Lower quality cattle

[greengrasscattle]

I was wondering what peoples thoughts are, about why Arizona, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas, produce significantly lower quality cattle.

I brought it up in another topic, but it appeared breed bashing was the most important thing to do on that topic. I'm not sure if it is Brahman influence, or other breeds unable to take the heat, enviroment in general. I just don't understand what causes it.

 

[upfrombottom]

It' a good thing you didn't put where you live up, a question like that will get you shot out of the saddle.

 

[chippie]

May I ask, where do you live and what do you base your assumption on?

Facts please.

 

[greengrasscattle]

Longview, the information was mailed to me by a cattle buyer I met on a cruise. The report is from slaughter plants.

 

[VanC]

I was wondering what peoples thoughts are, about why Arizona, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas, produce significantly lower quality cattle.

I brought it up in another topic, but it appeared breed bashing was the most important thing to do on that topic. I'm not sure if it is Brahman influence, or other breeds unable to take the heat, enviroment in general. I just don't understand what causes it.

Depends on your definition of quality.

 

[backhoeboogie]

Isn't prime as good as it gets?

I took the grandkids to a stock show today. There were a lot of fine steers there.

 

[greengrasscattle]

My definition of quality would be as follows, decreasing in quality as we go. Prime, choice, select, standard. Are there other grades used elsewhere?

 

[greengrasscattle]

Isn't prime as good as it gets?

I took the grandkids to a stock show today. There were a lot of fine steers there.

Not everyone raises show cattle, It would seem after reading these reports, that only a half % of the cattle from the states I listed grade prime.

 

[chippie]

Since you receive the info in an email, can you cut and paste the report here? I would be interesting to read.

 

[dun]

http://www.lsuagcenter.com/en/communica ... uality.htm

 

[greengrasscattle]

Since you receive the info in an email, can you cut and paste the report here? I would be interesting to read.

I can try scanning it, if I can find someone to run the scanner. I know it is available online that is where he told me he downloaded it from. cmf1 must know how to find it, he was able to read numbers off it that I never metioned. USDA AMS

 

[VanC]

My definition of quality would be as follows, decreasing in quality as we go. Prime, choice, select, standard. Are there other grades used elsewhere?

Yes, there are other grades used elsewhere, but that's beside the point. If you're talking about "quality grade" you should have said so in the first place. The term "quality" by itself could mean many things to many people. Some would say that a feeder that grades select but brings a healthy profit is "quality", while a feeder that grades prime, but loses money, is not. Those that market their cattle to places like Laura's Lean Beef would consider a YG1 Select steer a lot higher "quality" than a YG3 Prime steer because they would make more money on that grid with the YG1 Select steer. Most producers don't even have a clue what their cattle ends up grading, and probably don't care as long as they make a profit.

 

[Alice]

Longview, the information was mailed to me by a cattle buyer I met on a cruise. The report is from slaughter plants.

Met your cattle buyer on a cruise, huh? I met Michael Irvin on a cruise, once...

Alice

 

[greengrasscattle]

Alice I met a cattle buyer on a cruise, not my cattle buyer. He buys cattle from another region of the country, he also suggested to me he would never buy cattle where I am from, because they are of lower quality.

That made me mad. Worse yet he set me documentation proving he was correct. That hurt even worse.

 

[greengrasscattle]

VanC

I have never associated quality with profit. For example in Kansas, you buy a trailer home for $500, sell it to someone $1000, you have a 100% profit. Now take a brick home, buy it for $250,000, sell it $255,000. That is a 2% profit. If you lived in Kansas in the summer which home is better quality? Cattle are no different.

 

[MO_cows]

I can't believe Missouri isn't on that list. You don't have to drive very far to see sorry cattle raised in sorry conditions.

We used to buy hay from a guy, an educated man, a dentist and "gentleman farmer". Had a herd of baldies. Didn't cull, didn't castrate, didn't control calving season or keep records. Just turned them out and let nature take its course. Once a year they loaded up whatever they could get loaded that day and hauled them to the sale. Said they usually got a premium because they were black. His yearlings looked maybe 600 pounds, everything was pot bellied, short bodied and had no butt the last time I saw them.

 

[backhoeboogie]

Worst I have ever seen was Vancouver, Washington or Portland Oregon. I spent a year there in the mid 80's and could not find a good steak anywhere. Excellent fruit and veggies. Their lumber yards had nothing but the very best and lumber was very low in cost. Their seafood was much fresher than anything I can get here and it was excellent too. Good steak could not be found even at specialty shops. It seems an excellent opportunity for someone to sell good freezer beef.

I get to go on INPO boondoggles or go and accept factory tests on equipment a few times each year now. I hate traveling. But it takes me just about everywhere in the U.S. and I sample steak houses. The disadvantage is I am not grilling on my grill.

The local butcher shop gets his prime from somewhere close to Waco. It is good stuff if your willing to pay for it. One of my own steers goes in the freezer every year. I have several buyers for freezer beef.

Prime grade is prime grade in my opinion.

You can get bad steak anywhere. You can get yourself some really good steak right there in Longview. I have a lot of family there and own land near Hallsville. I am over there often.

 

[Jogeephus]

I was wondering what peoples thoughts are, about why Arizona, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas, produce significantly lower quality cattle.

I brought it up in another topic, but it appeared breed bashing was the most important thing to do on that topic. I'm not sure if it is Brahman influence, or other breeds unable to take the heat, enviroment in general. I just don't understand what causes it.

I don't have a dog in this race but am surprised that Georgia wasn't mentioned. I've read many articles and heard many tales how sorry a job we do raising cattle and how our cattle don't do well in the feedyards, are too black, not black enough, don't have enough frame, too framey, too much ear, too little ear, yada yada yada. Ironically, I talked several hours with a feed yard manager in Nebraska and he countered everything that I've been told and he said he loved our cattle and they did very well.

My suspicion is that IF the fella bought cattle in your area they would be the BEST cause he only sells the best and everything else is just junk.

 

[greengrasscattle]

My suspicion is that IF the fella bought cattle in your area they would be the BEST cause he only sells the best and everything else is just junk.

That may be true, however the reports are unbiased, the people making the reports do not care where anyone is from, they only report the facts.

 

[novatech]

My suspicion is that IF the fella bought cattle in your area they would be the BEST cause he only sells the best and everything else is just junk.

That may be true, however the reports are unbiased, the people making the reports do not care where anyone is from, they only report the facts.

Here is a fact. Once the cattle get to the feed lot nobody knows where they came from. There are no barcodes to find out. The only way for them to get their records is by info, given out at the major packing plants for what they processed that day. The only fact they have is the location of the packing plant they get the records from.
Having said that it is also true that ( I believe) most people in these southern states are more concerned about total net return and less on the quality.
Personelly I have not noticed any shortage of good steaks yet.