NCBA 2012 - Should Your Feedyard be Covered by the Beef Hoop System

[shaney]

<a href="http://www.realagriculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/hoop-beef-system.jpg"></iframe>

[gaucho]

Ithe past I would have discounted
something like this but between the feed
conversion, the cost of bedding, extra
manure haling associated and keeping
cattle cleaner, which would reduce ecoli's
I think these guys might be on to
something

[tweaker101]

Definately looks interesting and I'm sure the animals would like it when the wind chill is north of -35c or atleast I know it would be easier on them and me.

[kato]

Lots of pigs live in those things here in Manitoba. We call them biotech buildings. Some guys have converted them for calving, and they seem to work OK. You have to keep the air moving in there, though, or it starts to rain inside.

Personally, I'd fill it with tomato plants. ;-)

[rkaiser]

http://youtu.be/aJFRmyaerHE

[rkaiser]

OK - that did not seem to work. Google Hoop Beef System and they have a very good 12 minute video.

Looks to me like a way for smaller scale feeders to compete with the big feedlots.

[smcgrath76]

Kato - I think you could probably take a
lesson from the BC producers and fill it
with something else. The profits would
likely blow beef cattle and even tomatoes
out of the water. It could be big enough
to seed with an air drill.

[rkaiser]

you talking about ginsing Sean?

[rkaiser]

SHANEY
Very nice vidio! finally it is coming here to this part of the world
We saw this last year on our tour to Holland !
Beef hoop system all over the places some large barns with over 2400 head Dairy type cattle to finish .
yields of 62% and AAA . cattle over 550kg heave discounted ! [this we have to start here !]

Cattle had less stress and where fed 75 % cornsilage and by product of many diff plants
Best of all Beef served all over tasted very good ! served smaller portion ! [we need to this here as well].
our tour was very interesting to see many operating beef lots one man labour run 1500 to 2000 head under Beef hoop type systems
Never saw one steer feeding all have their own hormones left in called virgin bulls feeding implants stricly not used at all
all and all this system is gone be here !

[kato]

I think he means peppers. ha ha ha ha ha

[ag-boy]

Yes SHANEY VERY NICE VIDIO
This Hoop system is not new !
Touring Holland we saw many of them build some what like this .
Many ONE man operation and feed 1500 to 1800 head ,dairy type cattle to finish 550 kg , over this weight not wanted and discounted [ this we need to do here!]
Cattle lookt very clean youth full
yield 62 % or better .
Fed 70 to 80 % cornsilage, balans plant byproducts .
never saw one steer there ! hormones are left in .
Virgin -bulls feeding , so better gains
no implant of course !!!!
some what higher cost barns ! use of slatted floor , think off last year wet spring. Cattle 2 feet deep im mod
Packers complain of stinking Beef
We noticed Beef served in EU, smaller portion and youthfull flavour tasted
better than here !!!! we can learn from them ,
this is our lessons we learned , so covered system have is place and are here to stay

[grassfarmer]

Don't necessarily agree with that ag-boy. If the cattle
are standing over slats they'll get quite a "smell" taste
about them as well. The constant ingestion of
ammonia fumes is what pollutes hog barn pork and I
can't see it will be much different with beef. Can't
beat the clean taste of cattle that are fattened on
grass - as nature intended!
In my experience, on average the beef in the EU is of
a poorer standard than north America. The feedlot
system provides a more standardized product
whereas in many areas of Europe they slaughter 11
month grain fed bulls, 26 month grass fed heifers
and 20 month silage/grain fed steers and expect to
get some consistency of product. There are always
exceptions of course - some great beef in the EU and
in Canada.

[Kathy]

Studies have shown the inhalation of sulfur from the manure can cause imbalances in the brain which can lead to symptoms similar to polio-encephalomalatia or PEM. Since PEM has clinical/pathological similarities to BSE ie: spongiform of the brain, I don't think we want our cattle to be in the position of inhaling to much sulfur or other contaminants.

These large confined feeding operations like one dairy I know of in Wisconsin, must run many large fans to clear the air. This particular barn has co-generation of electricity with their manure... so power cost is not an issue. (except the initial cost of setting up the cogen facility - which a power company contributed)

Sunshine kills bugs, and provides vitamin D and other benefits.

[kato]

Ever notice that if you toss a pork chop on a frying pan without any seasonings on it, you smell a pig barn?

There's a reason for that. Those pigs spend their lives suspended over a liquid manure pit, and I'm pretty sure there's no ventilation in the world good enough to clear that out 100%.

If you had one of these tunnels, and it was open and the cattle had the option of going in or not, as they pleased, that would be better than putting them into the kind of confinement system that pigs live in, with no opportunity to get out and move on real solid ground.

[grassfarmer]

Not just the smell kato, it's the taste of the hog
barn through and through. Since we started
retailing pasture pork the demand has been huge -
people can't believe that pork doesn't have to taste
like s@#$. Despite the low price of pork in the
stores it's actually easier to built a market for
premium quality/priced pork than it is for beef.