Vertical Integration
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Travlr
Well-known member
It's too bad we can't be paid for our beef "on the rail" after it is slaughtered and the hide removed... and the carcass graded.
Son of Butch
Well-known member
You can, IF you're big enough.
As 1971-76 secretary of agriculture Earl Butz said in the early go-go years of the '70s
"Get Big or Get Out."
simme
Old Dumb Guy
There are some possibilities. One such program is the Tri-County Steer Carcass Futurity in southwest Iowa. About 20 years ago, I sent 18 steers there to be fed. Darrel Busby was the extension guy in Iowa at that time. He has since retired. The program still exists but may be different now. That program had small farmer feeders that receive cattle from a system of coordinators over the country that put the loads together locally and ship them to the feeders. Overall program coordination by the Iowa extension people. I retained ownership of the steers and was paid based on the carcass. Lots of carcass data on individual steers, carcass data grouped by sires, etc. Be careful what you wish for. There can be rewards for carcass IF you have the right carcass. There can be pain and suffering if you do not. Education can be very helpful but can be very expensive. There are risks that come with the possibility of reward. Participants do learn the value of their steers. Also the importance of vaccination programs, management, herd health, docility, and other factors that contribute to profitability. I hope this Texas facility is successful.
Some info:
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www.tcscf.com
Retained Ownership Program (ROP)
Virginia ROP offers cow-calf producers an opportunity to learn more about the performance and profitability of their cattle through a cooperative feed-out program in conjunction with feed yards in Iowa. Extension coordinates the program, facilitates collection of data, and provides the...
Dave
Well-known member
You can. It is called selling on the grid. I know that Tyson at Pasco WA that is how they pay for cattle. And I also know that you can take in goose neck loads so it is not limited to the big feedlots. They have a base price and go up or down from that price depending on grade, yield, and a few other factors.
OP
OP
J+ Cattle
Well-known member
These are important points that I think get overlooked far too often. If you ask a rancher, "Do you raise top quality cattle?" The answer is always, yes of course I do, but unless they are getting data back in some form or another they really don't know if they are or not. Personally, I would love to have a national database of carcass data that you could look up based on USDA tag numbers. Right now, you sell a small group of calves locally and then you have no idea where they end up or how they graded. If there was a database, you could look up the tag numbers of the calves sold and download the data.
BC
Well-known member
You can. The packers call it "grade and yield", Some folks call it "grade and steal".
Travlr
Well-known member
That's a great idea.
Lee VanRoss
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I agree but I will still wager there are more black cattle with the hide off than are killed.
Dave
Well-known member
Know of two outfits which are vertical integrated to a degree. One owns 5 or 6 feedlots here in the PNW. They also own a kill plant. Several years back they bought a big ranch. Of course it takes a whole lot more cattle to fill their 100,000+ capacity in the feedlots than that one ranch can produce. They are very involved in exporting beef. A truck drive told me that they kill nothing but Wagyu one day of the week. I also know of them buying a lot of Wagyu bulls from a breeder. My guess is they supplied bulls to ranchers to raise calves for them.
The other doesn't own a kill plant but they have a big feedlot next door to a kill plant. That feedlot and the plant were built by the same outfit 50+ years ago. They since were sold separately and I am sure they have both been up graded. The present feedlot owner also owns several real big ranches and other feedlots. They are huge in potato processing and got into the feedlot business as a way to utilize the waste from their processing plants. They also have some livestock supply retail stores. They might be what you would call diversified.
The other doesn't own a kill plant but they have a big feedlot next door to a kill plant. That feedlot and the plant were built by the same outfit 50+ years ago. They since were sold separately and I am sure they have both been up graded. The present feedlot owner also owns several real big ranches and other feedlots. They are huge in potato processing and got into the feedlot business as a way to utilize the waste from their processing plants. They also have some livestock supply retail stores. They might be what you would call diversified.
When I was dealing with the guy trying to sell direct we looked in to vertical integration. It all looked real good except for the producing part. We could buy way cattle cheaper than we could produce them. A lot of seed stock producers were more than willing to sell their culled animals at a price we couldn't compete with.
It was pretty disappointing for two producers trying to find an outlet for their cattle. It was clear we should be focusing on feeding, killing, and selling.
It was pretty disappointing for two producers trying to find an outlet for their cattle. It was clear we should be focusing on feeding, killing, and selling.
Do you only run a feed lot?
