Mad Cow Disease Arrives

One Mad Cow is going to break some ranchers and some feed lots. The small operator whose 20 or 50 cows are supported by his wife's school teaching job and his own off-the-farm job will scrape by but will be driving the same old truck for a few years yet.

Somewhere out there in Washington there may be a fellow who thought that since he had access to some leftover chicken feed he might as well give it to his heifer calves. This cow was 4 and a half years old, a third calf cow, not a heifer. This means that she was calved in the spring of '99, two years after the ban on rendered products in cattle feed.

There is also the good possibility that the mill where he got his feed was slipping some leftover tankage into its cattle feed rather than being stuck with it---If you are not making chicken feed and have no place else to put it, why not slip it into the food chain and hope no one gets wise.

Ken; I think the that scientific community is pretty well satisfied that the MCD version of JCD is traceable to infected meat. Until recently people did buy and eat brain, and whenever I got a thick T-bone with a fat chunk of spinal cord in it I always forked that out and ate it too.

Westbrook is correct, there have been deaths reported, one right here in this area (around Miami, Ok) from what is believed to be a form of JCD traced to an elk infected with chronic wasting disease shot in Colorado. Our newspaper reported some deaths from JCD traced to squirrel brain in Ky a couple years ago. It will gain you nothing to protest that there is no link. The public will believe the experts.

Since buying cattle for this place I have never fed any feed containing any additives at all. Our local mill sells only cubes made of all vegetable products. It does of course handle chicken feed, dog feed, pig and horse feed. Both the chicken feed and the dog food are full of rendered animal products and would be dangerous if fed to cattle. Cattle would of course lap up the chicken feed as quickly as they do cubes, and I suspect they'd eat the dog food too. This is why I too think that homesteaders are likely to be at risk---they do tend to give their animals whatever feed is on hand.

The week after New Year will be an eye opener. If my wife is well enough to be left alone for a while I will be sitting in the stands at one of the auction houses just to see history in the making.

Ox

Corn silage is not considered a grass and most grass-fed folks would not accept corn silage as part of their program.

I think grass-fed vs. corn-fed is a matter of taste. Some people like it one way or the other. Of course, many of the grass-fed consumers have never really eaten a good corn fed beef, only the supermarket stuff.

There's room for both.

Jena

In the days before feedlots a grass-fed animal was not considered to be ready for the prime beef market until it was three years old.

As for grass-fat VS grain fattened I think it might be a matter of conditioning. An animal getting no grain, growing on grass and hay alone, will not fatten so long as its growth requires all the energy it consumes. Once it matures the energy turns to fat, and the flavor of the meat will reflect its feed to some degree. A brother will not eat home grown beef from the poultry areas of Ark. Says the meat stinks. After a few months in the feedlot this is not a problem?

Hanging the animal after slaughter but before cutting and packaging will greatly improve the meat, but many processors will not do this. Locally there is one I know of that hangs beef 27 days for a fellow I know. He put away a l500 pound steer this fall, a two year old.

If this MCD thing sinks the market it will make sense to butcher a calf even if you do not know what you will do with the neck bones, the oxtail, the liver, heart, etc.
Ox

"Mad Cow" hits close to home (my home):

I was in the local Staples store yesterday afternoon and ran into and old friend of mine, a lady in her late thirties that lost her husband a few months ago. I've
known her since she was a teenager. She and her husband had one of those May-December romances. He wasn't THAT old, but he passed away.

They had a small ranch together along with a couple of grazing permits on the National Forest. The old man took care of the cattle for the most part and the gal has a job working for a government contractor on one of the military bases.

They fought the govenment and the environmentalists for years over the grazing permits, at a large cost.

I asked her of course how she was doing and how she was managing things since her loss. She said it hadn't been easy (I'd expect not) and that she was
selling the cattle and getting out of the business. She said that it had become
"an expensive hobby" in her words and with the mad cow debacle she didn't see how things were ever going to get any better. So, she's cutting her losses and
selling out.

As I said, I've know this lady for years and around here we would call her "a good hand" on the ranch and tough as nails to boot. She knows the work, knows cows and has helped her husband for years. She loves the lifestyle and I just know if she thought she could make just a living at it she'd quit her job and stay on and work the ranch.

...Another rancher bites the dust.

Quote:
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Originally Posted by Ken Scharabok
Jena: Would silage be acceptable in a 'grass-fed' program since technically it isn't a grass? Forage-finished?

Ken S. in WC TN
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What about haylige (hay silage) that would adhere to the grass fed program, wouldn't it? My uncle used to put up a silo of corn silage and a silo of hay silage each year for his small dairy herd.

Stacy in NY

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I don't know if grass-fed folks would accept haylage, but it's a much better bet than corn silage.

Jena

Hi,

This will not be a good time for cattle producers, large or small, but the smaller ones will be hurt the most I think as they don't have the huge resources that a Con-Agra has to weather the public's irrational fears.

On the other hand, I have been waiting for the price of calves to drop so that I could afford a couple to raise and put in the freezer. They were selling for well over a dollar a pound at the feeder sale here, I'm sure this Wednesday the price will be less and next Wednesday they will be even lower. I'll buy my calves locally and feed them out and take them over to the slaughterhouse. Last one I raised on grain and grass - it cost me $1.62 per pound including cost of calf and slaughtering/packaging. Much cheaper than the grocery store meat and tasted a heck of a lot better too.

Perhaps this is a bad time to say it, but it is an opportunity for people like myself who can't pay $1.10 a pound liveweight for a calf to raise. I would have rather waited for the prices to naturally come down though - not through a scare like this which is not part of the natural cycle of business. Of course by the time the media gets through with it, who knows where the prices will go.

So sorry for all of you producers of cattle - this is a tough blow after having several years of low cattle prices. BTW - this affects people who buy cattle futures as well - their shares are going to be practically worthless right now...

Sidepasser

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"...Last one I raised on grain and grass - it cost me $1.62 per pound including cost of calf and slaughtering/packaging. Much cheaper than the grocery store meat and tasted a heck of a lot better too."

Is this the cost of the calf, every cost associated with raising it, transportation to the processor and all processing cost divided by the number of of beef returned?

Ken S. in WC TN

Figuring up the cost of raising a calf involves much more than the cost of the calf and the slaughtering.

Feed is number one expense, hands down.
Even if the calf spends alot of time on pasture there is the expense of renting/owning the pasture, fencing, maintainence of the pasture, property taxes, etc. Hay equipment is costly, so is having the haying done if you don't have the equipment.

I also have vet costs (even if it's just buying vaccines and wormer), capital costs...the sheds, tractor and other equipment I use, insurance, etc etc etc

No one was making a killing in the high market, just actually making a little bit of money for once.

They say prices should fall to about what they were last year, but that was before it was discovered the cow was from Canada. IF that is confirmed, I think our market will come back and fast. If you want a cheap calf, better buy it soon. If it is not confirmed...hold off as prices will drop more.

Jena

I live in Alaska where some of the Mad Cow meat was shipped and believed to be consumed. I am thankful for Moose, Elk, Deer, Bear, Fish, Shrimp, and Crab...so I don't have to depend on the Beef Industry for anything.

JOHN :no:

They say prices should fall to about what they were last year, but that was before it was discovered the cow was from Canada. IF that is confirmed, I think our market will come back and fast. If you want a cheap calf, better buy it soon. If it is not confirmed...hold off as prices will drop more.

Jena[/QUOTE]

I don't understand what benefit it is that the cow came from Canada. The Vet from the gov't said our beef industry is "intertwined" with Canada. If we left one infected cow in, why not more? The feed ban was put into effect in North America at the same time. In 2000 a study found up to 25% of the feed plants were not following the rules of the ban. The ban is only on feeding ruminant parts to ruminants. What about chickens, pigs or domestic pets that have been rendered after eating cow parts in their food? How come in the age of chips and computers we are tracing this cow with papers? Why is it so hard to get records to find out where the feed came from? Don't the ranchers buy in large quantities and keep their slips for taxes? Just too many questions at this point to say if there is a problem or not.

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Cindy in PA

Well...I agree. Once the first cow was found in Canada, I knew it was just a matter of time before we had one. I do agree that we are one big cattle country, but...

We were considered BSE free. If it is proved that the cow was imported, then we can keep that status. If we keep that status, it is much more likely that we will keep our exports. Even if we don't keep our exports, they will surely slam the door back in the Canadians faces. We were set to start allowing live cattle under 30 months of age back in from Canada. If they postpone that, we are back to where we were before this happened.

I am not a market analyst or anything. I just have an opinion like everyone else

As far as why we are engaged in a paper chase...Canada has National Cattle ID, we don't. We know we need one, everyone pretty much admits is it necessary, but there is no cohesive plan to make it happen. The packers have stipulations, producers don't want to pay for it, producers are afraid of misidentified cows, etc. There are companies out there with systems, but I won't buy one until I know which one to buy. The industry has said they'll come up with one, without the government's involvement, but someone needs to actually make some decisions....

Feed...I don't buy "feed", just soybean meal. I get it from one of two places, usually. There are times when I will get it somewhere else, depending on the prices. If I were buying feed, rather than soybean meal, they would have to track it all down. I could tell someone when I bought some and where I got it, but then they'd have to figure out what batch of feed was my feed at the mill. Then they'd have to trace where that whole batch went, where all the ingredients came from, etc.

I do agree there are problems with our system and I'm all for them doing more about it. Perhaps they will at this point. I do think our beef is safe, but there is more to be done. It would not surprise me if more cows were found.

I thought all this before they found this cow. I thought this all during those high prices. Reality and the market are not always in line with each other.

Jena

Forcing the factory farms to clean up their act...????

We live near 3 of those "horrible giant chicken farms" and none of them stink! Whatever the animal rights wackos have been feeding you about them, it's probably FAR from the truth. Damage to the environment?!? Chicken manure is one of the most sought after fertilizers for farmer's fields, and safest. I have BEGGED them for it, offered to pay for it - it's like gold, and they're not giving it up. I see more slop and smell more manure around the part-time, don't give a ****, make a quick buck farmers.

So you've actually been in a big commercial growers house, or just taking PETA propaganda as factual? But maybe you've actually scaled the chain link & wire fences, passed through the multiple levels of security and been arrested & thrown in jail while attempting to break in. Tyson and Perdue are so paranoid about their trade secrets & patents, they won't even let relatives near those houses. I dare you to find a single dead bird in or around one of those houses and most hold 700,000+. The size of an operation has absolutely nothing to do with the quality of the product. If the commercial operations are so horrible, why isn't PETA breaking in and freeing the chickens?

No, I still don't buy & eat commercially raised birds - free ranged TASTE BETTER. And I don't care to defend the practice of confinement type growers, but let's not pass on the nonsense from PETA as factual. :no: :no: Those chickens might not see sunlight, but they live in a very clean, climate controlled, nearly odor free houses (and eat a diet of stuff I'd never feed my own birds)

If it's a plant where animals / birds or whatever is rendered, HELLO, the process is gonna smell! Every deer I gutted smelt, and if I nicked the intestines, boy it could really stink! I'd be lying if I said evascerting a free range turkey didn't stink! We feed ours stuff like KALE - it's like cabbage - just nick the right spot and PHEW! :haha: It'll practically make your eyes water! HEY! It's all natural, it gives the meat a nice flavor!

It is a marketing MISTAKE to attack your competition with misleading or incorrect information, when your product is far above superior in quality, taste, appearance, etc. My gormet birds look great, taste fantastic and the meat is firm and juicy - top that and you'll put me out of business! I'm not interested in cutting down my competition or laying a guilt trip on consumers to build a customer base! Sure, you can find Tyson or Perdue making a mistake here and there, but if we went by percentage of lost product - I'm the one that should be shut down, not them! People do pay for quality, and we don't try to punish them financially for choosing us. Compare prices in your local health food store and you'll see what I mean.

If I could, I would buy locally raised, pasture fed, non-grained beef - because I like the taste, espically if it was raised on alfalfa. I'd gladly pay full price or a premium from someone like WR or Jena because they sound like responsible cattlefolk. On the otherhand... it's really the part-time, small producer that runs to the feed store and suppliments his crappy hay with the high protein, everything goes into the bag, super feeds - and then lies through their teeth about how their product is "organic". :haha:

Bill

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Bill

Hi,

Responding about the costs of raising the calves -

Yes - I kept up with all my costs -

I figured it this way:

Cost of calves - $60 for two at four to five months (guy wasn't sure - they were his father's calves and his dad had died so the son was selling all the cows and calves).

cost of transportation - from his place to mine - 18 miles at .30 a mile.

cost of wormers for both
cost of every bag of feed and every bale of hay purchased. I do not grow my own hay.

cost of transport to slaughterhouse - 22 miles at .30 a mile.
No vet costs were incurred as in on site veterinary care by a veterinarian. Gave both calves supplemental shots and those costs were figured in.

I did not include my labor which was about 1/2 to 3/4 of an hour a day, to feed the two calves daily and fill their water tank. Fly spray was an oiled type backrub. Free choice minerals were included in costs.

I netted out of both animals - 550 lbs from the heifer and 350 lbs from the steer - he kept getting out as he was not completely castrated and had one testicle so he didn't get to stay around as long to eat as the heifer.

I paid no kill fee except a .22 bullet for him - he got out one time too many. No packaging fees except my purchased reynolds wrap and wax paper. I traded the hide and organ meat (except liver) for the kill fee and packaging fee for the heifer.

After I figured up all my expenses and divided it into the number of pounds of meat, I got $1.62 per pound. My biggest expense was grain. Both were fed hay during the winter months. They were both raised outside on pasture.

The animals were 1/2 brahma, 1/4 angus and 1/4 Charlois. The steer I kept until he was around nine months old, the heifer was close to 13 months old when I sent her off to the packing house.

Not too bad an investment for the time spent.
Sidepasser

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