Regardless of the country, more small cows can be run than big cows on the same acreage under the same management. In addition to the points made here, smaller cows need less feed to maintain themselves before they can put the feed they consume toward their calves, therefore they are more efficient. Kit Pharo of Pharo Cattle Co in eastern Colorado goes into this in a lot of detail on his website. Also - we can virtually 'increase' the size of the land through grazing management. See Holistic Planned Grazing. Basically, it is about managing the cattle on the land they way nature intended them to be- bunched up and constantly moving to new ground.
Another big question is: Why are sending grazing animals to feedlots to be finished on grain? There are cattle that will fatten beautifully on grass alone. The answer is: to provide a market for industrially farmed corn & soy, but does this really make sense? Something to think about.
I have listened for years to people saying that if they raised big fast growing calves that did well in the feedlots that maybe they would get a premium for their calves. The only premium I have seen for calves is for the lighter weights. Finally when the guy can’t go on anymore because of too much expense and too much work, it’s the operator that he laughed at with smaller cattle and later calving that usually ends up buying or renting his land.
Regardless of the country, more small cows can be run than big cows on the same acreage under the same management. In addition to the points made here, smaller cows need less feed to maintain themselves before they can put the feed they consume toward their calves, therefore they are more efficient. Kit Pharo of Pharo Cattle Co in eastern Colorado goes into this in a lot of detail on his website. Also - we can virtually 'increase' the size of the land through grazing management. See Holistic Planned Grazing. Basically, it is about managing the cattle on the land they way nature intended them to be- bunched up and constantly moving to new ground.
Another big question is: Why are sending grazing animals to feedlots to be finished on grain? There are cattle that will fatten beautifully on grass alone. The answer is: to provide a market for industrially farmed corn & soy, but does this really make sense? Something to think about.
All this research is based on the Bonsmara cattle breed and their calves perform well in the feed stock
What this ignores is the size of the bull. To make a fairer comparison - increasing both the cow and bull weight should be compared to calf size.
I have listened for years to people saying that if they raised big fast growing calves that did well in the feedlots that maybe they would get a premium for their calves. The only premium I have seen for calves is for the lighter weights. Finally when the guy can’t go on anymore because of too much expense and too much work, it’s the operator that he laughed at with smaller cattle and later calving that usually ends up buying or renting his land.
It's complicated