Agricultural News
Making Cattle Comfortable Increases Quality, Profits
Mon, 05 Mar 2012 11:22:38 CST
Comfortable cattle are profitable cattle. That's the word from feeders who see gains in production when they take steps to help cattle adjust to their new environment upon arrival.
Dale Moore of Cattlemen's Choice Feedyard in Gage, Oklahoma, says it's vitally important to get cattle off to the right start.
"We acclimate them to their new home because that's where they're going to spend a lot of their time. And we make sure they see all four corners of their pen and know where the water's at, know where the bunks are at and just make sure they're comfortable."
Less stress means more success. It can improve everything from immune response to implant success says Anne Burkholder of Will Feed Inc., of Cozad, Nebraska.
"My goal is to never have to treat a calf. I want a calf to be healthy his entire life. I want him to be in a good place, to feel comfortable, to be able to express his normal herd behavior. Because when he's doing that, he's going to be working for me and he's going to work for you because he's using the natural resources I'm putting in front of him to effectively and efficiently gain. And it's also producing a tremendous end product that we can take and market in the grocery store."
Burkholder says not getting in a hurry to implant newly-arrived calves is important in their operation. She says the proof is in the results she sees.
"It's really important to me to acclimate that animal to get them used to the feed yard and making sure that he's in a good place nutritionally and isn't deficit in anything before I put that growth hormone in. I think not only does that allow me to use that technology without impeding the marbling of the calf, but it also allows the calf to use the growth hormone more effectively so I'm getting better gains out of my cattle as well. So we spend a lot of time making sure that when we administer those that it's the right time to administer them."
Whether it's acclimating new calves to their environment or employing technology at just the right point, Moore says every step along the way must improve quality.
"Quality is number one because that is what the consumer demands. Our consumers now want a great eating experience. That's number one."
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