PRST STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID OMAHA, NE PERMIT NO. 36
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Volume VI, Issue 5
Exploring cattle feeding under roof by Emma Kirk Iowa is experiencing an emerging trend in cattle production toward finishing beef cattle under roof either in monoslope buildings – those enclosed on three sides with a single pitch to the roof and a curtain to aid cross-ventilation – hoop barns, and even slotted floor barns over a pit. Factors driving producers to adopt these systems, which may involve deep bedding, are varied and unique to each situation. For example, Bill Couser, Couser Cattle Company in Nevada, Story County in central Iowa, commented,
May 2012
“I wanted to continue to grow and felt it was time to be under roof for…the time in Iowa…and ‘regulational’ considerations,” Couser commented. He added that his cattle feeding operation is in a comparatively heavily populated area so in deciding what type of structure to build in 2009 he took in to consideration blending in with the community and being cognizant of his neighbors. Brent Lorimore operates a newly constructed monoslope cattle feeding facility near Farragut in Fremont County southwest Iowa with brother Steve. He said, “We started looking at it maybe even as far back as 10 years ago…but it has been in the forefront of our minds.” His prior feedlot housed 1,000 head but Lorimore expressed concern that the he was not capturing optimum value in cattle performance, particularly when the animals
were fighting snow and mud. Lorimore offered that he has heard other producers talk about regulations as a driving factor to construct buildings but for him it was capturing performance gains. He also noted that at this time there are financial incentives and programs available to assist with construction. Dan Olson, senior environmental specialist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources field office #4 in Atlantic, also noted as producers consider moving lots or changing their configuration “it opens up opportunity. “There has been a fair amount of shift due to funding available through state revolving loan funds and NRCS,” he continued, which provide low interest loans that can act as an encouragement. Olson did not connect the trend towards finishing cattle under roof to any specific recent regulatory
changes. “From an environmental regulation side, regulations haven’t changed a great deal, but we’ve learned some things…Iowa has started to look at open lots differently.” Olson offered as an example the consideration of solid settling basins, which he said remove a good deal of the pollutant load but do not necessarily change the water chemistry of liquid coming out of a feedlot. Other measures must then be taken to treat water before discharging it to the environment such as ground infiltration, or post-settling treatment with vegetation. “We are learning things about how to more effectively protect the environment from runoff,” Olson stated. “Some producers realized this has put the industry in a spotlight and if the (feedlot) is under a roof, there is no runoff.” FEEDING CATTLE . . . Page 10