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Grass-Finishing Myths that Reduce Profitability
Note from Kathy: These are just three of the ten grass-finishing myths that will Greg will be covering in the Introductory/Overview session of the upcoming online Pasture-Finished Beef Workshop August 11-13 from 7-9PM ET. This is going to be a great workshop, covering topics important to anyone trying to finish beef on pasture. It will cover forages and grazing management, cattle selection, supplementation, winter management and marketing and processing. Everyone is welcome to attend and it's free. Click here to learn more and register.
Myth #1: Cattle Can Be Finished Well on Grass in 18-22 Months
Many people still believe that it’s possible to finish cattle on pasture in 18-22 months. I believe that this mythological target has been perpetuated by misinformation by so-called “experts” and by embarrassment on the producer-side for being well below what appears to be an achievable benchmark. We as grass-finishers, hear that everyone else is finishing their animals
I’m finishing around 24-34 months, in central Maryland, depending on a lot of factors. Hanging weights are consistently 700+lb.
We don’t butcher any grass fed beeves earlier than about 32 months. #slowbeef
Maybe Kentucky is too hot and humid in the summer to get adequate intake and maintain high rates of gain?
My main issue is winter gains are too low. Need to re-examine what and how I’m feeding.
Wonder what a fall calving herd with calves on cows over winter, weaned onto spring forage would do?
Gene: Kentucky is definitely hot and humid in the summer. My first year in KY, when I came back from walking out to the mailbox on the first really humid day in June and was dripping with sweat, I realized it was going to take me a while to get used to it. I still haven’t! So yes, our gains are probably a little lower compared to the same quality forages further north, but I’m guessing our gains are a bit higher in the winter with our milder winters, as well as having stockpiled fescue which makes a fabulous quality winter forage. We bring in both spring-born and fall-born calves to the farm. I will cover both in the presentation next week.
This is a great article Dr. Halich. Everyone of those Myths I have pondered myself (Myth #1 especially). That was good to hear finishing in 18-22 is almost impossible to achieve. I finished at 22 months and wasn’t excited at the results.
Ethan: What were the results finishing at 22 months and what is your target age now?