here said, our real job is to raise good grass. 2. The next thing is to have animals that are going to be genetically capable of maturing at a reasonable weight. 3. You have to have healthy animals, so you may need to evaluate not only your grass but whether you have a problem with minerals in the soil, or parasites, or anything else that can create low weights.

I see that @Mark Reynolds has chimed in and he can certainly point you in some good directions for improving your pasture. Many of the people here have good thoughts on genetics, but @Jeanne - Simme Valley is up north in your neck of the woods and she knows what she's talking about. For information on your particular location I would consult with your local extension service. Get to know them and ask what problems there are in your area. Sometimes they can be hard to pin down so if they don't return a call, make a trip in to wherever they are and have a face to face.

Right off the bat I'm thinking two things. 1. Click on your profile and scroll down to "Account Details" and put your location on your profile so everyone knows where you are. The other thing is that if you aren't locked into a breed, crossing Herefords works better than with any other breed. I suspect your Herefords are not giving much milk. Consider crossing with something that will generate some milk, growth, and size. Or consider selling what you have and buying animals locally from someone that has cattle that are doing what you want them to do.

 

[Mark Reynolds]

That's about half the weight most of the people here get from an animal that is 16/20 months old and fed to finish on grain. Most of the people here are getting their calves to wean at over 600 pounds at seven months, and by a year they would have that much meat or more on them.

Are your Herefords inbred? Do you raise your own bulls? Is your herd closed to outside genetics? Most full size Hereford cows would be maturing around 12/1500 pounds. What do yours weigh?

So three things. 1. As someone here said, our real job is to raise good grass. 2. The next thing is to have animals that are going to be genetically capable of maturing at a reasonable weight. 3. You have to have healthy animals, so you may need to evaluate not only your grass but whether you have a problem with minerals in the soil, or parasites, or anything else that can create low weights.

I see that @Mark Reynolds has chimed in and he can certainly point you in some good directions for improving your pasture. Many of the people here have good thoughts on genetics, but @Jeanne - Simme Valley is up north in your neck of the woods and she knows what she's talking about. For information on your particular location I would consult with your local extension service. Get to know them and ask what problems there are in your area. Sometimes they can be hard to pin down so if they don't return a call, make a trip in to wherever they are and have a face to face.

Right off the bat I'm thinking two things. 1. Click on your profile and scroll down to "Account Details" and put your location on your profile so everyone knows where you are. The other thing is that if you aren't locked into a breed, crossing Herefords works better than with any other breed. I suspect your Herefords are not giving much milk. Consider crossing with something that will generate some milk, growth, and size. Or consider selling what you have and buying animals locally from someone that has cattle that are doing what you want them to do.

@Jeanne - Simme Valley is located in about the middle of the west side of New York. My expertise and 'whereabouts' are a bit different than most on here. I do not own any livestock. That said, I possess a Bachelors in Wildlife Science and a Bachelors in Animal Science from Purdue University (I grew up in Indiana), a Master's in Rangeland Resources from Oregon State University, I've done seasonal ecological work in the south-east US, I've worked as a Rangeland Management Specialist (work with livestock owners) in Washington (state) for the BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs), worked as a Rangeland Management Specialist for the BLM in northeast Nevada, have worked and am currently working for the NRCS in Ohio (grazing as a 'specialty' and referred to as a 'grazing specialist' most of the time (I was and am a 'entry level' (by choice) soil conservationist here), and have worked as the State Grazing Specialist for the NRCS in South Carolina. Get in touch with @Jeanne - Simme Valley. I've been to her farm and she knows and understands what she is talking about. She specializes in quality Simmental cattle, but knows the industry overall quite well. She has an excellent grazing program as well as good hay management.

 

[ClinchValley86]

My math ain't right maybe, but 300 pounds of meat would equate to around a 500 pound carcass? that sound right to everyone?

 

[kenny thomas]

My math ain't right maybe, but 300 pounds of meat would equate to around a 500 pound carcass? that sound right to everyone?

No, think actual meat packaged and ready to cook. A 900lb animal at 55% is 495lb hanging weight. I expect for a 3 year old grass fed thats about the cutout %. And 495 hanging cutting 60% for final dressed wt is 297lb.
But someone stated $10 to $12 a lb so $3000 to $3564.
But 495lb at the $7 a lb hanging is $3465.
I just cant sell to anyone here that high.

 

[stanley r miller]

I think the future for grass fed beef will be big once people find out the omega difference in grass fed and feedlot beef.

 

[Travlr]

I think the future for grass fed beef will be big once people find out the omega difference in grass fed and feedlot beef.

As long as the vegan propaganda doesn't make meat illegal...

 

[Mark Reynolds]

I think the future for grass fed beef will be big once people find out the omega difference in grass fed and feedlot beef.

Understand the difference between grass fed and grass finished. If my memory serves me correctly, when you finish 'grass fed' beef on grain (and by definition you can), the Omega levels drop significantly, and I don't believe the drop can be significantly reversed by going back to grass. I suspect you are reffering to grass finished.

 

[WFfarm]

Welcome WolfCreek. You've taken the best first step in improving your operation, asking for help. Continue to ask questions and read. Some of the best information will come from successful people that are closest to you. They will have the most similar soils and climate. Cattle that thrive in the mid west or south may not do well in Maine. One of the best things that you can do to improve is to measure. measure your soil ph, measure your hay quality, measure your cow's average daily gains.

We have similar climate to you, so you must be feeding hay at least half of the year. Your hay will need to be high quality to get finished beef. Some people think beef cows will eat any old stuff you throw out there. They will, but they won't thrive on it. You want "horse quality hay" and/or good quality bailage.

Fertilizer will help your pastures, but it is important to get your ph checked and corrected first. On low ph ground your money is better spent on lime than fertilizer. You say you're already rotational grazing, but what is your stocking rate? See what others in your area are running for acres/cow.

Your genetics are half the equations. If your grass, grazing and nutrition program are optimized but your cows are poor, you will not be successful. Start keeping good records on calf birth weights and ADG for all your cows. You will probably need to cull heavily, keep only the top producers and try to get new genetics in to improve. We have a commercial Angus and Simmental herd and wean 600 lb steers at 7months on only grass, hay and good minerals. It took some time to improve our pastures and hayfields, but the best thing we did was get a platform scale to weigh every calf individually and can identify our best cows for weight gain.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Omega / smega - a lot of what people push is foo-foo dust. Most all the research says they can play with numbers.
I still go back to Texas A&M "RESEARCH" that compared meat that was finished on heavy grain, light grain and grass fed. There were MINOR differences, but their research showed the more grain fed - the healthier the hamburg being tested was.

Ground beef from grass-fed and grain-fed cattle: Does it matter? - Department of Animal Science

Posted on December 7, 2013 by maggielberger By Stephen B. Smith, Ph.D.Regents Professor, Department of Animal Science The internet is awash in websites proclaiming the nutritional benefits of ground beef from grass-fed cattle. However, researchers in the Department of Animal Science at Texas A&M...

animalscience.tamu.edu

And here is a video - watch to the END:

grass fed beef healthier than grain fed university research - Search Videos

www.bing.com

Now, I'm NOT saying don't eat/raise grass fed beef - I'm saying people need to quit spouting lies about the health benefits. They are ALL GOOD for you.
I will say grass fed beef is much harder and needs GREAT management to produce a quality carcass. You can't just stick cattle out on pasture and wait for them to "finish".

 

[RDFF]

Understand the difference between grass fed and grass finished. If my memory serves me correctly, when you finish 'grass fed' beef on grain (and by definition you can), the Omega levels drop significantly, and I don't believe the drop can be significantly reversed by going back to grass. I suspect you are reffering to grass finished.

Exactly right Mark. You can very quickly remove the "grass fed" Omega3/6 benefits by grain finishing, even for a short period of time. Creep feeding can have the same effect. But you'll definitely be able to put the weight on more quickly.
Grass-fed Prime, Less Feed, Less Time with Ken Hamilton

 

[ClinchValley86]

grass finished is finished on grass though. Otherwise it'd be grass fed, grain finished.

 

[ClinchValley86]

No, think actual meat packaged and ready to cook. A 900lb animal at 55% is 495lb hanging weight. I expect for a 3 year old grass fed thats about the cutout %. And 495 hanging cutting 60% for final dressed wt is 297lb.
But someone stated $10 to $12 a lb so $3000 to $3564.
But 495lb at the $7 a lb hanging is $3465.
I just cant sell to anyone here that high.

exactly. 300 pounds of packaged meat is a 500 lb carcass.

If I sell a grass finished steer, it'll be every bit of $7.00 processing included, that'd be $4900-5600 for a 700 to 800 pound carcass. Otherwise why go thru the hassle of no grain. Because it is a serious hassle. A grass finished cull I'd do for $5.50 or $6.00 including processing. Big difference in on the hoof value.