[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Ask a beef cattle farmer..... (Page 3 of 4)
|
Quoted:
OP, you are rarer than rare in the fact that you're 4th generation family farmer and actually making a living doing it. The family farm as America was built on no longer really exists. Since you work in a major American industry though, how do you look at the mega corporate farms and how do you compete with them? I know alot of fouth and fifth generation farmers. I have never seen a corporate farm outside of Florida produce farmers. |
|
Quoted:
How hard would it be for someone with no prior experience with cows to raise one? Would they make good pets? I've always thought cows are cool creatures, and would love to retire one day on my own ranch and just have them grazing hapilly in the distance, enjoying life. Minor hijack but my dad did that exact thing after the military. If you aren't looking for a profit you can almost treat cows like fish. Also if you want a true pet cow bottle feed an abandoned newborn calf they are quite nice till they grow up. Prep |
|
Quoted:
Does the US export any beef? Does the US get any Aussie imports? Do you do any AI? (please no pics..well maybe of the glove..  )
Do you laugh when you see mcdonalds flogging off angus like its some fancy breed? Do you transport your cattle in one of these? http://www.hankstruckpictures.com/pix/trucks/r_mohr/cattle_road_train.jpg I am not a rancher but have worked around alot of cattle and live in cattle country so I will answer what I can since the op seems to have passed out. Yes the US exports alot of beef. I do not know if we import beef from austalia Angus beef steaks are considered of higher quality around here than other beef. This is due to the natural marbalization of fat in the meat. I dont know if it would make a diff in hamburger, but i personally prefer a Black Angus Ribeye to most others. Our Bull Haulers are somehwat similiar to those in appearace. All of the ones I have seen are constructed of aluminum |
|
First off, what kind of beer are you drinking? If it's lite beer — what's up with that?
Is Mad Cow a concern? Has the quality of beef declined since your father's day? Where's the best place to get quality beef? Do the grocery stores carry good beef? Do you listen to Derry Brownfield? Hot pics of the daughter/wife or GTFO. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
OP, you are rarer than rare in the fact that you're 4th generation family farmer and actually making a living doing it. The family farm as America was built on no longer really exists. Since you work in a major American industry though, how do you look at the mega corporate farms and how do you compete with them? I know alot of fouth and fifth generation farmers. I have never seen a corporate farm outside of Florida produce farmers. Where I live almost everyone is a multi generation rancher. Coyotes are really scared of donkeys? I have 18 acres and am getting chickens and goats soon. I've been thinking about a cow or two but not sure. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
OP, you are rarer than rare in the fact that you're 4th generation family farmer and actually making a living doing it. The family farm as America was built on no longer really exists. Since you work in a major American industry though, how do you look at the mega corporate farms and how do you compete with them? I know alot of fouth and fifth generation farmers. I have never seen a corporate farm outside of Florida produce farmers. Where I live almost everyone is a multi generation rancher. Coyotes are really scared of donkeys? I have 18 acres and am getting chickens and goats soon. I've been thinking about a cow or two but not sure. Where I am at is hwere I grew up. When I left here 12 years ago there was not 1 donkey in the county. Now 12 years later there is a donkey around every corner. Everyone says they are to keep the coyotes away. We dont have hardly any coyotes here and have not had so in the last 12 years. Before that they were everywhere but a severe outbreak of scavies and mange cut their numbers way down. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
OP, you are rarer than rare in the fact that you're 4th generation family farmer and actually making a living doing it. The family farm as America was built on no longer really exists. Since you work in a major American industry though, how do you look at the mega corporate farms and how do you compete with them? I know alot of fouth and fifth generation farmers. I have never seen a corporate farm outside of Florida produce farmers. Fewer than 1% of all farms are "corporate farms." Many farms are incorporated or limited liability companies, but this is for business and legal purposes, and are still family owned and operated. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
Does "moo" really mean no? And the stump-broke one's, do you let them slide an extra year or so? HAH, I am from Ohio not west virginia. Right now its full time but I have also had other employment, its just tough right now to find other work. My wife is an ag professor. iggy- we are worried about global warming legislation regarding animals and constant government intervention. I don't take government handouts but I still have to file their damn paperwork. You capitalize the name of my State, partner! Although being close to Ohio, I enjoy trading insults with Ohioans. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
How much steroids are used in the process? 
No one uses steroids in dairy or beef cattle. Lies spread by the anti-ag leftists. Antibiotics are used, but it is illegal to slaughter or ship milk from cattle that have been treated within a defined period of time after the last treatment. The specified time period varies by antibiotic. What about Finaplix? |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
How much steroids are used in the process?
No one uses steroids in dairy or beef cattle. Lies spread by the anti-ag leftists. Antibiotics are used, but it is illegal to slaughter or ship milk from cattle that have been treated within a defined period of time after the last treatment. The specified time period varies by antibiotic. What about Finaplix? Hmmm. Well I guess Finaplex is used in beef, but I have never used it or heard of it use in dairy cattle. Odds are the same laws apply to the slaughter of treated beef cattle. |
|
Quoted:
OP, you are rarer than rare in the fact that you're 4th generation family farmer and actually making a living doing it. The family farm as America was built on no longer really exists. Since you work in a major American industry though, how do you look at the mega corporate farms and how do you compete with them? Its hard sometimes, they use economy of scale and can often set prices due to their size. I don't have any inherent complaints about mega farms so long as they do everything right, but when they hire illegal mexicans who do stupid shit it gives us all a bad name. We comepete by finding niches and providing quality over quantity like any small business trying to compete against a bigger one |
|
Quoted:
Does the US export any beef? Does the US get any Aussie imports? Do you do any AI? (please no pics..well maybe of the glove.. )
Do you laugh when you see mcdonalds flogging off angus like its some fancy breed? Do you transport your cattle in one of these? http://www.hankstruckpictures.com/pix/trucks/r_mohr/cattle_road_train.jpg I can't speak to the aussie imports, I am sure it happens on some level. We dont generally do AI, we use registered angus bulls with hereford cows as previously explained. We use a Ford 600 with cattle racks or a 20 foot trailer |
|
Hell no! I am a Ford/New Holland/ Allis Chalmers man! Keep that green away! :) Blue or Orange is where its at! |
|
Quoted:
What are the generic farm/ranch guns in that area? Do you have to use them on dog packs and coyotes? CHEERS I use AR-15s, but most others have .22 rifles,.30-30s, .22-250s or shotguns.... lots of bolt guns, not that many pistols. Yes, I have had to shoot a lot of coyotes in my life..... First one was with an AK (Romanian SAR-1) from about 175 yards actually back in the early 90s (i was just a kid then) haha.... |
|
Quoted:
First off, what kind of beer are you drinking? If it's lite beer — what's up with that? Is Mad Cow a concern? Has the quality of beef declined since your father's day? Where's the best place to get quality beef? Do the grocery stores carry good beef? Do you listen to Derry Brownfield? Hot pics of the daughter/wife or GTFO. Drinking Dundee Honey Brown (or was last night) Mad Cow isn't a concern for us as we breed and raise in house and dont use any animal parts in our feed. Beef has done nothing but improve due to selective breeding :) Go to a butcher shop not Krogers. No idea who that is. |
|
Quoted:
How often do you ride a cow like a horse? There is a family around me with 2 Holstein type cows and I saw the lady riding on a cow the one day bareback, no saddle. Also the guy likes to take the cows for walks, on leash, in his front yard. Have you ever stuck your entire arm up to your shoulder in a cows ass ? I never ride one on purpose, I once accidentally ended up on the back of our bull when I had a nose lead in him and he got pissed and ran through the stantions and tossed me up in the air. ended up half on his back for about 40 yards LOL And yes I have had to palpate cows before and it is shitty, terrible job. |
|
Quoted:
How do you feel about hunters. If you do allow hunting, what are the factors that influence your decision when people come and ask for permission to hunt? Thanks... They piss me off because they trespass and generally act like jackasses. Tear down my fences, tear up my fields, etc. I only give permission to family friends, but city jackasses still tear shit up. Have had to run off more than a few this year. Yes, I post my property and give written permission to those who do have permission. |
|
Quoted:
is there any way to know what grade of meat the cattle will produce? any way to control the grade? or is everything up in the air until it gets butchered and someone says "this loin looks prime grade...that ribeye looks select"? Well, good genetics and proper nutrition (sufficient protein and oils and vitamins) account for a lot of it.... You can get a general idea by looking at an animal but you cant say for sure until its quartered and can be inspected for marbling and to make sure there are no tumors / infections / bruising / scare tissue or other defects. |
|
Sorry if this has been asked before, but how prevalent is cattle rustling? I was shocked years ago when the farmer whose old house I was renting asked me if I saw anyone suspicious around the farm. He apparently lost a number of cows to thieves.
And how do the thieves sell the cattle without everyone local catching on to them? |
|
Quoted:
Sorry if this has been asked before, but how prevalent is cattle rustling? I was shocked years ago when the farmer whose old house I was renting asked me if I saw anyone suspicious around the farm. He apparently lost a number of cows to thieves. And how do the thieves sell the cattle without everyone local catching on to them? Good question. My dad had 4 steers stolen once out of a remote feedlot that had township road access on the backside of the farm. They backed right up to the loading chute and took them. Im guessing with a trailer. That was in the early 90s. We have had meth heads steal copper and tools and such recently so Ive been on the hunt for them. One nearly burned down a storage building while I was in Columbus with my grandmother in the hospital.... They stole (among other things) a 50 foot roll of 3 wire electrical wire and burnt it outside the shed with gas or diesel or something and it spred a little bit. If you burn off the insulation you get more money at the scrap yard. They wouldnt sell them locally, they'd probably go to an auction where fewer questions are asked. |
| i used to know a couple of guys who ran one of those traveling meat markets.the kind that used to come to town after preadvertising meat bundles.they told me they'd get their next town's meat supply on the way out of the last town.i know at least one of them did some time for borrowing cattle. |
|
Quoted:
And how do the thieves sell the cattle without everyone local catching on to them? No biggie there, just run them in to a Stockyard and sell them. In the east cattle are usually not branded. I'll use Angus for example, black cows look like black cows and are a very common breed so nobodys any wiser. Usually they run the in to a stockyard 50-100 miles away or farther from the scene of the crime. Usually by the time you've noticed them gone, got it reported ect the cattle have already sold. Cattle are brought into stockyards in various numbers so 1-10 wouldn't seem out of the way and it would go unnoticed. The stockyards can be notified and I figure (assume) the Police could request who the checks were made out to that sold the number of cattle thats missing. This might turn up some clues, might not. You could possibly go examine the cattle and try to determine if they are yours or not. Also the amount of Stockyards in a given area increase the amount of investigating required. In my area alone there are 8 different ones within a 100 mile radius. Like looking for a needle in a haystack! If you steal big numbers it might be easier to track but say 3-6 won't even raise an eye brow! |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
And how do the thieves sell the cattle without everyone local catching on to them? No biggie there, just run them in to a Stockyard and sell them. In the east cattle are usually not branded. I'll use Angus for example, black cows look like black cows and are a very common breed so nobodys any wiser. Usually they run the in to a stockyard 50-100 miles away or farther from the scene of the crime. Usually by the time you've noticed them gone, got it reported ect the cattle have already sold. Cattle are brought into stockyards in various numbers so 1-10 wouldn't seem out of the way and it would go unnoticed. The stockyards can be notified and I figure (assume) the Police could request who the checks were made out to that sold the number of cattle thats missing. This might turn up some clues, might not. You could possibly go examine the cattle and try to determine if they are yours or not. Also the amount of Stockyards in a given area increase the amount of investigating required. In my area alone there are 8 different ones within a 100 mile radius. Like looking for a needle in a haystack! If you steal big numbers it might be easier to track but say 3-6 won't even raise an eye brow! yup |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
is there any way to know what grade of meat the cattle will produce? any way to control the grade? or is everything up in the air until it gets butchered and someone says "this loin looks prime grade...that ribeye looks select"? Well, good genetics and proper nutrition (sufficient protein and oils and vitamins) account for a lot of it.... You can get a general idea by looking at an animal but you cant say for sure until its quartered and can be inspected for marbling and to make sure there are no tumors / infections / bruising / scare tissue or other defects. holy shit, i never thought about tumors! what are the chances of me cutting into and biting a tumor in a bone-in ribeye?! does the tumor meat go to mcdonalds chicken nuggets/mcrib? 
|
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
is there any way to know what grade of meat the cattle will produce? any way to control the grade? or is everything up in the air until it gets butchered and someone says "this loin looks prime grade...that ribeye looks select"? Well, good genetics and proper nutrition (sufficient protein and oils and vitamins) account for a lot of it.... You can get a general idea by looking at an animal but you cant say for sure until its quartered and can be inspected for marbling and to make sure there are no tumors / infections / bruising / scare tissue or other defects. holy shit, i never thought about tumors! what are the chances of me cutting into and biting a tumor in a bone-in ribeye?! does the tumor meat go to mcdonalds chicken nuggets/mcrib? In inspected meat you shouldnt have any trouble...... in self processed, there is a chance... saw one with some green shit that was oozing, i just about threw up. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
How do you feel about hunters. If you do allow hunting, what are the factors that influence your decision when people come and ask for permission to hunt? Thanks... They piss me off because they trespass and generally act like jackasses. Tear down my fences, tear up my fields, etc. I only give permission to family friends, but city jackasses still tear shit up. Have had to run off more than a few this year. Yes, I post my property and give written permission to those who do have permission. You should hire my brother. He used to carry his BHP around and shoot their vehicles. I was concerned because it was a fine piece from the 40s and I figured it would be confiscated, but after awhile no one trespassed and he moved 3-4 hours away from the family place. RE: the biodigesters. Back when Algore was still in divinity school I saw a program about a British pig farmer who had one and ran all of his farm/personal vehicles on the methane his place produced. I know the poultry farmers around here spread it on their fields as fertilizer. I'll bet it would yield a lot of methane, it's some hot stuff. |
|
Quoted: Quoted: I have an Ohio specific question: Are you aware of the Co-Op that has been created to supply the Columbus Whole Foods with quality, local beef? Any experience or comments on this topic? I am not aware of the co-op, do you have more information? We buy some of our steaks from Whole Foods, mainly because it is one of the only places in town that sells cuts that have been sufficiently and properly dry aged. We also get a lot of good cuts from Andersons, Carfagna's, even Costco etc, but Whole Foods beef has been damn good to us. Expensive, too. Anyway, the last time I was in there, they had signs all over with these smiling Ohio farmers, saying how in 2009 they had created a farm co-op just to supply Whole Foods, it was like 30 independent farmers or something IIRC. Anyway it was all "you are supporting Ohio buying this beef, we love you, we love each other, blah blah blah." I was just curious if maybe you knew if the program was actually decent or it was just feel good BS. I can't remember what the thing was called but I think there might have even been flyers you could take home telling you how great this was. I'll check it out the next time I am there. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
I have an Ohio specific question: Are you aware of the Co-Op that has been created to supply the Columbus Whole Foods with quality, local beef? Any experience or comments on this topic? I am not aware of the co-op, do you have more information? We buy some of our steaks from Whole Foods, mainly because it is one of the only places in town that sells cuts that have been sufficiently and properly dry aged. We also get a lot of good cuts from Andersons, Carfagna's, even Costco etc, but Whole Foods beef has been damn good to us. Expensive, too. Anyway, the last time I was in there, they had signs all over with these smiling Ohio farmers, saying how in 2009 they had created a farm co-op just to supply Whole Foods, it was like 30 independent farmers or something IIRC. Anyway it was all "you are supporting Ohio buying this beef, we love you, we love each other, blah blah blah." I was just curious if maybe you knew if the program was actually decent or it was just feel good BS. I can't remember what the thing was called but I think there might have even been flyers you could take home telling you how great this was. I'll check it out the next time I am there. Intriguing.... of all the hippie stores I support Whole Foods because their CEO is against ObamaCare :) |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
Have you ever tried to light a cow fart on fire? Negative. Though some dairy operators use biodigesters to run generators off of methane.... I have never heard of biodigesters. Did a Google search and learned something. I guess there really is no such thing as a dumb question. |
[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Ask a beef cattle farmer..... (Page 3 of 4)
Join the Community
Your next conversation starts here.
Create your free account to join discussions, share your experience, save topics, and connect with the AR15.COM community.
- Join discussions
- Follow topics and replies
- Connect with fellow enthusiasts
Already a member? Sign in
Stay informed by subscribing to our Newsletter