WildRoseBeef
Range nerd & bovine enthusiast
It was really interesting for me to find out that the terms "grass-fed genetics" and smaller-the-better in terms of raising cattle on just grass is not exactly what it's made out to be. It's logical to think that the smaller the cow, the less feed it takes to feed her, and in the case of grass-based systems, the smaller the cow the more efficient she will be. Unfortunately, that's all marketing hype. The fact is, not all cows are made equal, and that goes for miniature, low-lined or small framed cattle too. Indeed, how well a cow or heifer or steer or bull will do on grass is due to genetics, but environmental factors also have a huge impact on them as well. For instance, frame 6 Simmentals would do well on pasture that is lush and is high in protein for most of the growing season. However, they will starve to death if you put them on sparse, coarse pasture like that in West Texas even with a few pounds of range cubes fed once or twice a day. A Frame 4 Texas Longhorn would get way too fat on the same pasture that the Simmentals do well on without supplementation.
I've read about someone having some small cattle that end up doing worse than what they initially thought they would. These cattle had to eat more in order to maintain condition, and grew too slow, in comparison to other types, sometimes larger-framed cattle fed on the same ration or in the same pasture. Genetics infused into this "grass-based" genetic herd from a line or breed that has the desirable feed efficiency produced calves that were more growthy, and easier doing than what that person initially started with.
If you want to have a grass-based cow-herd, don't get caught up in the "smaller is better" mentality. Quite often producers want small cattle only for personal reasons, nothing to do with what they are interested in terms of efficiency or low-cost production: small cattle are chosen because they feel intimidated by those that are too tall or big for their taste. What you need to do in order to select cattle that are going to be great on grass is to cull those that are hard-doing, or have to eat a lot to maintain weight. Body condition score is the best indicator as to how much a hard keeper a cow or heifer is. Another indicator is how well the offspring does on forage alone, as far as ADG is concerned. You might think you would need a scale for this, but that's not always the case. What condition calves are in is just as reliable an indicator as with cows: either by eye, or by touch when they're in the chute when you have to vaccinate them before weaning. If you're really good you can tell just by eyeing them up what their weight is, but quite often a person can under or even over-estimate their weight. This is where a good scale comes in for a more accurate measurement.
Gut capacity is another indicator on feed efficiency. A cow needs to have a large rumen in order to be able to efficiently digest the grass that she eats. For one producer I read about that lives up north from where I am has cows that look like they are barrels on four legs. (I can't imagine what these same cows look like when heavily pregnant!) Of course, gut capacity has to coincide with body condition score at the end of the day in order to see if a cow on grass and hay only is efficient on feed.
Anyway, that's some hopefully useful information that I learned about this week I thought I would share with you all.
I've read about someone having some small cattle that end up doing worse than what they initially thought they would. These cattle had to eat more in order to maintain condition, and grew too slow, in comparison to other types, sometimes larger-framed cattle fed on the same ration or in the same pasture. Genetics infused into this "grass-based" genetic herd from a line or breed that has the desirable feed efficiency produced calves that were more growthy, and easier doing than what that person initially started with.
If you want to have a grass-based cow-herd, don't get caught up in the "smaller is better" mentality. Quite often producers want small cattle only for personal reasons, nothing to do with what they are interested in terms of efficiency or low-cost production: small cattle are chosen because they feel intimidated by those that are too tall or big for their taste. What you need to do in order to select cattle that are going to be great on grass is to cull those that are hard-doing, or have to eat a lot to maintain weight. Body condition score is the best indicator as to how much a hard keeper a cow or heifer is. Another indicator is how well the offspring does on forage alone, as far as ADG is concerned. You might think you would need a scale for this, but that's not always the case. What condition calves are in is just as reliable an indicator as with cows: either by eye, or by touch when they're in the chute when you have to vaccinate them before weaning. If you're really good you can tell just by eyeing them up what their weight is, but quite often a person can under or even over-estimate their weight. This is where a good scale comes in for a more accurate measurement.
Gut capacity is another indicator on feed efficiency. A cow needs to have a large rumen in order to be able to efficiently digest the grass that she eats. For one producer I read about that lives up north from where I am has cows that look like they are barrels on four legs. (I can't imagine what these same cows look like when heavily pregnant!) Of course, gut capacity has to coincide with body condition score at the end of the day in order to see if a cow on grass and hay only is efficient on feed.
Anyway, that's some hopefully useful information that I learned about this week I thought I would share with you all.
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