MO_cows":37fwi8vw said:
I don't remember reading where anybody ever said heat stress "didn't matter". Lots of the southern members post about how they use Brahman influence to overcome it. So I don't agree with your perception or your assessment of that situation.
If we were in New Zealand, we could have a meaningful discussion about grass finished versus grain finished. But we live in North America, where we simply don't have the climate to produce enough grass finished beef year 'round. Plus our farm belt can produce grain like nobody's business. Therefore, we use grain in the feedlots. It is what it is. Making the best use of the resources we have.
And processing cattle by the thousands of head per day per plant, which is what it takes to fill the current demand for beef, is always gonna be risky business for cross-contamination. Consumer education has probably saved lives, so exactly how is that a bad thing?
I didn't say everyone did not worry about heat stress, but I said "many" want to discount it, especially in reference to black cattle. I don't care to do a search, but I know I've replied to people who say they haven't had their black cattle die from heat so it doesn't matter to them.
I think your "is what it is" comment pretty much sums up the cattle business. Because the black cattle trend "is what it is", and high grain rations "is what it is" and Salmonella and E. coli contamination "is what it is", there won't be changes any time soon.
Follow the herd.