How long to harvest livestock pen

Pastured chickens grow more slowly and take more time to reach market weight. Without the very efficient economies of scale achieved by confinement production, the cost of feed, housing and processing pastured small-flock chicken can be four or more times that of industrial production. Chickens can be an important part of a diversified farm system, making them additionally valuable to the farmer, but the high relative price has limited the current market to direct sales to consumers at farmers markets or similar scenarios.

The FoodPrint of Beef. Learn More. How Cattle Are Raised Dairy Cattle Dairy operations are expanding rapidly; milk is increasingly produced by dairies housing thousands of cows, but a great deal is also still produced by small operations of 50 to cows. Dairy cattle are most commonly housed in: Tie-stall barns, where cows are tethered to a stall Free-stall barns, where they can move around and have straw bedding areas to lie on Dry lots, which have no vegetation or bedding Many small dairy operations, including those that pasture their animals most of the time, house cows in tie-stalls in the coldest part of the winter.

Beef Cattle Conventionally-raised beef cattle are generally raised in three stages, two of which are on pasture. Cow-calf operators manage a herd of beef cows, which are generally artificially inseminated to produce calves.

Calves are raised, often on pasture with their mothers, until weaning at six to twelve months, when they are sold. Female calves are sometimes kept to build the herd. There are thousands of these small farms around the country, some with only a few animals.

After weaning, most beef cattle go to a backgrounder to spend six months to a year grazing, until they are 12 to 16 months old. Many backgrounder ranchers graze cattle on federal lands.

Commercial cattle spend their last four to six months in a feedlot, where they are fed grain to accelerate weight gain. A grain finish produces the fat marbling that US consumers have come to expect from beef. Most feedlots house hundreds of thousands of cattle. On the other hand, beef that is grass-fed, grain-finished and not sold through the conventional system directly marketed, sold through a regional distributor, and so forth may be: Supplemented with grain while still on pasture Moved to a nearby small feedlot up to cattle in the weeks or months before the final finish These kinds of grain or feedlot finishes happen especially in areas where the climate does not allow for enough year-round pasture for a grass finish.

Thee FoodPrint of Pork. How Hogs Are Raised Hog production, whether industrialized or pastured, is specialized into three types of operations. Farrow-to-Finish Hog Operations Farrowing is when a sow gives birth to a litter of piglets. Farrow-to-Feeder Hog Operations These operations breed sows and sell the weaned piglets.

Before purchasing cattle you need to ensure that you are prepared for their ongoing care and husbandry. It is important that you can care for the cattle and provide a healthy environment for them to graze. As an owner or person in charge of cattle, it is important for you to remember that you have an overall responsibility for the care and management of the animals in your care.

The following documents should be referred to for further advice regarding your legal responsibilities for the welfare of cattle under your care and supervision:. It is important to make sure you have adequate facilities to unload the cattle when you get them back to your property.

A set of yards or a small paddock to confine the cattle for the first couple of days is essential. Holding the cattle in a small paddock or set of yards for the first couple of days will help to settle and calm them. It may also help prevent the spread of weeds and disease to your property. This initial step is important for the biosecurity of your property.

Also see Consulting Nutritionist, Feed Company. A veterinarian hired by the feedlot to consult on animal health-related issues such as vaccines and treatments. A liquid byproduct of the ethanol industry. It contains relatively high levels of protein and fat and can be used in feedlot diets to control dust and improve palatability. Total of all feedlot-related costs feed, yardage, processing, medicine, interest and death loss divided by total gain during the feeding period.

A feed yard that feeds, manages and markets cattle for customers. Fees are charged for feed, pharmaceuticals and other services. Cattle that are owned by an investor, rancher or other client of the feedlot and fed and managed for a fee. Also see Company Cattle. Carcasses with muscle tissue that is dark colored rather than the desirable cherry red.

Usually the result of depletions in muscle glycogen stores. Can be influenced, cattle handling techniques, weather, sex of cattle and implant strategy. Refers to the methods used to calculate close-outs, cost of gains and breakevens.

A byproduct of the dry milling ethanol industry. Commonly used as an ingredient in feedlots in proximity to dry milling plants. Can be produced from a variety of grains corn, milo, barley, wheat. Contains 10 to 12 percent moisture. Also see Byproducts or Coproducts. Carcass weight divided by final live weight times Typically ranges from 62 to 65 percent for slaughter cattle. Live weights may be adjusted for pencil shrink at the feedyard, local scale, or live weight at the plant.

Cattle that are experiencing acidosis due to overconsumption or too rapid consumption of high-grain diets. Also see As-is Basis. Ensiled corn grain, cobs and, in some cases, husks and a portion of the stalk depends on the harvest method. Earlage typically is harvested with a forage harvester much like corn silage would be harvested.

Earlage is higher in energy than corn silage and has similar protein content, but it has lower energy than dry or high-moisture corn grain. Feed additives such as antibiotics and other products may be fed only in combination when expressly noted on the feed additive label published by the Food and Drug Administration FDA. The FDA has responsibility and authority related to the use of various combinations of feed additives.

Feeding products in combination when not noted on the label is prohibited. The amount of ration that is fed to a particular pen. Also see Missing the Call, Bunk Call. The amount of feed consumed by an animal per unit of body weight gain.

Expressed as pounds of feed per pound of gain. Also see Feed Efficiency. Also see Feed Conversion. The amount the feedlot marks up the feed charges. Charges vary from feedlot to feedlot. Feed markup can be charged as a percentage of the feed bill or as a flat fee per ton of feed. The final diet cattle will be fed during the feeding period. Usually contains 5 to 10 percent roughage, but it may be an all-concentrate no roughage diet, depending on the feedlot.

Cattle that were grown on pasture prior to placement in the feedlot. Cattle that are relatively thin, with only small amounts of body condition.

Also see Soggy Cattle. A method of pricing slaughter cattle that offers premiums and discounts for cattle. Cattle that are leaner and have a higher quality grade receive the premiums. Grids generally have other specifications for carcass weight and dark cutters as well. An operation that grows or backgrounds cattle for a period of time before they enter the feedlot for finishing.

May be used to wean calves because the operations generally have a higher ratio of employees to cattle and can give sick calves extra attention. Forage that has been ensiled for the purposes of preservation. A variety of forages may be classified as haylage, including alfalfa, oats, rye, triticale and wheat.

Haylage typically is harvested by swathing or windrowing, allowing the forage to dry to 45 to 60 percent moisture, chopping with a forage harvester and storing in an oxygen-limiting silo. Heifers placed on feed following the loss of a calf or open heifers placed on feed following the breeding season.

Corn that is harvested when moisture levels are 22 to 32 percent. Generally, this corn is ground or rolled and stored in pit or bunker silos. It also can be stored whole and processed before feeding. Also see Pit Corn. Place where sick cattle are treated before being returned to the home pen.

Also see Sick Pen. Method of sale that refers to selling the cattle on a carcass weight basis rather than live weight. Usually carcass weight times carcass price with no discounts for Choice or Select.

Also see Live. Antibiotic that enhances feed efficiency in cattle by altering ruminal fermentation. Rumensin, monensin; Bovatec, lasalocid; and Cattlyst, laidlomycin propionate are the Food and Drug Administration-approved ionophores used in diets for finishing cattle.

Limiting feed intake to achieve a desired rate of gain during the growing period. Used in growing and backgrounding situations to have cattle ready for market at a specific point in time. Also see Programmed Feeding. Liquid supplement based on molasses that contains urea or another nonprotein nitrogen NPN source.

Used to provide supplemental protein in a finishing diet. May also contain supplemental phosphorus, salt, ionophores and other feed additives. Most liquid supplements contain a suspension agent to keep the ingredients and feed additives in suspension during storage. At times, the packer is responsible for transporting the animals to the slaughter facility.

Also see In the beef. Disease condition of the liver in which rumen microflora infect the liver due to breaks in the rumen wall caused by acidosis. Sows kept for farrowing have more space and may be fed individually two or more times daily to maintain health.

Recent finishing buildings are designed to house to growing pigs each. An individual finishing farm may have two to six or more finishing buildings. Nursery buildings may have several rooms and house weaned pigs. One full-time person can provide the routine daily labor required by to nursery pigs or growing hogs. Sow farms consist of facilities for gestation and breeding as well as for farrowing. About one-twentieth of the sow herd is bred, farrows, or weans pigs each week. Large, specialized farrowing operations may house sows or multiples thereof and employ one person for every or sows in inventory.

Such operations may average more than nine pigs weaned per litter and 2. Annual production exceeds 20 pigs weaned per sow per year. Pig buildings may be ventilated naturally with ridge vents and fabric curtain sides that can be opened. Other pig buildings are ventilated by fans mounted in the walls. Tunnel ventilation is used in warm climates to cool poultry and livestock by pulling a large volume of air in one end of the building and out the other end with large fans.

Much lower rates of ventilation are used in cooler seasons and in cooler climates. Pig feed consists primarily of ground corn, soybean meal, and supplemental minerals and vitamins. Feed is often ground, mixed, and pelleted at large centralized feed mills, although some farms still grind their own corn and mix in soybean meal and vitamin-mineral premixes. Diets are tailored to the nutrient requirements of the pigs at various stages of growth and reproduction e. Whole-herd feed conversion rates have fallen steadily and are now well below 3 pounds of feed per pound of live pig produced in some production systems.

Broilers and turkeys are raised in similar systems. A centralized feed mill produces pelleted diets consisting of ground corn, soybean meal, and mineral and vitamin supplements.

Specialized farms maintain breeding flocks and produce hatching eggs. Depending on the market being served, some broiler flocks are now marketed at 6 weeks of age or less. Others are raised to much heavier weights at 7 to 8 weeks of age for further processing or for sale as roasters.

Turkey hens are generally marketed as whole birds at 12 to 14 weeks 5. Toms are generally marketed at 35 to 40 pounds at 20 to 22 weeks of age, and almost all toms are now processed further. Broiler houses will handle 20, to 30, birds per house, and farms generally have two to six such houses.

Turkey buildings generally hold to toms or 13, to 17, females. Tunnel ventilation is used in warm climates, while open-sided buildings with lower rates of ventilation are generally used in cooler seasons and climates. Some turkey farms have both brooding and growing facilities generally with one brooder for two growing facilities , but most, due to disease-related problems in multiaged operations, are now moving to all-in, all-out operations. Turkeys and broilers as well as nursery pigs and finishing pigs are generally raised on an all-in, all-out basis.

That is, a flock of day-old birds is placed in an empty building and raised to market weight. The house is then emptied and cleaned prior to the arrival of the next flock a week or two later. Turkey complexes are similar, although turkeys are generally transported far greater distances.

Most table eggs are produced in buildings with the hens in cages. These farms housed million pullets and hens. There were farms with at least , pullets and hens 13 weeks or older that housed 65 percent of the U. Feed is primarily ground corn or other grain and soybean meal with vitamin and mineral supplements. Almost all egg production facilities are enclosed and are power ventilated. Manure management varies widely across species, region, and farm type.

Since manure management can have a significant effect on emissions, attention is given here to some of the common systems. Manure management systems vary with climate, soil productivity, farm size, and other factors. The systems in use now reflect research, development, education, and regulatory programs over the past 40 years. For example, Humenik provides a history of the evolution of anaerobic lagoon and sprayfield systems corresponding to the development of the Clean Water Act in There are many different systems for handling dairy manure.

Tie-stall barns cattle confined in stalls often have gutters that can be cleaned by mechani-. Most U. Free-stall barns are often cleaned using mechanical scrapers that pass through the alleyway. Most farms with more than cows use this means of cleaning USDA, a. Flush systems are increasingly common on large farms.

However, flush systems require greater storage capacity than mechanical scrapers because more liquid is added to the animal manure despite recycling from a storage pond or lagoon. Dry lots or bedded packs can be used to house cattle in dry climates, with manure removed only occasionally with a tractor.

Dairy cattle manure is either stored dry in piles on concrete or earthen pads, stored as a slurry in a concrete or lined lagoon or storage tank, or mixed with flush water in earthen or lined lagoons which may be covered with biological material e. Manure management in feedlots varies with the range of facilities described previously. Earthen-floor pens are routinely scraped, and the solids are collected into mounds within the pens.

The manure mounds are removed on schedules that depend on the climate, region, and class of cattle involved. Solids removal from these systems may occur monthly, quarterly, semiannually, or annually.

Some feedlots do not remove the manure yearly; rather a mound is created in the fall and peeled over winter, allowing the manure to dry in summer and be mounded again. The one-turn-per-year feedlots typically remove solids only once a year. When there is a continuous flow of cattle and pens are on feed less than days, solids removal likely coincides with the sale of cattle from a pen.

Pens with extensive paving require regular weekly, semiweekly removal of solids. Primary factors affecting the frequency of scraping are stocking density in the pen, precipitation, and use of bedding.

Solid-floor, total-confinement barns with bedding are generally cleaned every month. In all of these systems, the disposition of removed solids depends on season and region. It is often necessary to stockpile solids at a location outside the pen until the material is spread onto cropland, perhaps weeks or months later. Some operations compost the solids, but this practice is not prevalent because of climatic conditions, costs, and additional management requirements.

Permitted feedlots with outside pens have runoff controls ranging from vegetative filters to settling basin pond systems to lagoons.

Settling basins are handled as solid waste usually when the material is dry. Ponds may be allowed to evaporate or be used as a source of irrigation water. Lagoons are pumped, usually each spring and fall, with liquid manure applied to cropland. Slatted-floor confinement designs with flush systems typically incorporate some degree of solids separation to allow recycling of flush water.

The high solids content effluent fraction would be stored in lagoons or slurry store-type structures. Deep-pit facilities are usually emptied each spring and fall. Local ordinances are having an increasing influence on manure handling and management. These are highly variable and often specific to an individual feedlot. The result of federal, state, and local regulations and stipulations is a checker-board of manure management strategies.

This creates confusion in the permitting process, may accommodate specific optimums by location, and may lead to a real or perceived disparity of requirements. Manure management for pigs varies widely with climate, geographical characteristics, and size and type of operation. A small proportion of farms in Iowa and other states has adopted a deep-bedded system in the past decade, in which pigs are kept in hoop buildings on deep straw beds.

The bedding material and manure are removed periodically and spread on land. More prevalent systems include slurry handling systems, common in the upper Midwest, and anaerobic lagoon and flushing systems, with land application of liquid lagoon effluent, common in the Southeast.

A variant of the anaerobic lagoon system can be found in the arid West where liquid is evaporated rather than applied to cropland. The slurry handling systems include collection of manure, spilled water and feed, and wash water in under-floor concrete pits or gutters. The floor of the pig buildings consists partially or totally of concrete gang slats, steel tribar, or woven wire such that manure can fall through gaps in the flooring.

The undiluted manure is referred to as slurry and may contain 5 to 10 percent solids. The slurry may be stored in a deep pit beneath the building, or it may be pumped to an outside storage tank usually open topped and made of concrete or glass-lined steel or an earthen slurry basin. Slurry is pumped out of storage and applied to land with tractor-drawn equipment in either the fall or the spring.

The application rate is limited to the amount of manure that will meet the plant available nitrogen requirements of the crop to be produced there. A recently revised NRCS standard has caused some producers to shift to applying manure to more land, at a lower rate that will not exceed the plant available phosphorus requirements of the crop.

The anaerobic lagoon and sprayfield system of manure handling is characterized by an anaerobic treatment and storage lagoon with a flushing or pit recharging system for frequent removal of manure from the buildings. Concrete slats or other flooring with openings allow manure, spilled water, and feed to fall into a shallow pit or a flush gutter beneath the floor. In the pit recharge system, less than 2 ft of liquid depth is maintained in the shallow pit and a standpipe-plug is pulled on a regular schedule to allow the liquid and accumulated manure to drain to the anaerobic lagoon.

The pit is then recharged with lagoon liquid. The flush system does not maintain liquid in the flush gutter, but a flush tank at the higher end of the building is filled with several hundred gallons of lagoon liquid and released into the flush gutter every few hours. The flush liquid and accumulated manure drain into the anaerobic lagoon. The anaerobic lagoon is a large earthen structure in which a minimum treatment depth of several feet of liquid must be maintained at all times.

This treatment depth maintains an anaerobic environment that sup-. In addition to the treatment volume, the lagoon is also designed to contain temporary storage volume six months to one year of manure volume and rainfall accumulation , emergency storage a year, hour storm accumulation, plus a chronic rainfall accumulation in some states , sludge accumulation depth, and freeboard.

Lagoon effluent generally has less than 1 percent solids and a small fraction of the nutrient content of manure slurry.

Liquid lagoon effluent is land-applied using automated irrigation equipment. Liquid effluent is applied at a rate that meets the plant available nitrogen or phosphorus requirements of the crop. Annual land application volume is equal to the volume of manure, spilled water and feed, water used to wash the building interior, and rainfall accumulated in open structures, minus evaporation from barns and open structures. A variant of the anaerobic lagoon system uses the high rate of evaporation and low rainfall in some locations to decrease effluent volume.

Broilers and Turkeys. Many broiler and turkey grow-out buildings have earthen floors. The floor is covered with a bedding material such as wood shavings to collect and dry the manure.

The relatively low moisture content of poultry manure makes this approach practical. The bedding material and accumulated manure called litter are generally removed from the buildings and replaced once each year. The surface of the litter is generally raked to remove feathers and caked material, and then new shavings are added between flocks. Once removed, the litter is generally directly land-applied, but it may be stacked and stored in covered piles or in a litter storage shed until it is loaded into a manure spreader a truck- or tractor-drawn implement and land-applied.

In arid regions, thin bed drying may be used. A variety of manure management systems are used for layer operations. Most caged layer buildings have concrete floors. In the high-rise layer system, manure falls onto a concrete floor, accumulates there, and is removed periodically as a dry material that can be spread mechanically on land. Anaerobic lagoon and flushing systems have also been used on layer farms, but are becoming less and less common. There are also cage systems with manure belts that pass beneath the cages and convey the manure to a collection point.

The manure is then augured out of the building for storage until it is eventually spread on land. Farmers generally behave as profit maximizers; that is, they try to use inputs and produce products such that the difference between total revenue and costs is maximized.

Farm practices to limit emissions and manage manure can be considered in this context. Since manure management can affect rates and composition of emissions, it is given considerable attention in this and the following section. Farmers are willing to incur costs to store, transport, and land-apply manure up to the value of additional revenues generated and costs avoided.

In the case of manure management, the costs avoided include the purchase and application of commercial fertilizer. Costs avoided may also include those associated with nuisance complaints. In some cases, manure utilization is thought to increase yields more than commercial fertilizer.

Such a yield increase would be an example of additional revenue generated. An example of the economic definition of a waste product would be if the costs of utilizing manure as a fertilizer exceed the value of benefits generated. A product that costs more to use than the value of benefits generated by its use is a waste. Once a product is identified as a waste, profit-maximizing behavior seeks the least cost total cost minus total revenue option for waste disposal.

Manure treatment as opposed to simple storage and land application may become the most profitable or least costly option in some circumstances e. A variety of factors affect the economic attractiveness of treatment.