Good analysis and good advice. When I was a grass-based dairy farmer feeding grain in the parlor, I was very successful marketing my open cows as high quality beef. Grazing and eating grain in the parlor and without the burden of a growing calf, the open cows filled out wonderfully. Even seven and eight year-old cows were excellent eating. Taste comes from age, tenderness comes from rapid weight gain prior to slaughter.
Sounds like you had it going on. Mature animals can definitely pack the pounds on very quickly if they are getting groceries, either good grass or feed.
I try my best not to bring anything to the stock yard auction. I butcher steers, sell or keep heifers, and butcher older or problematic cows after fattening up. If I get something that just can’t put weight on and I don’t feel good about selling it, then it goes into my freezer.
We're experimenting with different breeds right now but found HighlandxLimo cross do best on our grass. What I found most important was culling out those lean cows and keeping our own bulls within the farm and not going elsewhere for genetics until absolutely necessary. When we do, we stay in the neighbourhood with people on the same program with similar pastures. The genetics you can build within your own farm and grasses is just amazing.
Sounds awesome, I’ve culled a couple cows every year. Have a couple this year as well. It’s a slow process with cows. We were able to make those improvements quickly with our sheep because they could have their first lambs at 12 months old.
Hi , to me , you pasture pictures tell a story. 1 the cattle are telling you we don't like the stalky brown grasses. All were eating the short grasses. Hard to tell clover content, but it is a must for grass finishing. Grasses need spelling 30 to 35 days before feeding on. Therefore subdivision with temporary electric fencing and daily shifts onto longer fresh grass. I would also harrow the paddocks after grazing to spread manure. Reduces soured ground and increases fertility. Your cows soon get use to it . Always spread out your hay enough for the day. Spreads seeds and reduces damage to the ground. Not much more work can be completed within the hour. Cows and farm love the system. Cheers Grant from New Zealand
Thanks for all the information. The tall brown grass you are referring to is big bluestem, also know locally as broomsedge. Our animals eat it a little when it’s young and vegetative, but it is very low on the preference list and I usually end up mowing it. I 100% agree about the clover. It has been a little later than normal to establish this winter due to the severe summer/fall drought we had. But nothing puts weight on our animals like clover, it is the best, and coming in pretty nice since I posted this video. We also have an amazing big population on our place. During the warmer months, our cow Pattie’s disappear within about 5 days from bug action. They hang around much longer in the cool season. I would like to find an easy way to spread them in the winter without damaging the soft wet ground. I have a full time off farm job, So my rotation schedule is more like move the herd every 2-3 days, with portable electric. Thanks again for taking the time to comment, I really enjoy hearing thoughts and ideas from others.
I’ve never finished on grass, but felt they needed to be on very high quality grazing to maximize marbling. Maybe hook up with a crop farmer that has a cover crops that he can grazed.
@@tomtibbits4423 , hi here in New Zealand in the Manawatu, lower north island, we are totally a grass fed finishing system. Male cattle need to reach a 300kg carcass,this takes 22 to 27 months if raised on the flats. The majority of new Zealand is hill country. These cattle ore exported mainly to Asia. Bull beef is exported to the USA as 95% chemical lean meat to be mixed with your fat trimmings from feedlot finished meat, Burgers stews and mince. Heifers are raised to a carcass of 200 kg for local trade meat for sale in NZ. They are often 18 to 24 months of age. All are always finished on grass. We do have 1 feedlot in NZ, owned by the Japanese,to finish Angus beef for their own market. Grain is very expensive here so destroys the profit from raising beef if fed here.
@@grantirvine6098 thank you for the reply. I know many intensive grazing methods being introduced in the states have been inspired by the grazing practices of New Zealand.
We had primarily, hereford and angus. Some charolais. They were all grass fed. After weaning, we would transfer to what we call fattening pens. These were pastures that had knee high grass. Primarily kikuyu grass and what we call buffalo grass. I think rotation and head per acre helps. And of course, he weather that keeps the grass a foot high. Probably no more than 20 per 30acre of grass. They bulked up pretty well. I've traveled across some of the grazing areas in the states, very similar yours. In some cases sparse. It is perplexing how the cattle survives. But was told they eventually will be transferred to fattening pens, grain fed.
Sounds like some productive land. Where I’m located, the primary warm season grass is Bahia. I don’t think it would get a foot tall if I fertilized and let it grow all summer. It gets about 8-10 inches tall then we graze it to 3-4 inches. Unless it’s a drought, it’s fully recovered in about 3 weeks. I plan to start experimenting with summer annuals and other forages besides our native summer grasses. Thanks for sharing.
At its peak the Bahia is about 11-12%. We have a small amount of other grasses that are a little higher, like Dallas and Bermuda. What puts the weight on our animals is the clover and rye that grows until about June or July when they burn up from the heat. Clover and rye are generally 20%
Yes, I am familiar with most of the folks and practices mentioned. Getting everything clicking all at once is a different story. Seems like there is always something, Drought, freezes, army worms, you name it, something is always out there trying to derail you. One certain thing is it’s always interesting. Thanks
@@stringerbridgefarm3201 keep observing and learning, that's how everyone else started. There is no silver bullet, but following the basic principles will get you on the right track. Good on you for trying, don't give up.
With a black and black baldy grain finished 150 days at around 1400 lbs. we are hitting 80% prime at 16 to 18 months. Our Angus bulls are 1.25 plus EPD for marbling and 1.0 plus EPD for ribeye. Genetics and corn result in yield and grade.
I agree, corn can really speed things up. I’m not opposed to grain finishing my animals. In fact I have more customers who prefer grain finished over grass finished. You have to provide what your customers want. I plan to keep improving on genetics, regenerative practices, and providing what customers want. And there is real value in finishing animals as young as you are, not having to go through an extra winter, less time for an injury…. Sounds like you are having real sucess
@@stringerbridgefarm3201 mainly black angus cross with Herefords, red angus. Yes grass/hay fed. Weaning weights at 650-750 lbs in 6-7 months. Feeding on high quality hay and pastures, orchard grass/Timothy
That’s really impressive. I’m still not settled on a bull or a certain direction. For now I’ve got a moderate frame cow herd, mostly Herefords. I will have at least 1 calf crop off the south poll bull. I’m keeping my eye out for the right angus bull as well. The angus x Hereford is well renowned. We will see how the south poll x Hereford compares. Thanks
In our house, myself and my oldest son prefer 100% grass fed for the more robust flavor. My wife and my daughter definitely prefer when we grain finish. It is slightly more tender and milder flavored.
Grass fed beef is certainly a different beast. When I get one that is right, good marbeling and a good fat cap, aged for two weeks it is usually great. I won’t even consider butchering one that is not very well finished. I take those and supplement with grain while they remain on pasture.
Grass finishing is an art. Finishing in the spring flush, with the right genetics is key. If you grass finish a steer that has bad genetics for it, it's impossible in my opinion.
I like your thinking though. Very logical. Grain the ones that don't perform, grass finish the ones that do! Keep breeding for the genetics. I hate that grass finished has a bad rap because farmers just don't know what to breed for. There are traits to promote, such as thin boned and big gut for faster gains and high butterfat.
@@stringerbridgefarm3201 Have you read Jan Bonsmas book? It's on Amazon for like 5 books and well worth it. Wortham Lectures. He details high butterfat and tenderness phenotypes. He was actually not invited back to the states because he was contradicting the mainstream cattle philosophies in the 60's 70's.
One thing about posting videos is that people are only seeing a 5 minute snapshot out of a lifetime of successes and failures. It’s a little frustrating when people make harsh judgments very quickly, but there is also so much encouragement and so much to learn from others that it is worth it. Thank you.
@@stringerbridgefarm3201 I agree. Keep up the good work. Looks like you have a formula that works. Where I live, we have weather that that is prime to keep the grass green and tall.
My wife's cousin raises 10 or so head of cattle at a time. They are pasture raised with some grain added as needed. The resulting meat is amazing. We buy half a cow every year. The meat is MUCH better than supermarket meat.
What you describe is probably half of the animals we sell as beef. Pasture raised but supplemented with feed for the last 3-4 months. Exceptional beef. Getting more and more folks wanting totally grass finished though. It will be interesting to see if the demand shifts one way or the other in the next few years.
Hi. Could you plant some acres to corn. In Canada some producers graze standing corn. They can start in the fall and graze all winter. In Canada the ground is frozen thru most of the winter so mud is not an issue. It may be too wet to graze corn where you are at.
No doubt about it. Before we moved farms we were pretty much there with our flock of sheep. We were about 3 years with zero worming and every ewe was raising lambs to butcher weight on pasture alone. Unfortunately we had to sell all of our animals a few years ago to sell the old farm and buy the new one. With cattle it’s a very slow process to make generational improvements. We will keep doing our best and making improvements. Thanks for watching and commenting.
Your finding out why there's very little grass fed beef! You have to have the deep bodied cattle with good thickness in the rib cage, good "spring of rib" back of the front legs. They must have capacity to consume a lot of grass. I. Don't know if there's research to show it, but I believe the difference between grass or grain fed in the fat in the carcass is due to starches that are in grains. I think that grain products without the starches, ie, distillers grains, wdg, dog, soy hulls wheat midds, and also beet pulp. All of those are high fiber, highly digestible fiber and low in starches. I would bet that cattle fed those would have fats very similar to strictly grass fed. I would be interested to see any research if anyone knows of any?
I am constantly asked why grass fed beef costs more than grain fed. Grass is free so grass fed should costs less. It’s hard to answer those questions from a non grazer. There are so many differences. At a minimum you have to consider the lower stocking density, and added year to finish. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. Thanks
@@stringerbridgefarm3201 well, when someone says grass is free, tell them you bring some cattle to their free grass, or tell them they can buy you some fence materials to put around some free grass, or how about they pay your property taxes?
I try not to be combative, even though sometimes I want to give a dissertation on it. I personally charge the same for our beef whether is grass fed or grain fed. Ultimately my costs are very similar for the two with all things considered. We charge based on hot carcass weight. The grass fed usually do not yield quite as much from hot carcass to final product, so the customer pays a little higher $ per pound on the take home.
There are some cattle ranchers in Eastern Washington who are feeding distillers grain and they do use a nutritionist to help calculate lb per head per day. From what I have heard the ranchers like it combined with hay in winter or pasture the rest of the year. There was a article about it last year I believe. There are hog producers feeding it as well.
I am familiar with this. There is a place about 45 minutes from us that will fill ibc totes with it on a first come first serve basis for $350. I haven’t tried it but I think it would be a struggle to get a steady source. I’ve heard it is great feed though? Have you tried it?
What is the plants that are light brown and the cattle are avoiding eating? Really not an ideal pasture from what I read and for my mom watched on UA-cam because the green stuff is so short and the brown stuff is so invasive: over sixty-five percent is brown stuff I estimate after watching the video.
So we are in our dormant season, all the grass is brown except the ryegrass we planted, which got burned in the arctic blast, and the white clover, which only grows a few inches tall. The clover is the highest protein so they will eat it until there is nothing left, then they will eat hay. They will eat the dead brown grass as a last resort. Unfortunately, our summers are too long and hot to have any cool season grasses naturalize like what you see further north. Thanks
@@stringerbridgefarm3201 Thanks for the reply. I figured that brown stuff was a grass and not a forb or weed. Up north, the only time the terrain will grow and ignored grass is typically on non-tillable hillside slopes. Can't economically get machinery through it and it's usually too massive great human intervention as it grows back so fast.
Have you pulled any soil samples? What are you using for minerals. Have you tried feeding bailage to get a higher protein feed while still feeding grass
I have. It is in the video from a few weeks ago titled “a look at the soil after 3 years of regenerative practices “. I use a Cattle mineral from a feed mill nearby. It is a loose mineral.
Try some of this mixed with sheep sorrel, : SAINFOIN. Sainfoin is a silage or hay crop that can be grazed. It is drought-resistant, needs no nitrogen fertiliser, mitigates bloat and is a natural anthelmintic. In times of high fertiliser, feed and vet costs, it can be of huge benefit to farmers, and the environment. Sainfoin thrives on free draining, alkaline and calcareous soils (pH6.2 or above). It is not suitable for heavy or acidic ground, cattle do really well on it for conditioning and acts as a natural wormer, because if the tanens it produces, a lot of English farmer's swear by it, the just sow it into their established pasture
I’ll look into it, but from your description it may not be a fit for our farm. We have very heavy clay soil. And the field in this video has no topsoil.
White or red clover will also add nitrogen as clover draws nitrogen from the atmosphere and stores nitrogen in rinios on their roots grazing animals by tramping releases the nitrogen, builds up your biome.
We have gotten a fair amount of rain, but we are now in our cold dormant season. We will be in spring green up soon so it will all work out in the end. Thanks!
Broom hedge grass in the pasture indicates you have a low ph less than 6 and the nutrent value of the pasture is low. Look in to extracts, compost extracta plus devercified cover crops. reference Young Red Angus videos as a starting point .
If you look back at my video titled “Regenerative Ranching” I give some details about this field. I thought the same as what you are saying, however, I took some soil samples of this field and was quite surprised at the results. The only thing this field was lacking was organic matter. The ph was 7 and all the macro nutrients were in the optimum range. It is a bit unique of a situation as this field was covered in dredged material from a nearby drainage canal/river. So my goal has been to get as much organic material in put into this soil, and hopefully start putting in some summer annuals/cover crops this coming spring. Thanks for watching and commenting.
Then look at the video of “a look at the soil after 3 years”. I give a little more info on the field, including the soil sample results, and my future plans. Thanks again.
I have 13 cows, 32 head total on about 50 acres. We are in our winter dormant season so we are feeding hay. To make things a little tougher than usual, we were in a severe drought leading up to dormant season. We were about 24 inches of rain deficit. During the growing season I have to mow the surplus that they cannot eat. Additionally these cows are all lactating.
Grass-fed genetics are the key. You can just throw any old cow on grass and expect them to grow well. Cows had most of their grass DNA breed out. Add in quality or lack of quality in the grass. you're at a loss. I raise British White Park a breed that has not been Over Breed. We have more the old world lines, and they will finish well on grass with a beautiful marble and taste. From a economic point grass is virtually free so your not out any money if your not buying hay.
I completely agree with you. I’ve seen time and again in my own sheep and cows that there are always animals that stay fat and thrive on a grass only system. Then there are the ones who struggle mightily on the same grass system. I’m trying a South Poll bull this year to see if I can make an improvement. If not I will be looking more into some heritage breeds like what you are describing. Thanks
Have you ever tried a leader/follower system, so that the animals you are trying to put a finish on can pick out all of the best forages instead of having to compete and eat a bit of everything? Definitely more work, I know.
I did do that when I had the sheep. At that time I would lead with the cattle and follow with the sheep. It worked well and I think it helped a lot with parasites too. I think the next big change I might try is summer annuals. Not sure exactly how to incorporate it and to what extent.
I certainly agree that with better forage every animal would be in better condition. However, when I compare animal of the same class, and one is clearly behind the others it makes you wonder why. It could be for several reasons such as parasites, grazing behaviors, genetic disposition…. Whatever it is, if I have 75% of the animals in that class succeed then I believe the failure has the opportunity. Now one thing you don’t want to do is to compare animals of different classes. If you have a pregnant cow nursing a 400 pound calf, you can’t compare that animal to a 2 year old steer. You need to compare that cow to other lactating cows to evaluate.
Yes, the grass finished animals always have some shade of yellow to the fat. The ones we put on grain are much less yellow, but not always pure white fat.
Did cows wean the calves naturally? Where the calves neutered at 1 year old so their natural testosterone would put bulk on them? Do you spread unroll your hay to put carbon down to feed the microorganisms and fungi and worms and other life forms that builds up your soil so the plant roots go feet down to pull more nutrients up to forages? Do you supplement with free choice minerals? Are you attempting building a strong grass genetic herd or buying inferior cattle lacking the grass genetic genes? Are you allowing your pastures to put down long root system, 5, 8, 10 feet down, by never grazing off more than 1/3 of the grasses and legumes?
I’ve experimented with castration and weaning. Most of the calves in the latest group I castrated at 6 months old, and let the cows wean naturally. I’ve castrated a few at 1 years old. I think they were effected more by the process than the younger ones, but ultimately performed better. I do not currently unroll hay. My herd can’t eat a roll in less than 3 days so they end up bedding on it a waste more than if I leave it in a bale. Next year I should have enough cows to unroll. I do take the wasted gss as y and spread it out a little and it does wonders for soil improvement. Our pastures are mostly Bahia grass, and I find we are grazing closer to 50%. Mostly because I work a full time job and I never seem to be able to rotate at exactly the right time.
Three things. First, the pasture in this video is substandard as far as being sufficient to graze grass-only cattle on it. The cattle look undernourished. Second, the grass pasture only model of Management Intensive Grazing for beef cattle has been successfully practiced in every climate that the planet has to offer, outside of the Antarctic & the Artic. From the tropics, to the temperate climes in both the Southern Hemisphere, and the Northern Hemisphere. If it is not working for you, or someone that you know, then your/their management practices are incorrect at some point. Don't blame the system, but instead look for the exact reason/reasons that are stopping MIG from working on your farm/ranch. Third, as a former restaurant chef, I can state unequivocally that grass fed beef is going to require a modification of expectations as regards to the dining experience. The post-WWII model of industrialized, commoditized, vertically integrated, beef cattle farming has habituated most human beings to an unnatural eating experience with regards to extremely tender, fat marbled beef that simply does not exist in the natural world. PERIOD. Over 75% of the world's beef production goes into ground beef, destined primarily for hamburgers. It's easy to add additional fat to the ground up tougher cuts of a steer in order to create a more tender, more flavorable dining experience. Truly tender grass fed beef that rivals the mouth feel of grain fed beef can only come from one source, and that's veal. It's simply not feasible economically to try and satisfy the world's insatiable hunger for tender beef by slaughtering a cow at a very young age before it has developed the tougher muscles of an adolescent/adult cow. Or before female/male hormones start kicking in during adolescence, causing the baby cow's muscles to mature into the stronger, tougher eating muscles of adolescence, and ultimately adulthood. Grass fed beef should NEVER be cooked past the medium rare stage, preferably rare. Unless, braising, or pressure cooking, is going to be the method of cooking. Long, slow, low-temperature barbecuing is also another option for grass fed beef. Any method of cooking that quickly shrinks the collagen fibers, and connective tissues, in a piece of grass fed beef is going to result in a tough, unpleasant eating experience.
Thanks for all the information. In regards to the pasture, we have about 2 months that we do not have adequate grazing, which is now. So we feed hay during this period. Additionally, every cow in this group is nursing a calf save 1, and every cow is bred back to calve this summer. The cattle do pick up condition when the grass is actively growing.
And I completely agree that the average consumer does not understand or is not informed well enough to fully enjoy grass fed beef. So ultimately a producer has to provide what the customer wants.
@@stringerbridgefarm3201 Yep! I'm in the same boat. All the forage is gone, even in my last stockpiled paddock, pasture is heavily manured end to end. It's a hay game till the end of February.
I think it’s one of those things that can help if used properly or hurt if used carelessly. I’ve always kept the best bull calf intact from each calf crop. But I have never used one of my own bulls to breed to our herd. Maybe one of these will make make the cut this time.
I’ll always keep experimenting. The dexter in this video is the reason why we have moved away from dexters. Probably only half of the dexter steers were turning out like we needed. I’ve tried angus and Hereford. Hereford has performed very well. This year I added a south poll bull. I may try something new next year unless the south poll blow me away.
@@stringerbridgefarm3201 same here where I am,nearly all the dexter are very dairylike, just know one farmer who switched to speckle park and he's so happy with them on below average land,yellow mud,and they look good medium sized beef animals.
The tough part for me is fall. We often get a bad drought in late summer so our stockpile grass is poor quality. Then because of the fall drought we haven’t been able to establish winter annuals until late. So this leaves us with very poor quality forage from October through the end of the year. Filling this gap with quality forage would go a long way for me.
Where I am located, in Louisiana along the gulf coast, we cannot grow alfalfa. I could get it trucked in from other locations but the cost is astronomical.
You need to subscribe to Greg Judy's channel and see how to raise grass fed beef. The other video you need to watch is the Groundswell presentation by Dr. Williams, Gabe Brown, and their colleague Shane . Cattle are just tools. Real science is learning what needs to happen below the soil. The breed of animal you choose to Grass finish is only a small part of the equation. Get soil biology right to grow healthier plants will raise healthier animals and completely change your eating experience. Most of the time, we farmers want to blame lack of knowledge and experience on the animals when really it comes back to our management.
Thanks for the suggestions. I am familiar with Greg Judy and Gabe Brown and their methodologies. There are a couple of key differences between a Greg Judy situation and someone in the gulf south. Obviously I haven’t mastered the particulars of my situation but sharing with others, receiving advice, and constantly learning from success and failures will hopefully keep us moving forward. Back to the differences we have vs the Midwest. The biggest difference is that we do not have any perennial cool season grasses that can survive our summers. I normally remedy this with annual ryegrass. This summer we ran a rainfall deficit of ~25 inches leading into fall. This delayed planting of ryegrass. What’s worse is that our warm season grass does not stockpile with any retained nutritive value. So in the south we are looking for ways to combat these issues. For now, I’m feeding hay and waiting on my ryegrass and clover to recover from the arctic blasts. In the future I will explore other annuals that can bridge these gaps. As far as blaming animals, it’s a tough analysis. When you look at my herd, your seeing everything from 15 year old pregnant cows nursing calves to 2 year old heifers, every age steer to newborn calves. I try my best to compare animals of the same class. So for now I have 6 steers the same age as the one I say is failing. In the given system(good,bad,or ugly). He is the only one showing hip and rib. In the ideal situation maybe I can grass finish 100%. If I had even 50% failing I would not hold it against the animal. But 1 out of 6 I tend to blame the animal, which is only a change in how I market that animal. He will get a nice ration of grain feed and likely grade choice by the time he goes to butcher. Thanks again for the suggestions and conversation.
My friend has Dexter's and they are all skinny. Are you worming? If not try Basic H in water 3 consecutive days a month. Salatin uses it, as do I. Free choice minerals from Free Choice Enterprises also make a difference. If a animal is mineral deficient they can consume up to 50% more forage to maintain. To me it does look like you have some mineral issues due to rough hair coats. Also based on the ferocity in which they are grabbing grass I would say your letting them get hungry. Unless you have tested your hay don't trust it has enough feed value for what your cows need. I have bought a lot of "made right horse hay" that my cows wouldn't eat. I don't buy hay unless I see a analysis first. As for breeds, you have to breed for what works with you. We are the predator, we HAVE to cull hard and breed right for our purpose. How is that 2yr old Dexter steer making you money when you could be raising 2 younger calves on the grass he is eating? Most animals don't "get" better. If they are falling out, move them. Quicker the better.
I have such mixed feelings about the dexters. They make some amazing beef, but they are not really a beef breed. It makes them difficult to really finish them consistently. Ultimately I’ve moved away from the dexters and the brown one is the last pure dexter. All of last years calf crop is 50% dexter and 50% Hereford. That has been a notable improvement over just dexter. The current crop that is in the oven is all sired by black angus or south poll. I do keep free choice mineral out for them at all times. I also deworm on an as needed basis. I deworm the entire herd when needed. I have a line(3 generations) that are the worst offenders on lacking parasite resistance. Like you suggested, I will not be breeding these cows back, They will go in with the steers and be finished for butchering after they raise their calves. Thanks for taking the time to share you thoughts.
I wish I could. But with an off farm job, short winter days, and 3 kids to chase around there are a lot of evenings I can’t get home before dark. So I do the best I can which is rotating them every 2-3 days.
Learning to be flexible was (is 😂) one of the hardest lessons I've been learning since starting our farm. It's a business and you figure out how to make it work... or fail. I prefer the former.
No doubt. I want to be a good steward of the land and the animals. This doesn’t always follow idealistic practices. We do our best and adapt to survive. Fortunately, I have an off farm job that pays most of our bills while we are growing and learning our farm business. At some point I would love to be able to pursue my passion of farming full time.
Finishing livestock on pasture is like pushing water up hill. It takes some really high quality pasture to even have a hope of pulling this off. The pasture in the video is clearly not capable of producing a high quality eating experience. The cattle in the video could benefit from 120 days on a high energy grain ration.
That is correct. We are in our dormant season, and just had the worst cold snap in 100 years in our area. Really set back the clover and ryegrass. Right now we are feeding hay. Hoping that we can start with some good grazing in a month or so. I’ll feed grain if I need to to the steers we will butcher next summer . Thanks
@@stringerbridgefarm3201 that cold snap burned our rye grass down to the ground also. from reading these posts i would say that not many of them are very familiar with raising cattle cattle in our area. it's just not like what they see Greg Judy and the other have to work with, we dont have those good soils or different grasses that they have. i feel your pain (from SE MS). Dont feel bad about fertilizing your grass and grain feeding your cattle to finish them, because that what it takes to produce a quality beef in our area.....in my humble opinion.
Agreed, this needs to be discussed with whoever is purchasing the animal. I have a customer base for grass finished, and a customer base for grain finished. All stay on pasture the entire time. If an animal doesn’t seem to be performing well on grass alone they will go into the grain finishing group until they have adequate fat cover. This is usually 3-5 months.
Sometimes I mow the weeds, sometimes I do not. I like experts see what happens. This past year I left more weeds than normal. The positive result was that the clover persisted longer into the summer, the negative was that I ended up with more weeds. Thanks
Good analysis and good advice. When I was a grass-based dairy farmer feeding grain in the parlor, I was very successful marketing my open cows as high quality beef. Grazing and eating grain in the parlor and without the burden of a growing calf, the open cows filled out wonderfully. Even seven and eight year-old cows were excellent eating. Taste comes from age, tenderness comes from rapid weight gain prior to slaughter.
Sounds like you had it going on. Mature animals can definitely pack the pounds on very quickly if they are getting groceries, either good grass or feed.
Mature cows in good body condition are the money maker if you direct market.
@@bradharris2503 And nearly worthless at the sale barn if dairy cows.
I try my best not to bring anything to the stock yard auction. I butcher steers, sell or keep heifers, and butcher older or problematic cows after fattening up. If I get something that just can’t put weight on and I don’t feel good about selling it, then it goes into my freezer.
We're experimenting with different breeds right now but found HighlandxLimo cross do best on our grass. What I found most important was culling out those lean cows and keeping our own bulls within the farm and not going elsewhere for genetics until absolutely necessary. When we do, we stay in the neighbourhood with people on the same program with similar pastures. The genetics you can build within your own farm and grasses is just amazing.
Sounds awesome, I’ve culled a couple cows every year. Have a couple this year as well. It’s a slow process with cows. We were able to make those improvements quickly with our sheep because they could have their first lambs at 12 months old.
Hi , to me , you pasture pictures tell a story. 1 the cattle are telling you we don't like the stalky brown grasses. All were eating the short grasses. Hard to tell clover content, but it is a must for grass finishing.
Grasses need spelling 30 to 35 days before feeding on. Therefore subdivision with temporary electric fencing and daily shifts onto longer fresh grass. I would also harrow the paddocks after grazing to spread manure. Reduces soured ground and increases fertility. Your cows soon get use to it . Always spread out your hay enough for the day. Spreads seeds and reduces damage to the ground. Not much more work can be completed within the hour. Cows and farm love the system.
Cheers Grant from New Zealand
Thanks for all the information. The tall brown grass you are referring to is big bluestem, also know locally as broomsedge. Our animals eat it a little when it’s young and vegetative, but it is very low on the preference list and I usually end up mowing it.
I 100% agree about the clover. It has been a little later than normal to establish this winter due to the severe summer/fall drought we had. But nothing puts weight on our animals like clover, it is the best, and coming in pretty nice since I posted this video.
We also have an amazing big population on our place. During the warmer months, our cow Pattie’s disappear within about 5 days from bug action. They hang around much longer in the cool season. I would like to find an easy way to spread them in the winter without damaging the soft wet ground.
I have a full time off farm job, So my rotation schedule is more like move the herd every 2-3 days, with portable electric. Thanks again for taking the time to comment, I really enjoy hearing thoughts and ideas from others.
I’ve never finished on grass, but felt they needed to be on very high quality grazing to maximize marbling. Maybe hook up with a crop farmer that has a cover crops that he can grazed.
@@tomtibbits4423 , hi here in New Zealand in the Manawatu, lower north island, we are totally a grass fed finishing system. Male cattle need to reach a 300kg carcass,this takes 22 to 27 months if raised on the flats. The majority of new Zealand is hill country. These cattle ore exported mainly to Asia. Bull beef is exported to the USA as 95% chemical lean meat to be mixed with your fat trimmings from feedlot finished meat, Burgers stews and mince.
Heifers are raised to a carcass of 200 kg for local trade meat for sale in NZ. They are often 18 to 24 months of age. All are always finished on grass.
We do have 1 feedlot in NZ, owned by the Japanese,to finish Angus beef for their own market.
Grain is very expensive here so destroys the profit from raising beef if fed here.
@@grantirvine6098 thank you for the reply. I know many intensive grazing methods being introduced in the states have been inspired by the grazing practices of New Zealand.
We had primarily, hereford and angus. Some charolais. They were all grass fed. After weaning, we would transfer to what we call fattening pens. These were pastures that had knee high grass. Primarily kikuyu grass and what we call buffalo grass. I think rotation and head per acre helps. And of course, he weather that keeps the grass a foot high. Probably no more than 20 per 30acre of grass. They bulked up pretty well. I've traveled across some of the grazing areas in the states, very similar yours. In some cases sparse. It is perplexing how the cattle survives. But was told they eventually will be transferred to fattening pens, grain fed.
Sounds like some productive land. Where I’m located, the primary warm season grass is Bahia. I don’t think it would get a foot tall if I fertilized and let it grow all summer. It gets about 8-10 inches tall then we graze it to 3-4 inches. Unless it’s a drought, it’s fully recovered in about 3 weeks.
I plan to start experimenting with summer annuals and other forages besides our native summer grasses.
Thanks for sharing.
@@stringerbridgefarm3201 do you know what is the protein analysis is on your grass?
At its peak the Bahia is about 11-12%. We have a small amount of other grasses that are a little higher, like Dallas and Bermuda. What puts the weight on our animals is the clover and rye that grows until about June or July when they burn up from the heat. Clover and rye are generally 20%
There are great resources out there, some names were mentioned in other comments.
Yes, I am familiar with most of the folks and practices mentioned. Getting everything clicking all at once is a different story. Seems like there is always something, Drought, freezes, army worms, you name it, something is always out there trying to derail you. One certain thing is it’s always interesting. Thanks
@@stringerbridgefarm3201 keep observing and learning, that's how everyone else started. There is no silver bullet, but following the basic principles will get you on the right track. Good on you for trying, don't give up.
Thanks
With a black and black baldy grain finished 150 days at around 1400 lbs. we are hitting 80% prime at 16 to 18 months. Our Angus bulls are 1.25 plus EPD for marbling and 1.0 plus EPD for ribeye. Genetics and corn result in yield and grade.
I agree, corn can really speed things up. I’m not opposed to grain finishing my animals. In fact I have more customers who prefer grain finished over grass finished. You have to provide what your customers want. I plan to keep improving on genetics, regenerative practices, and providing what customers want. And there is real value in finishing animals as young as you are, not having to go through an extra winter, less time for an injury…. Sounds like you are having real sucess
We are butchering at 20-22 months and getting consistent hanging weights in the 700-800 range with good fats and marbling.
That’s really impressive. What breed of cattle are you running? Are you a grass only operation?
@@stringerbridgefarm3201 mainly black angus cross with Herefords, red angus.
Yes grass/hay fed. Weaning weights at 650-750 lbs in 6-7 months. Feeding on high quality hay and pastures, orchard grass/Timothy
That’s really impressive. I’m still not settled on a bull or a certain direction. For now I’ve got a moderate frame cow herd, mostly Herefords. I will have at least 1 calf crop off the south poll bull. I’m keeping my eye out for the right angus bull as well. The angus x Hereford is well renowned. We will see how the south poll x Hereford compares. Thanks
Best beef I've ever eaten had two weeks of supplemental grain before slaughter.
In our house, myself and my oldest son prefer 100% grass fed for the more robust flavor. My wife and my daughter definitely prefer when we grain finish. It is slightly more tender and milder flavored.
@@stringerbridgefarm3201 I find elk has less game taste than grass fed beef.
You cant compare it like that, because elk is better than all the beef I’ve ever eaten.
We butchered one that I completely grass-fed and it was so dang tough I'll never do it again.
Grass fed beef is certainly a different beast. When I get one that is right, good marbeling and a good fat cap, aged for two weeks it is usually great. I won’t even consider butchering one that is not very well finished. I take those and supplement with grain while they remain on pasture.
Grass finishing is an art. Finishing in the spring flush, with the right genetics is key. If you grass finish a steer that has bad genetics for it, it's impossible in my opinion.
I’ve definitely had some that won’t finish, even on the best spring clover and grass.
I like your thinking though. Very logical. Grain the ones that don't perform, grass finish the ones that do! Keep breeding for the genetics. I hate that grass finished has a bad rap because farmers just don't know what to breed for. There are traits to promote, such as thin boned and big gut for faster gains and high butterfat.
It is strange how some animals thrive on grass only, and others struggle mightily.
@@stringerbridgefarm3201 Have you read Jan Bonsmas book? It's on Amazon for like 5 books and well worth it. Wortham Lectures. He details high butterfat and tenderness phenotypes. He was actually not invited back to the states because he was contradicting the mainstream cattle philosophies in the 60's 70's.
I have not. Sounds interesting. Thanks
Did see some of your recent videos, looks like you are experiencing some success
One thing about posting videos is that people are only seeing a 5 minute snapshot out of a lifetime of successes and failures. It’s a little frustrating when people make harsh judgments very quickly, but there is also so much encouragement and so much to learn from others that it is worth it. Thank you.
@@stringerbridgefarm3201 I agree. Keep up the good work. Looks like you have a formula that works. Where I live, we have weather that that is prime to keep the grass green and tall.
My wife's cousin raises 10 or so head of cattle at a time. They are pasture raised with some grain added as needed. The resulting meat is amazing. We buy half a cow every year. The meat is MUCH better than supermarket meat.
What you describe is probably half of the animals we sell as beef. Pasture raised but supplemented with feed for the last 3-4 months. Exceptional beef. Getting more and more folks wanting totally grass finished though. It will be interesting to see if the demand shifts one way or the other in the next few years.
Hi. Could you plant some acres to corn. In Canada some producers graze standing corn. They can start in the fall and graze all winter. In Canada the ground is frozen thru most of the winter so mud is not an issue. It may be too wet to graze corn where you are at.
I’m not sure standing corn would survive the wildlife here. The wild hogs have a taste for corn.
@@stringerbridgefarm3201 I never thought of that.
A ounce of breeding is worth a ton of feeding
For sure.
You have to have proper grass genetics. This guy has a lot of work ahead of him
No doubt about it. Before we moved farms we were pretty much there with our flock of sheep. We were about 3 years with zero worming and every ewe was raising lambs to butcher weight on pasture alone. Unfortunately we had to sell all of our animals a few years ago to sell the old farm and buy the new one. With cattle it’s a very slow process to make generational improvements. We will keep doing our best and making improvements. Thanks for watching and commenting.
Your finding out why there's very little grass fed beef!
You have to have the deep bodied cattle with good thickness in the rib cage, good "spring of rib" back of the front legs. They must have capacity to consume a lot of grass.
I. Don't know if there's research to show it, but I believe the difference between grass or grain fed in the fat in the carcass is due to starches that are in grains. I think that grain products without the starches, ie, distillers grains, wdg, dog, soy hulls wheat midds, and also beet pulp. All of those are high fiber, highly digestible fiber and low in starches. I would bet that cattle fed those would have fats very similar to strictly grass fed. I would be interested to see any research if anyone knows of any?
I am constantly asked why grass fed beef costs more than grain fed. Grass is free so grass fed should costs less. It’s hard to answer those questions from a non grazer. There are so many differences. At a minimum you have to consider the lower stocking density, and added year to finish. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. Thanks
@@stringerbridgefarm3201 well, when someone says grass is free, tell them you bring some cattle to their free grass, or tell them they can buy you some fence materials to put around some free grass, or how about they pay your property taxes?
I try not to be combative, even though sometimes I want to give a dissertation on it. I personally charge the same for our beef whether is grass fed or grain fed. Ultimately my costs are very similar for the two with all things considered. We charge based on hot carcass weight. The grass fed usually do not yield quite as much from hot carcass to final product, so the customer pays a little higher $ per pound on the take home.
There are some cattle ranchers in Eastern Washington who are feeding distillers grain and they do use a nutritionist to help calculate lb per head per day. From what I have heard the ranchers like it combined with hay in winter or pasture the rest of the year. There was a article about it last year I believe. There are hog producers feeding it as well.
I am familiar with this. There is a place about 45 minutes from us that will fill ibc totes with it on a first come first serve basis for $350. I haven’t tried it but I think it would be a struggle to get a steady source. I’ve heard it is great feed though? Have you tried it?
What is the plants that are light brown and the cattle are avoiding eating?
Really not an ideal pasture from what I read and for my mom watched on UA-cam because the green stuff is so short and the brown stuff is so invasive: over sixty-five percent is brown stuff I estimate after watching the video.
So we are in our dormant season, all the grass is brown except the ryegrass we planted, which got burned in the arctic blast, and the white clover, which only grows a few inches tall. The clover is the highest protein so they will eat it until there is nothing left, then they will eat hay. They will eat the dead brown grass as a last resort. Unfortunately, our summers are too long and hot to have any cool season grasses naturalize like what you see further north.
Thanks
@@stringerbridgefarm3201
Thanks for the reply.
I figured that brown stuff was a grass and not a forb or weed. Up north, the only time the terrain will grow and ignored grass is typically on non-tillable hillside slopes. Can't economically get machinery through it and it's usually too massive great human intervention as it grows back so fast.
Have you pulled any soil samples? What are you using for minerals. Have you tried feeding bailage to get a higher protein feed while still feeding grass
I have. It is in the video from a few weeks ago titled “a look at the soil after 3 years of regenerative practices “. I use a Cattle mineral from a feed mill nearby. It is a loose mineral.
Try some of this mixed with sheep sorrel, : SAINFOIN. Sainfoin is a silage or hay crop that can be grazed. It is drought-resistant, needs no nitrogen fertiliser, mitigates bloat and is a natural anthelmintic. In times of high fertiliser, feed and vet costs, it can be of huge benefit to farmers, and the environment. Sainfoin thrives on free draining, alkaline and calcareous soils (pH6.2 or above). It is not suitable for heavy or acidic ground, cattle do really well on it for conditioning and acts as a natural wormer, because if the tanens it produces, a lot of English farmer's swear by it, the just sow it into their established pasture
I’ll look into it, but from your description it may not be a fit for our farm. We have very heavy clay soil. And the field in this video has no topsoil.
@@stringerbridgefarm3201 wavy hairgrass 5.0 0.050
certified meadow foxtail 5.0 0.050
certified rough stalked meadowgrass 5.0 0.050
certified crested dogstail 10.0 0.100
certified common bentgrass 20.0 0.200
certifed red/chewings fescue 20.0 0.200
certified BORNITO sheeps fescue 20.0 0.200
Lesser Knapweed (Centaurea nigra) 2.3 0.023
Self Heal (Prunella vulgaris) 2.0 0.020
Ladys Bedstraw (Galium verum) 1.5 0.015
Ox-eye Daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare) 1.5 0.015
Betony (Stachys officinalis) 1.0 0.010
Ribwort Plantain (Plantago lanceolata) 1.0 0.010
Meadow Buttercup 1.0 0.010
Sheeps Sorrel 1.0 0.010
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) 1.0 0.010
Yellow Rattle (Rhinanthus minor) 1.0 0.010
Meadowsweet 0.7 0.007
native ESSEX red clover 0.5 0.005
Meadow vetchling
These are all suitable for acid and clay soil, all also have herbal remedies minerals as different plants draw up different minerals, gook luck from Ireland.
Thanks for the info. I’m thinking I will try a couple different blends to see what works.
White or red clover will also add nitrogen as clover draws nitrogen from the atmosphere and stores nitrogen in rinios on their roots grazing animals by tramping releases the nitrogen, builds up your biome.
Yea, clovers are great and do well on our place in the winter and spring. High protein too so it really puts the weight on animals too.
Are you in a drought or just before winter . Those grass are very short to have the quality to grow properly .
We were in a drought of about 24-25 inch rain deficit leading into winter. We are feeding hay now.
Sorry to hear that in such times it s battle to feed cattle . Hope rain come very soon
We have gotten a fair amount of rain, but we are now in our cold dormant season. We will be in spring green up soon so it will all work out in the end. Thanks!
@@stringerbridgefarm3201 and as farmers always said . Which year is the best. .....next year !!!!
Broom hedge grass in the pasture indicates you have a low ph less than 6 and the nutrent value of the pasture is low. Look in to extracts, compost extracta plus devercified cover crops. reference Young Red Angus videos as a starting point .
If you look back at my video titled “Regenerative Ranching” I give some details about this field. I thought the same as what you are saying, however, I took some soil samples of this field and was quite surprised at the results. The only thing this field was lacking was organic matter. The ph was 7 and all the macro nutrients were in the optimum range. It is a bit unique of a situation as this field was covered in dredged material from a nearby drainage canal/river. So my goal has been to get as much organic material in put into this soil, and hopefully start putting in some summer annuals/cover crops this coming spring. Thanks for watching and commenting.
Then look at the video of “a look at the soil after 3 years”. I give a little more info on the field, including the soil sample results, and my future plans. Thanks again.
How many animals on how handy acres? Maybe thats the problem. as to how lean some cattle are. Please a=explain.
I have 13 cows, 32 head total on about 50 acres. We are in our winter dormant season so we are feeding hay. To make things a little tougher than usual, we were in a severe drought leading up to dormant season. We were about 24 inches of rain deficit. During the growing season I have to mow the surplus that they cannot eat. Additionally these cows are all lactating.
Grass-fed genetics are the key. You can just throw any old cow on grass and expect them to grow well. Cows had most of their grass DNA breed out. Add in quality or lack of quality in the grass. you're at a loss. I raise British White Park a breed that has not been Over Breed. We have more the old world lines, and they will finish well on grass with a beautiful marble and taste. From a economic point grass is virtually free so your not out any money if your not buying hay.
I completely agree with you. I’ve seen time and again in my own sheep and cows that there are always animals that stay fat and thrive on a grass only system. Then there are the ones who struggle mightily on the same grass system. I’m trying a South Poll bull this year to see if I can make an improvement. If not I will be looking more into some heritage breeds like what you are describing. Thanks
Have you ever tried a leader/follower system, so that the animals you are trying to put a finish on can pick out all of the best forages instead of having to compete and eat a bit of everything? Definitely more work, I know.
I did do that when I had the sheep. At that time I would lead with the cattle and follow with the sheep. It worked well and I think it helped a lot with parasites too. I think the next big change I might try is summer annuals. Not sure exactly how to incorporate it and to what extent.
Do you think it's because the grass isn't fully grown? Perhaps thats why the cows aren't getting all the nutrients grass has to offer.
I certainly agree that with better forage every animal would be in better condition. However, when I compare animal of the same class, and one is clearly behind the others it makes you wonder why. It could be for several reasons such as parasites, grazing behaviors, genetic disposition…. Whatever it is, if I have 75% of the animals in that class succeed then I believe the failure has the opportunity. Now one thing you don’t want to do is to compare animals of different classes. If you have a pregnant cow nursing a 400 pound calf, you can’t compare that animal to a 2 year old steer. You need to compare that cow to other lactating cows to evaluate.
You mentioned yellow fat, is that typical for you even on your well finished animals?
Yes, the grass finished animals always have some shade of yellow to the fat. The ones we put on grain are much less yellow, but not always pure white fat.
Did cows wean the calves naturally?
Where the calves neutered at 1 year old so their natural testosterone would put bulk on them?
Do you spread unroll your hay to put carbon down to feed the microorganisms and fungi and worms and other life forms that builds up your soil so the plant roots go feet down to pull more nutrients up to forages?
Do you supplement with free choice minerals?
Are you attempting building a strong grass genetic herd or buying inferior cattle lacking the grass genetic genes?
Are you allowing your pastures to put down long root system, 5, 8, 10 feet down, by never grazing off more than 1/3 of the grasses and legumes?
I’ve experimented with castration and weaning. Most of the calves in the latest group I castrated at 6 months old, and let the cows wean naturally. I’ve castrated a few at 1 years old. I think they were effected more by the process than the younger ones, but ultimately performed better.
I do not currently unroll hay. My herd can’t eat a roll in less than 3 days so they end up bedding on it a waste more than if I leave it in a bale. Next year I should have enough cows to unroll. I do take the wasted gss as y and spread it out a little and it does wonders for soil improvement.
Our pastures are mostly Bahia grass, and I find we are grazing closer to 50%. Mostly because I work a full time job and I never seem to be able to rotate at exactly the right time.
Yes on free choice mineral and salt.
At what age do you steer them?
I’ve tried a few different ages. I’ve kind of settled on 7-8 months of age to castrate them.
@@stringerbridgefarm3201 Ahh, was wondering if you were steering early. I think that's about right as well.
Three things.
First, the pasture in this video is substandard as far as being sufficient to graze grass-only cattle on it. The cattle look undernourished.
Second, the grass pasture only model of Management Intensive Grazing for beef cattle has been successfully practiced in every climate that the planet has to offer, outside of the Antarctic & the Artic. From the tropics, to the temperate climes in both the Southern Hemisphere, and the Northern Hemisphere. If it is not working for you, or someone that you know, then your/their management practices are incorrect at some point. Don't blame the system, but instead look for the exact reason/reasons that are stopping MIG from working on your farm/ranch.
Third, as a former restaurant chef, I can state unequivocally that grass fed beef is going to require a modification of expectations as regards to the dining experience. The post-WWII model of industrialized, commoditized, vertically integrated, beef cattle farming has habituated most human beings to an unnatural eating experience with regards to extremely tender, fat marbled beef that simply does not exist in the natural world. PERIOD. Over 75% of the world's beef production goes into ground beef, destined primarily for hamburgers. It's easy to add additional fat to the ground up tougher cuts of a steer in order to create a more tender, more flavorable dining experience.
Truly tender grass fed beef that rivals the mouth feel of grain fed beef can only come from one source, and that's veal. It's simply not feasible economically to try and satisfy the world's insatiable hunger for tender beef by slaughtering a cow at a very young age before it has developed the tougher muscles of an adolescent/adult cow. Or before female/male hormones start kicking in during adolescence, causing the baby cow's muscles to mature into the stronger, tougher eating muscles of adolescence, and ultimately adulthood.
Grass fed beef should NEVER be cooked past the medium rare stage, preferably rare. Unless, braising, or pressure cooking, is going to be the method of cooking. Long, slow, low-temperature barbecuing is also another option for grass fed beef. Any method of cooking that quickly shrinks the collagen fibers, and connective tissues, in a piece of grass fed beef is going to result in a tough, unpleasant eating experience.
Thanks for all the information. In regards to the pasture, we have about 2 months that we do not have adequate grazing, which is now. So we feed hay during this period. Additionally, every cow in this group is nursing a calf save 1, and every cow is bred back to calve this summer. The cattle do pick up condition when the grass is actively growing.
And I completely agree that the average consumer does not understand or is not informed well enough to fully enjoy grass fed beef. So ultimately a producer has to provide what the customer wants.
@@stringerbridgefarm3201 Yep! I'm in the same boat. All the forage is gone, even in my last stockpiled paddock, pasture is heavily manured end to end. It's a hay game till the end of February.
Yep, same here. My clover and rye are starting to kick in pretty good, so the hay bales are lasting a little longer. Won’t be long till spring now
I would think keeping your own bulls would help breed the Grass DNA back in.
I think it’s one of those things that can help if used properly or hurt if used carelessly. I’ve always kept the best bull calf intact from each calf crop. But I have never used one of my own bulls to breed to our herd. Maybe one of these will make make the cut this time.
Have you got the right breed,some of them look very dairylike.hae you tried speckle park,lowline angus,Galloway.red devon etc.
I’ll always keep experimenting. The dexter in this video is the reason why we have moved away from dexters. Probably only half of the dexter steers were turning out like we needed. I’ve tried angus and Hereford. Hereford has performed very well. This year I added a south poll bull. I may try something new next year unless the south poll blow me away.
@@stringerbridgefarm3201 same here where I am,nearly all the dexter are very dairylike, just know one farmer who switched to speckle park and he's so happy with them on below average land,yellow mud,and they look good medium sized beef animals.
The tough part for me is fall. We often get a bad drought in late summer so our stockpile grass is poor quality. Then because of the fall drought we haven’t been able to establish winter annuals until late. So this leaves us with very poor quality forage from October through the end of the year. Filling this gap with quality forage would go a long way for me.
@@stringerbridgefarm3201 do you not make some of that high quality hay that ye have in USA, I think its called alfalfa. Can't grow it here in ireland.
Where I am located, in Louisiana along the gulf coast, we cannot grow alfalfa. I could get it trucked in from other locations but the cost is astronomical.
You need to subscribe to Greg Judy's channel and see how to raise grass fed beef. The other video you need to watch is the Groundswell presentation by Dr. Williams, Gabe Brown, and their colleague Shane . Cattle are just tools. Real science is learning what needs to happen below the soil. The breed of animal you choose to Grass finish is only a small part of the equation. Get soil biology right to grow healthier plants will raise healthier animals and completely change your eating experience. Most of the time, we farmers want to blame lack of knowledge and experience on the animals when really it comes back to our management.
Thanks for the suggestions. I am familiar with Greg Judy and Gabe Brown and their methodologies. There are a couple of key differences between a Greg Judy situation and someone in the gulf south. Obviously I haven’t mastered the particulars of my situation but sharing with others, receiving advice, and constantly learning from success and failures will hopefully keep us moving forward. Back to the differences we have vs the Midwest. The biggest difference is that we do not have any perennial cool season grasses that can survive our summers. I normally remedy this with annual ryegrass. This summer we ran a rainfall deficit of ~25 inches leading into fall. This delayed planting of ryegrass. What’s worse is that our warm season grass does not stockpile with any retained nutritive value. So in the south we are looking for ways to combat these issues. For now, I’m feeding hay and waiting on my ryegrass and clover to recover from the arctic blasts. In the future I will explore other annuals that can bridge these gaps.
As far as blaming animals, it’s a tough analysis. When you look at my herd, your seeing everything from 15 year old pregnant cows nursing calves to 2 year old heifers, every age steer to newborn calves. I try my best to compare animals of the same class. So for now I have 6 steers the same age as the one I say is failing. In the given system(good,bad,or ugly). He is the only one showing hip and rib. In the ideal situation maybe I can grass finish 100%. If I had even 50% failing I would not hold it against the animal. But 1 out of 6 I tend to blame the animal, which is only a change in how I market that animal. He will get a nice ration of grain feed and likely grade choice by the time he goes to butcher. Thanks again for the suggestions and conversation.
My friend has Dexter's and they are all skinny. Are you worming? If not try Basic H in water 3 consecutive days a month. Salatin uses it, as do I. Free choice minerals from Free Choice Enterprises also make a difference. If a animal is mineral deficient they can consume up to 50% more forage to maintain. To me it does look like you have some mineral issues due to rough hair coats. Also based on the ferocity in which they are grabbing grass I would say your letting them get hungry. Unless you have tested your hay don't trust it has enough feed value for what your cows need. I have bought a lot of "made right horse hay" that my cows wouldn't eat. I don't buy hay unless I see a analysis first. As for breeds, you have to breed for what works with you. We are the predator, we HAVE to cull hard and breed right for our purpose. How is that 2yr old Dexter steer making you money when you could be raising 2 younger calves on the grass he is eating? Most animals don't "get" better. If they are falling out, move them. Quicker the better.
Also Allen Nation "Grassfed to Finish" . Will help anyone understand finishing much better. Keep up the good work and progress!!!
I have such mixed feelings about the dexters. They make some amazing beef, but they are not really a beef breed. It makes them difficult to really finish them consistently. Ultimately I’ve moved away from the dexters and the brown one is the last pure dexter. All of last years calf crop is 50% dexter and 50% Hereford. That has been a notable improvement over just dexter. The current crop that is in the oven is all sired by black angus or south poll.
I do keep free choice mineral out for them at all times. I also deworm on an as needed basis. I deworm the entire herd when needed. I have a line(3 generations) that are the worst offenders on lacking parasite resistance. Like you suggested, I will not be breeding these cows back, They will go in with the steers and be finished for butchering after they raise their calves.
Thanks for taking the time to share you thoughts.
Thanks so much. I’ll look into it.
You need to bunch those cows up and move them daily to new paddocks.
I wish I could. But with an off farm job, short winter days, and 3 kids to chase around there are a lot of evenings I can’t get home before dark. So I do the best I can which is rotating them every 2-3 days.
Learning to be flexible was (is 😂) one of the hardest lessons I've been learning since starting our farm.
It's a business and you figure out how to make it work... or fail. I prefer the former.
No doubt. I want to be a good steward of the land and the animals. This doesn’t always follow idealistic practices. We do our best and adapt to survive. Fortunately, I have an off farm job that pays most of our bills while we are growing and learning our farm business. At some point I would love to be able to pursue my passion of farming full time.
@@stringerbridgefarm3201 wouldn't we all......i like working but i love farming
Finishing livestock on pasture is like pushing water up hill. It takes some really high quality pasture to even have a hope of pulling this off. The pasture in the video is clearly not capable of producing a high quality eating experience. The cattle in the video could benefit from 120 days on a high energy grain ration.
That is correct. We are in our dormant season, and just had the worst cold snap in 100 years in our area. Really set back the clover and ryegrass. Right now we are feeding hay. Hoping that we can start with some good grazing in a month or so. I’ll feed grain if I need to to the steers we will butcher next summer . Thanks
@@stringerbridgefarm3201 that cold snap burned our rye grass down to the ground also. from reading these posts i would say that not many of them are very familiar with raising cattle cattle in our area. it's just not like what they see Greg Judy and the other have to work with, we dont have those good soils or different grasses that they have. i feel your pain (from SE MS). Dont feel bad about fertilizing your grass and grain feeding your cattle to finish them, because that what it takes to produce a quality beef in our area.....in my humble opinion.
Thanks so much for the encouragement!!
120 days if grain is not grass fed beef.
Agreed, this needs to be discussed with whoever is purchasing the animal. I have a customer base for grass finished, and a customer base for grain finished. All stay on pasture the entire time. If an animal doesn’t seem to be performing well on grass alone they will go into the grain finishing group until they have adequate fat cover. This is usually 3-5 months.
The little dexter has a high tail. Cull him and sell as a feeder. He will never be profitable. Or a good eating experience.
He will go on feed. Might end up in my own freezer.
That looks overgrazed to me. Some mowing would help
Sometimes I mow the weeds, sometimes I do not. I like experts see what happens. This past year I left more weeds than normal. The positive result was that the clover persisted longer into the summer, the negative was that I ended up with more weeds. Thanks