Stocker Feedlot Intro

How much percent of live weight ends up as retail products?

44%

Name other by products are used for?

• Leather

• Gelatin from Bones

• Fat & Fatty acids from fats

• Plasma Protein- pet food, canned meat

Top States for beef cows in the U.S

1. Texas

2. Oklahoma

3. Missouri

4. Nebraska

5. South Dakota

Stocker Calf

Weaned calf that is fed roughage diet before being sent to a feedyard.

When is a calf weaned?

At 7 months

At what weight do calf’s typically weaned at?

• 400-500lbs

What is the typical weight range for a stocker calf?

400-600 lbs

What is background operation?

• Growing program for feeder cattle from time calves are weaned until they are on a finishing ration on the feedlot.

What is a feeder calf?

Cattle that need further feeding prior to slaughter.

What are fed cattle?

Steers or heifers that have been fed concentration usually for 100-200 days in a feedlot.

What do cattle convert roughage/forage into?

• Protein/beef

Cattle feed on forage for how long?

• 3 to 6 months then placed in feed yard.

What are the first things to do within “Receiving” in a Stocker Operation?

• Identification (Ear Tags)

• Castration

• Dehorning

• Deworming

• Vaccination

• Introduce ration & forage/pasture.

What are ways to identify cattle?

• Should provide individual, permanent identity & information about each animal.

-Ear tags/ RFID electronic tags

-Hot iron or Freeze dry branding

Castration

• Removing the testicles from bulls

Why?

- Steers are more docile

-Steers fatten quicker

- Steers can be mixed with females in pasture.

Dehorning

• The process of removing the horns from cattle

Why do we dehorn cattle?

• Less feeding space & pen space

• Reduces injury to staff & horses when working the cattle

• Decrease the risk from calf bruising & lessen Carcass trimming

Why should we deworm cattle?

• Internal parasites decrease appetite & intake.

• Parasites reduce average daily gain

• Parasites divert the immune system.

Why are vaccination programs important?

• Design calves to enter the production & improve health, growth, & beef quality end product.

• Stress caused by weaning, transportation, diet & changes in environment Lower calf’s resistance to disease.

General steps in Stocker Operations

• Receiving/processing cattle

• Growing on pasture

• Marketing & shipping

Feedlot Production

• Involves feeding cattle highly concentrated rotations in large confinement facility.

• Growing calves to reach a finished weight

When cattle are deemed market ready where are they sold?

• Meat Processor

• These are Commercial feeders & farmer-feeder producers. (Make 70% of U.S. feedlots)