I am working on a website for the farm
I have someone that is going to gussy it up for me(phrasing and grammar)
But she doesn't have a cattle background to make sure the content is consise and clear.
If you have a few (many) minutes I'd love some input from people here.
Its too long-- so if you see something that can be left out .....
Or if something doesn't make sense the way I wrote it..........
or anything else..........
Thanks in advance
_____________________________________________________
We have been in the preconditioning business for 20yrs.
And still do business with our original customer.
Offsite preconditioning of calves saves feedlots and backgrounders money,facilities and labor. And 4-6 weeks later they take delivery of a processed;commingled,bunk broke,fence broke,conditioned
group with minimal health issues ready to eat and gain.
One type of customer(feedlots and backgrounders) has buyers buy 5-9wts calves at local auctions..The buyers buy from several area sales- and generally can put together a load in 7-14 days.
The advantages are that the customers don't have to buy a whole load at a time to get the trailer full. So they can pick or choose more- either to just buy the quality animals or buy the calves that meet a certain price limit or pick up a specific type that a single sale might not have enough of..
Calves bought locally are delivered the night of the sale with a short ride-minimizing stress compared to a long haul with empty bellies and strange companions..
Also the southeast has a year round supply of calves that traditionally run $10-$20/cwt less than the rest of the country.
And cheaper bulls can be bought without having to worry about co mingling and cutting them and the extra health issues involved.
Backgrounders get a group that is easier to handle on pastures-they are healthy; weaned and commingled; ,pen broke;bunk broke; fence broke, dog , horse and four wheeler broke,so they can take advantage of grass or wheat pastures without a lot of extra labor, esp skilled labor or really tight fences. So when they are delivered they can be turned right out to pasture avoiding having to pen them and buying expensive starter feed for them or having to deal with catching a lot of sick calves or worrying about coming up with time to deal with train wrecks.
Also all the problem cattle can be eliminated from the load so only the cream of the crop is delivered-saving money on headaches and shipping costs. .We can remove the nut cases and the sweets that agitate the whole load. Any calves with unsurmountable health issues are also weeded out(one way or the other). And the failure to thrive calves can be weeded out..Weeded out calves can be resold locally after the withdrawal period is up.
Though we haven't had a customer wanting to yet- we could easily test and remove all the persistently effected BVD calves- so that your place never gets contaminated.
Other customers are trying to take advantage of selling their homegrown calves thru a preconditioned program. But don't have the extra pasture,facilities or time. We do all the work and we can feed and medicate calves cheaper and better than most individuals can. Also several different owners can get together and group their cattle with us to sell as a full load.
Other cow/calf customers have had a bad year and the calves only grew frame. We can feed their calves easier and cheaper to put the bloom on them before they go to marketing they get the advantage of being able to market them as preconditioned.
We also have grown out heifers for dairies and seedstock operations. This Saves them from having to keep pastures tied up and solid fences to keep them from being bred.
Our feed is very bulky and developers rumen capacity- and doesn't over fatten growing animals. Also our feed is high in quality fats- which studies have shown to improve reproduction rates.
==========================================================
After delivery The calves are kept over night in a specialized receiving barn with feed and water. The next day we will process the calves to the owners requirements.
Then They are turned out to pasture. Each pasture has a feed pen where we feed a TMR specifically formulated to be nutrient rich and palatable- yet safe to be fed free choice to incoming cattle. We also give the calves heavy supplementation of minerals and vitamins-to make up for shortages.
The pastures usually have enough grass for them to pick on till they get broke to eat at the bunks. After the first week the TMR is so palatable that they quit eating the grass for the most part so there is the extra benefit of having fescue toxicity flushed from their systems before they are shipped again..
With calves that are not commingled having the extra room of a pasture helps to settle them till they learn to accept each other. Also health is improved because they are not on top of each other and the bulls being fresh cut have a clean place to lie down.
Each pasture has a woodlot that is critical in the summer and much healthier than a barn for shade.
We manage the calves with the goal of reducing stress, maximizing feed intake, and conditioning them to relax in their new environment.
They are brought up to the pen twice a day till they are broke to being comfortable in the pen and eating. Then they are put up once a day and checked for health issues. We use Border Collies as our hired hands- but only the very best are used that can take control and at the same time relax the stock.
With the dogs and our setup we can identify animals with even a minor attitude change- the very first indicator of them getting sick- so we can pull most calves before they are even showing active signs of being sick or going off feed . Minimizing long term damage and minimizing weight loss..
I have the pens designed so that I don't have to fight the calves natural instincts to be with the others(which by then the dogs have well established) when cutting them out to be doctored. We pen all the healthy calves and cut back the sick ones leaving them standing in the pastures. Then I can open a gate right next to the penned cattle and bring the sick ones thru heading to the barn before they even know that something is going to happen.
It also leaves the rest of the cattle completely undisturbed in the pen which is very important – I want the feed pen to be a very comfortable,relaxing, safe place for them to be.
Rarely do I have to go into the pen to sort calves-
The older dogs have learned the pattern so well that they decide on their own sometimes which calves are sick and leave them behind on their own- Every time that I second guess the dogs I have regretted it- and pulled the calf in worse shape the next day.
We return most calves back to the pastures after doctoring with a long acting antibiotic- they are marked and watched closely.
With our setup- its easy to repull them even if they "learned the routine" - rarely do I have to stress calves much to get them doctored.
We think it works better than turning them into the hospital pasture unless they really need to be there .
Our local salebarn manager (and master cattleman) designed and built our working barn- Its simple but cattle flow thru easily - whether they want to or not.
Obviously the better quality calves bought will generally do better. And weather conditions impact performance.
but over the years we count on
Expected Average weight gain for the first 4 wks is 1lb/day gain
Eight weeks average is 2lbs/day gain
Deathloss runs 0-8% the average is less than 2%
Morbidity runs 9-35% average is less than 20%
Repulls runs 0-33% average less than 14%
Realizers runs 0-5% the average is less than 1%
We take most of the work out of putting a load together, and minimize potential losses.
I have someone that is going to gussy it up for me(phrasing and grammar)
But she doesn't have a cattle background to make sure the content is consise and clear.
If you have a few (many) minutes I'd love some input from people here.
Its too long-- so if you see something that can be left out .....
Or if something doesn't make sense the way I wrote it..........
or anything else..........
Thanks in advance
_____________________________________________________
We have been in the preconditioning business for 20yrs.
And still do business with our original customer.
Offsite preconditioning of calves saves feedlots and backgrounders money,facilities and labor. And 4-6 weeks later they take delivery of a processed;commingled,bunk broke,fence broke,conditioned
group with minimal health issues ready to eat and gain.
One type of customer(feedlots and backgrounders) has buyers buy 5-9wts calves at local auctions..The buyers buy from several area sales- and generally can put together a load in 7-14 days.
The advantages are that the customers don't have to buy a whole load at a time to get the trailer full. So they can pick or choose more- either to just buy the quality animals or buy the calves that meet a certain price limit or pick up a specific type that a single sale might not have enough of..
Calves bought locally are delivered the night of the sale with a short ride-minimizing stress compared to a long haul with empty bellies and strange companions..
Also the southeast has a year round supply of calves that traditionally run $10-$20/cwt less than the rest of the country.
And cheaper bulls can be bought without having to worry about co mingling and cutting them and the extra health issues involved.
Backgrounders get a group that is easier to handle on pastures-they are healthy; weaned and commingled; ,pen broke;bunk broke; fence broke, dog , horse and four wheeler broke,so they can take advantage of grass or wheat pastures without a lot of extra labor, esp skilled labor or really tight fences. So when they are delivered they can be turned right out to pasture avoiding having to pen them and buying expensive starter feed for them or having to deal with catching a lot of sick calves or worrying about coming up with time to deal with train wrecks.
Also all the problem cattle can be eliminated from the load so only the cream of the crop is delivered-saving money on headaches and shipping costs. .We can remove the nut cases and the sweets that agitate the whole load. Any calves with unsurmountable health issues are also weeded out(one way or the other). And the failure to thrive calves can be weeded out..Weeded out calves can be resold locally after the withdrawal period is up.
Though we haven't had a customer wanting to yet- we could easily test and remove all the persistently effected BVD calves- so that your place never gets contaminated.
Other customers are trying to take advantage of selling their homegrown calves thru a preconditioned program. But don't have the extra pasture,facilities or time. We do all the work and we can feed and medicate calves cheaper and better than most individuals can. Also several different owners can get together and group their cattle with us to sell as a full load.
Other cow/calf customers have had a bad year and the calves only grew frame. We can feed their calves easier and cheaper to put the bloom on them before they go to marketing they get the advantage of being able to market them as preconditioned.
We also have grown out heifers for dairies and seedstock operations. This Saves them from having to keep pastures tied up and solid fences to keep them from being bred.
Our feed is very bulky and developers rumen capacity- and doesn't over fatten growing animals. Also our feed is high in quality fats- which studies have shown to improve reproduction rates.
==========================================================
After delivery The calves are kept over night in a specialized receiving barn with feed and water. The next day we will process the calves to the owners requirements.
Then They are turned out to pasture. Each pasture has a feed pen where we feed a TMR specifically formulated to be nutrient rich and palatable- yet safe to be fed free choice to incoming cattle. We also give the calves heavy supplementation of minerals and vitamins-to make up for shortages.
The pastures usually have enough grass for them to pick on till they get broke to eat at the bunks. After the first week the TMR is so palatable that they quit eating the grass for the most part so there is the extra benefit of having fescue toxicity flushed from their systems before they are shipped again..
With calves that are not commingled having the extra room of a pasture helps to settle them till they learn to accept each other. Also health is improved because they are not on top of each other and the bulls being fresh cut have a clean place to lie down.
Each pasture has a woodlot that is critical in the summer and much healthier than a barn for shade.
We manage the calves with the goal of reducing stress, maximizing feed intake, and conditioning them to relax in their new environment.
They are brought up to the pen twice a day till they are broke to being comfortable in the pen and eating. Then they are put up once a day and checked for health issues. We use Border Collies as our hired hands- but only the very best are used that can take control and at the same time relax the stock.
With the dogs and our setup we can identify animals with even a minor attitude change- the very first indicator of them getting sick- so we can pull most calves before they are even showing active signs of being sick or going off feed . Minimizing long term damage and minimizing weight loss..
I have the pens designed so that I don't have to fight the calves natural instincts to be with the others(which by then the dogs have well established) when cutting them out to be doctored. We pen all the healthy calves and cut back the sick ones leaving them standing in the pastures. Then I can open a gate right next to the penned cattle and bring the sick ones thru heading to the barn before they even know that something is going to happen.
It also leaves the rest of the cattle completely undisturbed in the pen which is very important – I want the feed pen to be a very comfortable,relaxing, safe place for them to be.
Rarely do I have to go into the pen to sort calves-
The older dogs have learned the pattern so well that they decide on their own sometimes which calves are sick and leave them behind on their own- Every time that I second guess the dogs I have regretted it- and pulled the calf in worse shape the next day.
We return most calves back to the pastures after doctoring with a long acting antibiotic- they are marked and watched closely.
With our setup- its easy to repull them even if they "learned the routine" - rarely do I have to stress calves much to get them doctored.
We think it works better than turning them into the hospital pasture unless they really need to be there .
Our local salebarn manager (and master cattleman) designed and built our working barn- Its simple but cattle flow thru easily - whether they want to or not.
Obviously the better quality calves bought will generally do better. And weather conditions impact performance.
but over the years we count on
Expected Average weight gain for the first 4 wks is 1lb/day gain
Eight weeks average is 2lbs/day gain
Deathloss runs 0-8% the average is less than 2%
Morbidity runs 9-35% average is less than 20%
Repulls runs 0-33% average less than 14%
Realizers runs 0-5% the average is less than 1%
We take most of the work out of putting a load together, and minimize potential losses.
