Dreaming about a big steak

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Dreaming about a big steak?
Better know your beef! Cow calf, stocker, feedlot
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Part of 150 cow WKU beef herd
Beef cattle are raised for meat The primary feed
for the cows (mothers) is pasture or hay Calves
get their main nutrition from their mothers
milk In Kentucky most calves are sold when they
reach 500-600 lbs Calves go to a background
operation then to finishing Farmers are paid by
the pound for calves sold, typically about 1.00
per pound for 600 lb calves
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Cow Calf Cows nursing calves
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Stocker Cattle (backgrounding) Weaned calves
500-800 lbs
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Feedlot cattle (finishing) 800-1200 lbs Finish
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Cull dairy cows Golden Arch Burgers
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Breeds of beef cattle important to Kentucky
farmers
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Angus Most popular breed as a result of genetics
and promotion of Certified Angus Beef
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Charolais Terminal cross breed, means that most
of his offspring will go to slaughter not into
breeding herds
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Hereford Used for cross breeding on Angus
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Shorthorn Used in cross breeding
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Limousin Used for crossbreeding
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Brahman Tolerates heat
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Brangus Brahman X Angus
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Chianina Cross to make show steers
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Part of 150 cow WKU beef herd
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• Typical life cycle of a Kentucky beef animal
• Born in early March on a Barren County Farm
  weight 85 lbs
• Father is Angus, mother is mixed breed
• Vaccinated, castrated, dewormed, dehorned by 4 mo
  of age
• Exposed to creep feeder at 3-4 mo of age
• Weaned in September and sold 3 weeks later the
  Bowling Green sale barn (Barren River Livestock)
  weight 620 pounds at 1.05 pound 651
• Bought for a rancher in Guymon Oklahoma by a
  Kentucky order buyer
• Rides a Freightliner 53 footer pot belly truck to
  new home
• Mixed with 600 other calves from all over the
  southeast on winter wheat pasture, grazing is the
  primary feed but also given a grain mix
• In December at about sold to a cattle speculator
  Weight 800 lbs sale price .93 pound or 744
  speculator seeds calf to Decater County Feedyard
  in the Texas panhandle
• Feedyard custom feeds the calf for 128 days to a
  weight of 1220 lbs then in May sends it to Excel
  Packing for processing on rail the carcass
  weighs 829 lbs and brings 1.40 lb 1161.44

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Weaned calves taken away from their mother
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Weaned calves prior to weaning they are
vaccinated to prevent disease
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Weaned calves prior to weaning they are offered
grain in a feeder
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Weaned calves learn to drink from a trough
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Weaned calves treated for parasites and
revaccinated
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Weaned calves sold at auction market in graded
groups
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Weaned calves trucked west for stocker operations
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Weaned calves become yearlings graze wheat from
600-850 lbs
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Weaned calves become yearlings graze wheat from
600-850 lbs then are sold as yearlings to a
feedlot for finishing
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All live animals are inspected prior to slaughter
and all meat is inspected prior to sale
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• KENTUCKY
• ranks 1st east of Mississippi river in beef
  animal numbers
• is 8th nationally in beef cattle numbers
• could double its beef production
• has many small herds and part time farmers
• genetics has greatly improved

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Questions