Cull Cow Evaluation
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- Опубликовано: 12 июн 2019
- This is our third season of the cull cow program.
Basics are: purchasing good condition cull cows under 1100 lbs in the fall/ over wintering on pasture & hay / grazing as a finishing herd for the season/ harvest 1 year post purchase.
Average gains are 300 pounds of new flesh.
"Free" calving rate around 40%.
Cull cow mortality around 10% from either death or recycle.
In this video I take a 10 minute look at the herd here in early summer and identify ones that are gaining weight well, ones not so much and start getting an idea of what carcass quality we'll have come fall.
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I (Jordan) and my wife, Laura, own and operate J & L Green Farm in Virginia. It has been our full time occupation for the last 10 years building this first generation, pasture based, (insert your favorite word), direct to retail farm. We are in the small percentage of farmers that actually make their income from farming. As such we address our farm as a business and make decisions with that in mind. What you see here is what it takes. No BS or disney’ifying.
Have a question or idea for a future video? Leave a comment or drop a DM!
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Nice way for those old gals to wrap up their lives, too. Fresh and abundant food, good company, and no bulls to bother them.
Love the information and transparency you pack into all these videos, particularly the management and decision-making criteria.
I watched the vlog Justin Rhodes did with you and your hogs! It was great! I pray for farmers. We depend on y’all.
as a sheep farmer - this was actaully a valuable insite into other options within our business.
thanks.
Nice. What do you do with old ewes?
@@FarmBuilder currently try not to let them die! lol - due to off-farm reasons our flock is so low on numbers that were holding them just as birthers until weve sorted out some succession stuff but usually from 7-10 years depending on condition theyll go off to market here in the UK( as culls)- most commercial flocks usually cycle at 4-5 years of age.. but thats impractical and kinda not in my holistic goals. Im keen though to make more profit from our animals in anyway and thinking beyond ewe/lamb breeding flock is my current research.
Inspired by your catchphrase "Get After It!"
Really enjoy your channel. Glad Justin directed me here!
Another great video, I usually have a few cows to cull and sale each year. It is interesting to see how they might wind up latter.
Sounds like a beneficial recycling program. Thanks
Thanks for telling us about this.
Love your channel. Straight forward informative and interesting.
Thanks for letting us continue farming vicariously through you and your great set up. Health issues ended my cow/calf grass fed small farm. Miss it, love your channel! God bless and THANKS FOR YOUR SERVICE!
You are so enjoyable to watch. Great info! I look forward to seeing more of your videos!
Great information. Your Vlogs are very good and informational. Thank You God Bless and Peace Be With You ☮️
Wow!!! Great info.
Excellent video and info
Great info. thank you.
New subscriber here.
Happy trails
Luke
I have 25 acres of ground at my use for no cost to me. More I think about it I think this would work for me. Maybe start out with ten cows in order to learn the process of moving and get the ground to come back. Already have a good hog ,market now and growing every year. Was approached by the owner to do something with it and I think this would be a great way to improve the ground and may make a few dollars at it
With some good fence I think it's a great way to start. Old cows are a lot more laid back than calves.
Very cool way of getting a lot of bang for your buck. A few of those cows look like they should have been culled earlier instead of being bred, but not every farmer has their stuff in order unfortunately. At least they get to come to your place and get back into decent condition out on pasture! On the other hand some of those cows look really beautiful. Do you ever breed them again and get another calf from them, or just finish them?
If I had more pasture it would be an option but for now our best money is in beef not calves.
I would like to know if y’all have a butchering freezer on site just to keep them dry aging till market prices come up? I’m sorry for all the questions but I’m trying to learn. Thank You and God Bless-Jerry
We hold a sizable inventory in cold storage both onsite and offsite.
Paraphrasing “Can’t be cut for steaks because they’re over 30 months because their spines are taken out” I know nothing about that. Perhaps you can explain about this and other butchering issues in a future video. Thanks!
Due to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE - caused by folded prions) cattle over 30mo must have the dorsal root ganglia and adjoining bones removed from consumption. Any cuts that have these bones such as porterhouse, bone-in New York's have cannot be cut as such (boneless New York is fine). Steaks can be cut, but not every variation.
Does buying the cattle in this fashion prevent you from marketing them as grass fed and hormone free and all other tag lines since you don't know what went into them before you purchased them?
We list them as grass finished with an explanation on our website.
Nice
52 looks like one of Greg Judy's animals.
Hmmm. I would think higher grain prices would cause finished cattle prices to decline; at least in the near term. Higher feed costs would generally cause higher cattle sales, increasing supply and lowering prices. In the longer term I would think cattle prices would rise, due to the dent in supply and time needed to replenish the herd. But I am not expert, you are! Great channel.
Commonsensical opinion in my view.
👍👍
អរគុណបងប្រុស🙏🙏🙏
Nice video.. Are the cows all pasture based? Does it mean no concentrates are given to them?
Sorry the sound is too low.
I enjoyed this video. It is interesting to see how you decide which cow will be burger and which will be processed into cuts. The sleek solid red cow that you pointed out and said you wish you'd bought a boatload of, since she's fleshed out so well on grass, wouldn't you want to keep her and breed her to "tune" your herd towards cows with genetics that do very well on grass? Also the black cow you talked about just after the sleek red one, looked as if she was having a bit of respiratory issue... i was watching her flank and she looked like she was having some increased work of breathing. Another beef rancher that i watch just went through a bout of pneumonia in his herd. I hope yours stays well.
Yes, if we were breeding. Our beef program is a 100% turnover every year however. The black one is still here and still breathes heavy. I think she has something else going on but should make it to slaughter in a couple months.
Question - Does VA require brucellosis testing at the sale barns (part 2) do you worry about bringing a sick cow home with something that would affect and/or infect your soil?
No & no.
Do you sell these to market after butchering?
Thanks for the video, I'm also a vet about to get out of the Army next summer and we're trying to set up something similar in PA. I've been looking at this cull cow idea so this was really helpful. Obviously, you're putting enough gain on these animals to compensate the cost of wintering them, but I was curious if they are gaining much through the winter? Do you take a full year with them to ensure they don't calve, or have you found that those additional months are more economical versus purchasing them in the spring and harvesting in the fall? Thanks.
They probably don't gain much in the winter but three reasons I buy then. First, we want the animals in our system for a year before harvesting for quality issues. This is entirely subjective to your own farming principles. Second is the price is typically the lowest in the later fall. Third is having them for one year insures we aren't accidentally butchering a pregnant cow.
@@FarmBuilder Thanks, that's helpful
Do you give any kind of shots when you get your cattle from the sale barn?
Just wormer but a 7 way isn't a bad idea.
Ok thank you sir, keep up the good work. Love watching your videos!!!
Are you projecting to finish the calves in under 30 months. Do they become a second to management group can you blend them in with the next set of cows from the sales barn
We could do that but so far I've sent the calves back to the sale barn.
Very interesting! Are you still doing this with the current market?
Yes we are
So you're not selling them on the hoof, you're selling the "cuts" that come from them correct? If so, do you do this on your place or farmers market etc. or, all the above???
Correct, we sell at retail. On farm store, deliveries and shipping.
Never mind, just watched your FARM STORE TOUR...
what kind of cow is that red cow that you loved so much??? red angus x beefmaster??
Probably a mutt of some kind.. LOL
do you have much call for brisket during the summer?
Pretty much always sold out.
How old are old cows?
Where is this ? Nice pasture
What do you weigh in to the evaluation? What makes a cow "go"? That one cow you showed that was in good condition but "might be pregnant" and the cow that didn't put on good weight but had a really good looking calf at her side. What makes it breeding stock? Or do you just buy to feed out?
All come in and go out. Condition determines the cuts. The one year ensures any pregnant ones will calve and if so we hold them until weaned.
@@FarmBuilder Ah, I see. So you don't actively breed cows as livestock on your farm. That sure makes the video more clear as to what you are doing. :) Thank you
Do you have a problems finding a processor for the old girls?
No just have to pay the extra $$ for spine disposal.
FarmBuilder
So what happens to those old cow spines?
Where/how are they disposed of?
A rendering company picks them up with other offals. Not sure how they end up.
@@FarmBuilder I worked oil field in southern WY and northern CO for awhile and we had to dump our drill shavings at a certified dump in the hazardous waste area right beside where they were dumping those spinal cords.
About a year ago left the field and have started ironing out my 60 acres (always had the cattle). Love your channel and your insight, Thank You!
Do you just sell the calf's or keep and finish?
We sell them at this point.
seen some cull cows on auction market report for 10 cents a pound a good buy ?
Depends. crap cows sell cheap so be careful
The Cows are fighting or pushing to get the minerals so Why not use more buckets so al can get access to what they need and want?
It's a momentary thing because I just put the minerals out. 99% of the time they ignore it.
@@FarmBuilder Makes total sense now. Thank you for replying and answering.
One day it started raining.
You know it!
Not gewt better results using beef cattle ie bullocks as there gains are normaly better in size that what your using most beef in the uk come from bullocks
Bulls are not as available around me. Most are steered as calves.
You making money by doing that?
Cows who can't poop without covering their backsides in poop should be bred out of the herd. That is just my opinion.
Interesting.