The feedlots main goal is to safely grow the cattle from 6 months of age to harvest, which in most cases is around 18 months for Certified Angus Beef ®. Over that time, the cows are eating up to 50 pounds of food daily in order to pack on 5-6 pounds a day. You may think that bigger is better but truly if the cows are grown too big, the meat quality will suffer. The cattle eat twice a day, and depending on their age, will consume a daily ration consisting of dry corn, corn silage http://bit.ly/BvjKn , and “scratch” which is hay. The feed is prepared to a specific recipe using feed trucks specially designed to weigh the ingredients as they are loaded in to the bed of the vehicle. This feed provides the animals with the appropriate nutrients to allow steady, healthy growth.
That afternoon we boarded the bus and headed to downtown Lindsay, Nebraska for an old fashioned country BBQ courtesy of the Beller family. The meal was fantastic, including Rib Eye and New York Steaks, grilled over charcoal and served with an array of salads and fresh baked bread from Grandma Beller. I’m pretty sure Chef Cain and grandma Beller traded some recipes.
After lunch, and after nearly 30 oz. of beef in 24 hours, we departed for Willow Creek Cattle Company in Plainview, Nebraska run by John Anderson. This Cow-Calf producer watches superior Angus genetics travel from pasture to feedlot and on to the processing plant. John has a keen eye for what traits will dominate the future, and knows the importance of efficiency, gain and carcass quality. John began his own herd with 25 cows and a couple of bulls. Today, his cow-calf herd has grown to over 700 head. Listening to John talk about the operation was fascinating.
Important to understand is that there are three segments to the beef production industry. The first is the cow-calf producer. Next is the feedlot, and last of course is the packing plant. To make this process efficient as possible, science has played a major role in ensuring the process. To ensure this efficiency, cow are artificially inseminated (AI) on the same day so that the calves are born within a few days of each other. This way as they head to the next step in the process they do so by the herd and all at or about the same maturity.
During our visit to Willow Creek Cattle Company they were preparing to AI 200 head the next morning. The AI process will generally impregnate 65% of the cows, so to ensure better results, they send out the “finishing bulls”. On this video, John talks about his two finishing bulls, and what he looks for when procuring studs to produce Certified Angus Beef (c).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o04VRXD9Zsc
Now these guys have the most fun because they actually get to “actively participate”. Actually, most cows and bulls are virgins as STD’s can be prevalent in cattle. That is why you never just loan a bull out for studding. Semen is collected from the bulls and then frozen, or bought from the Beef Sire Directory http://www.selectsires.com/ to be utilized in the AI process.
That evening we commuted to Souix City, Iowa where the next morning we'd cross the Missouri River into South Dakota, and tour the Tyson Packing Plant, which is the largest beef packing plant in the country and perhaps the world.
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