Posted on 12/03/2013 2:18:20 PM PST by TheRhinelander
Any cattlemen out there? I'm thinking about raising one for meat. It would be more like free range veal as I'd get it in April and slaughter it in October.
Any experience? Is this a good idea? I'm trying to avoid hay which is expensive. Is that long enough to get good weight? Anything to watch out for?
Be real sure about where you put the critter. Alone, a steer is nearly defenseless against wolves or nearly wild dogs. It is inquisitive but not smart, and can get rolled up in barbed wire, or loose onto a road causing traffic liability.
If you want some semi free range meat, consider some pigs. They grow faster, are less picky about feed.
Raising a single cow sounds more like a pet than a meal.
Pretty picture of AI, PJ. Or maybe checking to see if the cow is ready to AI?
I was about to say a similar thing after talking with a friend who raised her own for a few years and finds it less demanding and less expensive overall to purchase either directly from a market or freezer stock in sides from a butcher wholesaler.
Now for all the standard responses to, “How rare would you like your steak, sir?”
I second PGR88. Find a friendly farmer and buy one for a bit more than the going rate and he will probably be happy to accommodate you.
We are raising a Holstein steer. His name is, ‘Dinner.’ His ‘Use By Date’ is January 8, 2014. We’ve had him since early April. He should’ve been butchered in October, but the butcher we want to use is THAT GOOD, so this was the earliest they could get us in.
He’s been grass fed; Beau tied him in various places in the house yard to ‘mow’ the lawn, LOL! Watch your step! He also ate all the Hosta from around the house, and the top half of the pole beans in the garden. *Rolleyes*
He gets two scoops of grain and a scoop of minerals most days.
He’s coming back up to the barn from the pasture to put the final bulk on him, so he’ll be on hay and grain for the next month to bulk him up.
So, mainly grass fed, but you’ll have to supplement to some extent for the best results.
Or even go to a stockyard and purchase one.
“If you buy an animal in April, keep in next to your house and plan on killing it in October, your kids and your wife will have made a pet out of it by then, given it a name and they will refuse to eat it. Not only that, they will never forgive you for killing Suzie.”
That’s the truth.
I’ve raised a small herd of beef (35) on a large acerage & then moved to a small acerage. Daughter raised every thing known to mankind on that small acerage for 4H & FFA. We had horses for years, now out of that. I’m into growing fruits & vegetables and fishing or shooting for the meat now.
Let him have the experience, life is a journey.
I knew a guy in college who was majoring in animal husbandry, until they caught him at it.
(Tip of the hat to Tom Lehrer.)
One “cattle”?
Look into Dexter cattle, smaller and still meaty.
Goats!
I raise Black Angus Cattle. Veal is beef from a young calf which has been raised in a certain way. They keep the animal coupes up in very close quarters to minimize muscle development. If you are raising grass fed cattle I would recommend you see how the calf developes. If a calf is taken off the mothers tit too early it will impede his muscular development. If you want the best beef you should allow the calf to be on the mother at least 7 months,…..9-10 months better. Then put the calf in a pen and feed it a developer for about 2-3 months then on a finisher for 2 months. This will maximize its marble development, which is what gives it that beefy flavor and juiciness. If you render the calf off of grass there will be much less marbling and fat. The fat will also appear to have less tallow and more of a ‘yellow’ colored fat. But, that is not veal. Your cheapest bet is to buy prime beef from the store. One more option is available. If you will go to a small-town FFA show where beefs are being judged, many of the calves will be sold after the judging. Do not buy ‘best in show’ or runner up. But wait and you can buy the calf for a price per pound. Then take the calf home and put it on “finisher”. He has already gotten conditioned, now all he needs is to be finished for 6 weeks to 2 months. Be sure to buy the calf ‘without the nuts’. You do not want a heifer. Get a steer.
It depends on what kind and how much grass you have, and how many acres.
Where I’m from, dryland pasture will run 1 unit (cow/calf) per 2 to 4 acres - but it dries up in late summer (comes back with fall rains). Irrigated pasture from 1 to 4 units/acre, depending on how you manage it and the quality of your soil. You’re going to do best on irrigated pasture, and a pasture with a good mixture of grasses (like rye and orchard) and clover will give you good forage through the heat of the summer - grasses thrive on warm days and cool nights, clover LOVES the heat. Studies at Oregon State University have shown that the highest producing forage comes from an orchard grass/red clover mix (but you don’t want to graze red clover below 4 inches - and as Joe Saladin points out, a good variety is beneficial).
Daily rotation increases your grass yield over just putting your animal in a single large paddock. Move your animal from one paddock to another on a frequent basis, depending on your ability (5 times a day is optimum, but rarely achievable)
Never let your animal suffer for feed - low feed stress puts gristle in your meat and it remains regardless of how well you feed afterwards.
Plant a grain crop late (mid august) and finish your calf on that - the plant will send the sugars up in a frantic effort to produce seed before it freezes - these sugars put finish fat on your beef without feeding grain (which has its own problems beyond price), and helps you avoid the grass fed gaminess that can sometimes be an issue.
Depending on the size of the calf you buy - assuming 450 lbs - the breed - stick with your beef breeds or for a bit faster growth a limousine or gelbvieh crossed with angus would be a nice gainer - and your feed availability and quality - you should be able to put on about 20 to 25 pounds per month (commercial feeders shoot for 1+ pound/day, but that is hard to achieve on grass), or 120 to 150 lbs in 6 months, giving you a 550 to 600 lb animal (which is going to yield about 120 to 150 lbs of cut and wrapped beef - smaller animals tend to have a smaller yield percentage). If you can, raise two animals and they will gain better (as long as you have sufficient feed) - they get lonely too! Raise one for a neighbor for a small profit.
If you want best flavor, see if you can find an animal (stay with the beef breeds or the crosses I mentioned for best gains) about 2 years old that is medium size (not starved and not fat) and take it out to 30 months (if you go past 30 months you aren’t supposed to keep any of the spinal column because of mad cow, which rules out t-bones - you can still take the meat in sirloin and tenderloin, just not on the bone). NOTHING puts flavor into your meat like the age of the animal. For commercial reasons (time is money) beef is usually butchered at 18 to 20 months or so - but the flavor is not as good as it could be with an older animal.
Your best bet - if you have enough grass, and can feed the animal for the last 30 to 45 days on a late-planted grain pasture - is to contact a local rancher now, plan to buy a one to two year old steer next spring and raise an excellent freezer full of beef. You will pay more for the animal initially and it will take more feed, but you will end up with less cost per lb and better tasting meat; ergo - better value. A 600 lb calf is going to be tender, but without much flavor.
You gotta age your beef.
** Dry-aged beef is seldom available outside of steak restaurants and upscale butcher shops or groceries. The key effect of dry aging is the concentration and saturation of the natural flavour, as well as the tenderisation of the meat texture. **
When I was a kid, I worked for a farmer who was land rich (1000+ acres in northeastern Maryland) but cash poor.
As part of my compensation, I got to pick a feeder Holstein steer in the Spring and he would butcher it and give me the meat the next Fall. His name was Max, 800 lbs. at butchering and he tasted great.
This guy did Herefords for his main gig and he did them right. The best steers were put in a big stall when they got the right age. Fresh bedding every day, all the hay, water and grain they could stand. They could hardly turn around when they deigned to get on their feet (don't want those muscles to get too tough) and he got top dollar for them at the sale.
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