FEEDING FACTS
B Y J I M M Y PA R K E R
Finishing Your Own Cattle
With the recent retail shortages in the meat cases, we have seen a resurgence in interest in growing and finishing your own cattle. Not too many decades ago, this was something that almost every farm did every year. Time and efficiency of scale have pushed most all of the beef finishing outside our region, but it can still be done on a local basis and is a good way to ensure that you have plenty of beef to eat when we see national or regional shortages due to outside influences such as the COVID-19 pandemic. There are several things to consider when finishing cattle, whether for your own consumption or maybe to sell to family, friends and neighbors. There have been numerous studies done and there is an endless array of theories on what breed, size, age and finishing system is best, and hopefully we can keep the lid on that Pandora’s box firmly closed by not endorsing one breed or system over the other. There are vast differences in breeds and body styles that will affect the age and weight that they
finish. The finishing system that you plan to utilize should be tailored to the breed you have or chose to purchase. Some types of cattle do better than others on a grass-based system, while most any breed will do well with enough on grain, when fed to the proper weight and maturity. Some common sense-type things to consider: smaller-framed cattle finish at a lighter weight and often suit local consumers better. For example, if the steer or heifer is headed for your own freezer and you have plenty of space, you may not mind that 1,900 pound fat Holstein, but cousin Joe might rather pay you for a 900 pound fat steer that won’t take the entire month’s paycheck and an extra trip to town to buy a second freezer. Another point that is often discussed is grass-fed/finished versus grain-finished versus some hybrid of the two, which is most common in locally finished cattle. Some extremely health-conscious people will want a grass-fed/grass-finished product. Many others will want something that they August 2020
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