Jersey beef?

[GANGGREEN]

Hi all, an introduction would be worthwhile I suppose since I'm new to the forum. I own a 100+ acre hobby farm in upstate Pennsylvania. Although I do some small scale farming, I don't presently have any livestock on the property. Other than chickens, I've never raised livestock although I've done a fair amount of reading over the last several years to prepare myself.

I think that I may finally be able to add some critters around here. I'm thinking about 2 feeder pigs in the spring and a few steers for beef when I'm able to get the pasture ready. I had originally thought about a small breeding herd of Dexters but they're rare in these parts and I expect that they'd be expensive if I could find them.

I have an old timer not far from here that raises Jerseys for beef and a decent sized Jersey dairy just down the road. I'm guessing that I could get his bull calves fairly inexpensively, castrate them and raise them up. At some point I'd consider a cull cow or a bred heifer so the family would have dairy products as well but presently I'm more interested in the beef.

I was wondering if those of you with Jerseys could give me any advice or opinions about whether I'm barking up the right tree here. Initially I'll pasture about 6 acres with a small run in/finishing shed although I may put more into pasture at some point in the future.

Specifically I'd like to know about Jersey beef, what you all think about finishing them (grass fed vs. grain finished) and their general temperament. Thanks in advance.

[Paula]

Welcome Ganggreen!
IMO Jersey beef is the absolute best beef you can raise. They don't get as huge as some of the beef breeds, and they take a couple years to grow, but it is the sweetest, tenderest meat there is. It has yellow fat which is only a visual difference, it tastes the same.
Jersey steers are very docile. Just make sure you steer them because Jersey bulls can be killers, never trustworthy in any case.
We have plenty of pasture so are able to grass-finish beef. We prefer it's taste, plus it's so much healthier for you. Do some research on the web before you decide.

[GANGGREEN]

Thanks Paula, I had certainly heard that about Jersey bulls and wanted to avoid that so I'll definitely castrate. I'm not sure that I've ever eaten truly grass finished beef and I'd want to try some before I'd be willing to butcher an animal that was grass finished.

You mention that they take longer to mature, what kind of time frame are you talking about, butchering at 20 months or so or not until the following year? What if I became impatient and decided to butcher an 8 or 9 month old steer? Obviously it would be much smaller than a "finished" animal but would it be acceptable? Just curious.

I guess my plan is to take on 3 or 4 calves the first year, butcher one that fall, add a couple calves the following spring and begin to butcher two a year each year after that, killing off the almost 2 year olds each year and adding 2 new calves each spring. Does that make sense or is my schedule too ambitious?

[MullersLaneFarm]

Paula is right on about Jersey beef! If you can get past the yellow marbling, you're in for an awesome treat!

We had an 11 mo Jersey bull here and there wasn't much to him!

[thequeensblessing]

We pick up jersey bulls every year from the dairy down the road. We castrate them and raise them for about 18 months and then butcher them. I agree with everything that has been said. Jerseys give less meat than most other breeds, but the beef you get is of the highest quality and oh so tender! Yumm! We always get week old calves so we have to bottle feed them for a while, then we grain feed them once a day. They stay out on pasture the entire 18 or so months.
We figure our beef costs us less than $1.00 per pound for everything. You can't buy beef for that anywhere.

[dezeeuwgoats]

Out of curiosity Dona - at the $1 per pound for 'everything' does that include taking the steers to the butcher, or do you guys butcher them yourselves?

Niki

[JulieLou42]

If you want beef with the most Omega-3 oil and CLA content NEVER feed it any grain. If you do grain it, the percentages of those needful nutrients goes way down, and takes many months to recover, if at all for the latter of the two.

Of course, if you'd rather pay for and eat a lot of wild grown cold-water fish or fish oils, then by all means, grain your beef. You also can buy supplemental CLA made from safflower oils...Tonalin by name.

[GANGGREEN]

Julie, thanks for the info. As I said, I've never eaten grass finished beef and if I found that the taste was comparable or better, obviously I'd take the healthy choice. On the other hand, I really, really like a good steak and wouldn't compromise that for the benefit of some Omega 3s if you get my drift.

[Ronney]

Hi Ganggreen and welcome,
Oh dear, your user name immediately conjurs up things going rotten

So, to Jersey beef. If wanting to do it commercially, it's not a good option because they are a dairy breed and consequently take longer to grow out and never reach the weights of a beef breed or even a Friesian. There is also an in-built public perception of what colour fat should be and it's very hard to get past that. However, if you have a market for it or are wanting it for your own use, your in for a treat. It is my opinion that Jersey beef is some of the best eating meat available - and I don't give a tinkers cuss what colour the fat it.

If you can finish your cattle on grass, do so. I've never eaten grain fed beef but have eaten grain fed pork - and wouldn't want my beef tasting as bland as that pig did. And no, your plan isn't ambitious at all and with 100 acres to bring in and play with, there is no reason as to why you shouldn't be able to have a nice little turnover in the due course of time. The important thing is - do your homework, start off small and build up as and when money, time and confidence allow you to.

Cheers,
Ronnie