meet your neighbors
Doing What Works By Julie Turner-Crawford
Aaron and Teresa Johnson go from a dairy operation to feeder cattle After decades in the dairy industry, Aaron and Teresa Johnson decided in 1993 that it was time to make a change, but they still wanted to remain in the cattle industry. Taking advantage of the facilities they had in place for the dairy cows, they began a feeder operation. ATS Farms, named for Aaron, Teresa, and their daughters Shayna and Shyann, now has close to 1,000 head of contracted and owned cattle on feed. “My land isn’t set up for a cow/calf operation,” Aaron explained. “We don’t have much pasture ground. Our farm is river bottom, so we are a little different than anyone else around here because we can grow a lot of feed, but we don’t have the pasture.” Because they don’t produce their own calves, the Johnsons seek out cattle from reputable Missouri farms for their finishing operation. “I like to buy my calves between 750 and 900 pounds,” Aaron explained. “I buy my cattle from someone who has some history behind them and background. I don’t try to put together calves; I’ve done that in the past, and it doesn’t work.” He buys calves only from reputable producers who can verify birth dates, health and origin. “I want the track record of those calves,” Aaron said. “I want to know if they had their shots, the last time they were wormed, and anything they might need. That way, we have the whole history of the calves.” “He’s very picky about the quality of the cattle we bring in,” Teresa said. The Johnsons typically purchase 200 to 300 head at a time and feed them until they reach 1,500 to 1,600 pounds. Thirty to 45 finished animals are sent Missouri Prime Beef Packers at a time. “It would be fantastic to do a load every month, but with our pens and barn, it’s not realistic,” Aaron said.
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Aaron and Teresa Johnson utilize facilities once used to house and feed dairy cattle for their cattle feeding operation. Photo by Julie Turner-Crawford
Previously, the Johnsons purchased cat“They out gain a straight Angus two to tle at about 550 to 600 pounds, feeding one,” he said, adding he prefers steers them until they hit the 850- to 900-pound over heifers. “We feed pretty hard, too. mark. It’s like milking; you can starve the milk “We were leaving a lot of money on the out of your cow or feed the milk out of table,” Aaron said. “That 750 to 850 mark her. The calves will only perform how is the easiest time to have the cattle. Back you make them perform.” then, we bought Draxxin by the case. Calves finished at the farm are housed Now, it’s the exact opposite; I don’t even in a large pen pack barn, about 147-feet know where the bottle of Draxxin even is. wide and147-feet long. There are 255 head that have been here “They are all on concrete,” Aaron said. since October, others that came in Janu- “There is zero runoff because we clean ary, and there’s not one single calf that the feed alleys every day and haul that has had a shot, and we have manure down to the cropland. With had zero death loss. Those fertilizer prices, that’s a plus. The fats we are getting ready to cattle lay on cornstalks, and those sell will likely make us more also get spread back onto the Pleasant money than any cattle we have fields.” Hope, Mo. ever had on this farm.” The use of manure on cropBrangus and crossbreeds are land, he added, is a critical the Johnsons’ preference for component of healthy, fertheir feeder cattle. tile soil. Ozarks Farm & Neighbor • www.ozarksfn.com
“We ran a soil test in front of the planter a couple of years ago,” he recalled. “With no fertilizer, we have 110 pounds of nitrogen per acre for the corn, all from cow manure. We grew up hauling manure every day. My dad and grandpa never unhooked the manure spreader from the tractor it was on.” Bedding, which is also produced on the farm, is only cleaned from the barn once a year, but additional stocks are added as needed. “I wouldn’t feed calves outside again,” Aaron said. “The health of the cattle is much better. When we have that wet, cold, drizzling rain, and it’s 32 degrees, the cattle are inside smiling. In the summer, it’s 20 degrees cooler in the barn than outside. We built the barn in 1993, and people had the concept that confining cattle was hard on them. When we run cattle out to clean the feed alley, it takes two to three people to get them out, and then when you get the alley clean, you just have to open the gate and jump on the fence; they fly back in there. You can open a gate, and they won’t walk out.” The Johnsons grow the corn and silage fed to cattle at ATS Farm. “I mainly feed corn and distillers,” Aaron said, adding that cattle also receive about 1.5 percent Feedlot Balancer vitamin and mineral in their ration, with each calf receiving 30 to 50 pounds per day. “We plant a little over 1,000 acres of corn, milo and beans, and some of that is custom and crop shared. For us, it’s huge to be able to grow our feed because it fits our niche. Is it right for everyone? No, but it works for us.” Feeding cattle instead of grazing may seem more expensive, but it is the best option for Aaron and Teresa’s operation. “For my bigger calves, it’s costing me $5 a day, but they are putting on between 4 and 5 pounds a day. It’s not what it costs to feed them; it’s what it costs per pound to gain. Some guys say corn is too high MAY 2, 2022
