Finish

[Jill]

I am going to post this and if it offends you I’m sorry trash it, but this is a learning board and some of you need to learn this and it can’t be taught on an internet site.  We seem to have a lot of people posting on all of the boards, how do I put on X number of pounds to make weight in 2 weeks so I can sell my calf.  For those of you that have these type of questions, I challenge you to right now get a hold of your leader or advisor or whoever is in charge of your project and find out how to correctly feed your calf NOW so you don’t have problems a year from now, have them walk through your fair with you, feel the animals so you will know what a correctly finished calf actually feels like, don't be afraid to ask questions, that how we all learn. 
Your goal in the market project is not to make weight so you can sell, it is to have a properly finished calf that you buyer will be happy with.  The biggest complaint we heard from a buyers end is that none of the calves are finished.  The commission man takes them home and puts them back on feed for 30-60 days until they are ready to be butchered, but the family that bought one and doesn’t have a clue is eating shoe leather and will probably never waste that money again.  Be a good steward of you project and learn from your mistakes this year so you will have a product you can be proud to sell next year.

 

[red]

Actually a good post Jill. I guess myself I'd rather have someone ask at the begining of their project- "What is the best way to feed my calf?" Sometimes it's just too late to play catch-up. Also very hard to make good suggestions without seeing the calf, set-up or any other potential problems.

Red

 

[DLD]

I agree - the time to start being concerned with whether your calf's going to get big enough is when you buy them. It seems that at least some of these calves people have been concerned about lately have been quite young, like 12 -14 months. Even if they are bigger framed, it's tough (sometimes impossible) for even experienced feeders to get one that age market ready. Inexperienced feeders really need to try to buy one that'll be at least 16, preferably 18 months old at the show that's your primary goal.

Like Jill says, if you have questions, you need someone nearby who can look at your calf periodically and help keep you on track. You can ask all the questions online, and plenty of people will try to help - some of whom know what they're doing, some don't. Many of us don't mind helping, though I sometimes tend to back off because I know you can't follow everyone's advice. But even the best online advice is no substitute for someone that can see the calf, knows the enviroment, and knows the shows you're shooting for.

I realize that not all FFA and 4H leaders know how to feed a steer(or heifer), either - but many do. If yours does, ask for their help - I can't count the times I hear parents and exhibitors complain because their leader never comes around. The first thing I say to that is "Have you ever asked them to?". Most of the time the answer is "Well no... we just assumed...". Alot of people in this program don't need any help, or don't want it even if they do. Some don't even want anyone else seeing their stock before the show. If you don't let your leader know you want some help, don't expect them to do it. If they're good leaders, even if they don't know how to help you themselves, they'll help you find someone that can.

But if that doesn't work, ask whoever you bought the calf from. Most breeders and traders are glad to help - your success with their calf is their success, too. If they're not willing, find one that is next year.

Another possibility is to try and hook up with a family nearby that has some experience and success in the show ring. Most will be at least willing to give you some pointers on feeding and fitting, many will do all they can to help.

 

[showcattlegal]

I agree they need to ask there leaders. But if there like our agent they don't even have a have clue what end of the cow eats. That's actually why i found the web pages you can ask questions about things.

 

[SKF]

For some of us we need to ask questions on these boards because it is hard to get help through your local clubs. Our fair always just pushes making a 1000lbs and they even added a new rule this year that if your calf is not a 1000lbs you can not show but still sell your steer on sale night. And then they wonder why most of the animals at the fair look starved!! I can remember my son's first year raising a steer we went to all the meetings and never knew what finish was just thought you had to make weight or that a mean brangus steer out of your pasture is not a good calf for a beginner or any kid. As you can imagine it was a HUGE disaster!! That's when I turned to the internet for education because we did not get it locally even after asking for help. I wish more leaders would educate the kids on the importance on how to feed a calf and how to get them finished. I try to help new kids when I can so they don't have to learn the way we did.

 

[farmboy]

Our weight limit is 1000 and most of the steers weigh 1200 pounds...last year we had a 1580 calf


Belgium Blue cattle produce some of the finest meats BUT since their hard to put fat on, there meat is not acceptable for american standards and marbling

 

[renegade]

I never knew what age to buy a steer at - it seems like common sense now but when i got him and he was the largest and best looking calf it seemed like fifteen months was sufficent; now i know you have to have a 18+ months to compete well here. I don't have a leader who knows anything about cattle and just recently found a really good family of showmen that are WILLING to help - it is really hard to find anyone that will do that and most of the leaders around here have kids of their own showing and hectic schedules so if you are in their club it is hard to for them to get time to help let alone if you aren't in their club. 

I don't feel like you could critize a family or kid about having a calf that is to young or not feeding it right (especially when the heat has been at such an extreme) because resources are very limited especially around here. Raising cattle is difficult enough when you know what you are doing so just imagine you are a young kid trying to get by with no help and you are just doing a guess and check seeing what works and what doesn't and sometimes what you were doing didn't work and you adjust accordingly and try again next year and hopefully you don't get let down again.  I am just saying you do what you can with what you have and cross your fingers.

 

[red]

I'm sure you've learned so much this year. Next year you can start out fresh & with a better understanding. I think what Jill is saying is that w/ only a couple of weeks to go it's very hard to put on a significant amount of weight properly. It's best if caught early. I know what you mean about the lack of leadership or knowledge. We've dealt w/ that here for years. Most 4-h advisors or even FFA leaders have limited knowledge on how to properly feed out a steer.
Next year start out w/ the right feeding program. Make your changes gradually. Keep on top of the weights & choose a calf that is best suited for your environment & you'll do great!

Red

 

[TJ]

I never knew what age to buy a steer at - it seems like common sense now but when i got him and he was the largest and best looking calf it seemed like fifteen months was sufficent; now i know you have to have a 18+ months to compete well here. I don't have a leader who knows anything about cattle and just recently found a really good family of showmen that are WILLING to help - it is really hard to find anyone that will do that and most of the leaders around here have kids of their own showing and hectic schedules so if you are in their club it is hard to for them to get time to help let alone if you aren't in their club. 

I don't feel like you could critize a family or kid about having a calf that is to young or not feeding it right (especially when the heat has been at such an extreme) because resources are very limited especially around here. Raising cattle is difficult enough when you know what you are doing so just imagine you are a young kid trying to get by with no help and you are just doing a guess and check seeing what works and what doesn't and sometimes what you were doing didn't work and you adjust accordingly and try again next year and hopefully you don't get let down again.  I am just saying you do what you can with what you have and cross your fingers.

1st, I want to say that this is a good post & probably should be re-posted a couple times per year, at least.  Lot's of good advice in this thread!!

I am going to repeat some of it.. 

#1.  Show Steers, at the final show, are meant to be " the finished product", not a work in progress!! 

#2.  It's much easier to fix problems if you ask questions months ahead, not weeks or days ahead!!   

#3. It's much better to find a local person who can act as a "consultant", if you are fairly new to show cattle, but especially if you are new to cattle period!  They can see potenital problems that an internet poster will never be able to see. 

#4.  Weigh fairly often & make sure that you are on track!!  Also, try to reach your target weight BEFORE showday.  It's easier to hold one &/or shrink one back, than it is to put on 40 lbs. on show day!!

#5.  You've got to start with the right calf AND the right feeding program!!  If you don't know the genetics & you are not "an experienced feeder", you are better off with an older calf.  Most showsteers  are usually about 17 months old at the final show.  However, nothing is wrong with a really good 15 month old calf if you know the genetics & you know how to feed.  We''ve had plenty of 14 month old calves top 1300 lbs. in feedlot tests & grade choice or better, so it is doable to have a pefectly finshed 1225+  lb. show steer @ 15 months of age... but, only if you've got the right genetics & if you know what you are doing & if you only take them to a handful of shows.  If you are dragging them to lots of shows, keep in mind that they probably wont gain quite as well, so if you are showing at lots of shows, take that into account & get an older calf.  Also keep in mind that while some gentics will finish at 1000-1100, others will be hard pressed to have enough fat cover on them @ 1350 & both of those types of calves will need to be fed differently. 

TJ

 

[DLD]

Renegade (and everyone else), I'm not criticizing anyone. Just trying to make some suggestions about how you can avoid it in the future. I was lucky that my brother (12 years older than me) had really good ag teachers and neighbors to learn from and that my family has been in the cattle business forever, so that I didn't have to start from scratch, and my kids and my nieces and nephews and their kids don't either. I still get stumped once in awhile, but I usually can find someone that can help. I understand limited resources, too, and appreciate that all you can do is all you can do.

It wasn't my intention (nor Jill's, nor Red's nor TJ's, I believe) to criticize or try to discourage anyone from asking whatever you need to on this board. We're just trying to offer some advice that might help someone avoid some problems in the future.

 

[TJ]

Renegade (and everyone else), I'm not criticizing anyone. Just trying to make some suggestions about how you can avoid it in the future. I was lucky that my brother (12 years older than me) had really good ag teachers and neighbors to learn from and that my family has been in the cattle business forever, so that I didn't have to start from scratch, and my kids and my nieces and nephews and their kids don't either. I still get stumped once in awhile, but I usually can find someone that can help. I understand limited resources, too, and appreciate that all you can do is all you can do.

It wasn't my intention (nor Jill's, nor Red's nor TJ's, I believe) to criticize or try to discourage anyone from asking whatever you need to on this board. We're just trying to offer some advice that might help someone avoid some problems in the future.

You are correct, I am only wanting to be helpful & to help exhibitors avoid future problems.  Like DLD, I would never tell someone not to ask a question on the internet, because you can learn a lot from the internet, but keep in mind that people on the internet can't see your facilities, your animals, your feed program, etc., etc., so they can't know the whole story like a person who could visit you.

 

[Jill]

I never knew what age to buy a steer at - it seems like common sense now but when i got him and he was the largest and best looking calf it seemed like fifteen months was sufficent; now i know you have to have a 18+ months to compete well here. I don't have a leader who knows anything about cattle and just recently found a really good family of showmen that are WILLING to help - it is really hard to find anyone that will do that and most of the leaders around here have kids of their own showing and hectic schedules so if you are in their club it is hard to for them to get time to help let alone if you aren't in their club. 

I don't feel like you could critize a family or kid about having a calf that is to young or not feeding it right (especially when the heat has been at such an extreme) because resources are very limited especially around here. Raising cattle is difficult enough when you know what you are doing so just imagine you are a young kid trying to get by with no help and you are just doing a guess and check seeing what works and what doesn't and sometimes what you were doing didn't work and you adjust accordingly and try again next year and hopefully you don't get let down again.  I am just saying you do what you can with what you have and cross your fingers.

I am so sorry if you feel like I am critizing you, that was never my intention, it took a long time for me to post this thread because I didn't want it to be misunderstood, however, I see a huge need for it.  I grew up in the city and never had the opportunity to show when we offered this option to my neices and nephews, we all started from scratch and learned together.  We live in a very urban area and ours leaders also knew nothing, but we were very excited and we went to everything we could and paid attention to what other were doing.  The reason I bring this up now is that there are a lot of fairs going on where you can go and see all types of cattle and finishes, you said you had someone willing to help you, take them with you and have them teach you, ask a lot of questions, this is how you learn.  This is also the time you pick out your calf for next year, pick one that has the ability to be where you want him to be at next year.  I guess what I am saying, you don't need to cross your fingers, if you will take some simple steps right now you will not be disappointed next year, and I think that is what all of us wants is for you (everyone) to succeed.