Lets take a moment and discuss animal husbandry and welfare at Null Ridge Premium Beef.
Can healthy happy cattle convert to tender beef?
Animal husbandry plays a huge part in the success of our cattle, and ultimately the beef experience for our customers.
The process begins about three years before you can enjoy that steak on your plate.
We artificially inseminate our cows with Full Blood Wagyu genetics. Those cow will then give birth around 230 -265 days later.
Our calving season begins around mid-March through April.
Once the calves are close to three months of age, they receive their first round of vaccination. We use a modified live vaccine which helps protect the calf’s immune system and lungs from contracting dust pneumonia. Plus this vaccine sets the calf up for success at its next phase in life.
There are two different methods for processing calves.
1. Dragging the calves by roping them off horseback. This option requires a four to five cowboy crew. Two people restrain the calf while the other crew members administer shots, brand, ear tag and perform the testicular castration of bull calves.
2. The other option is to process the calves through a cattle handling system. This consist of an ally, squeeze tub and a chute. This is my preferred method for processing calves on our operation. I feel cattle need to have experience traveling through a cattle handling system.
Cattle will be processed through a chute multiple times before being harvested.
If the steer or heifer has experienced this process before without experiencing fear, the level of stress on the animal will decrease substantially.
This is my personal observation from the ranch to the feedyard to the rail. If cattle are raised in a calm and low stress environment the beef will certainly reflect that outcome in a more tender end product.
The cows and calves will graze on native grass until late Fall when the calves are weaned from their mothers.
The calves are processed through the cattle handling system for the second time now. Each calf will load itself single file into the chute.
No yelling, hotshots, flags or whips are needed.
The cattle remember this non-scary exercise so it’s ultra low stress handling. They will receive their second round of modified live vaccine, brand, and dewormer. A tetanus shot is administered at this time as well. We give this two weeks before the bull calves are banded.
I prefer to band bull calves vs knife castration.
Banding bull calves creates less stress and no bleeding or casualties. All calves receive a weaning clip in their nose. The plate is made from pliable plastic. It clips into each nostril still allowing the calf to eat and drink. The weaning clip prevents the calf from sucking on its mothers teats.
This weaning practice works exceptionally well.
The calf is content and feels safe with Momma even though it isn't receiving milk.
This keeps the stress low and immune system strong. The weaning clip is removed from the calf after five days. At this time the calf is officially weaned/separated from its mother.
Backgrounding begins at this phase of the calves life.
Just like with the weaning clip, it’s labor intensive. However it sets the calves up for ultimate immune health. While teaching them about the next phase of life, they live in a large pen that’s connected to a pasture for the next sixty days.
The point of this is to teach the calves to eat out of a concrete bunk line.
Once they leave the ranch the grain finished calves will go to a feedyard.
So they need to be prepared for that environment. We feed them hay in the concrete bunk line. Most cattle will put their heads under the cable and have no problem catching on to this feeding style. However we do not administer antibiotics to our cattle.
It is essential that each calf knows where the food is and how to eat from a bunk. If the calf does not eat it’s immune system becomes weak, fever will set in and antibiotics will have to be administered to save the calfs life.
So healthy animals is priority number one in building better beef for our customers!
We strive to produce all-natural, premium beef with no antibiotics or growth hormones every single year here at Null Ridge.
Once the cattle arrive at the feed yard they are fed a balanced ration (antibiotic free) three times a day. The cattle have ample room to run and buck in their pen. The pen has fresh water and an awning and windbreak to protect the cattle from the elements.
