Our Practices
Pasture Raised
Our cattle run on pastures. We don't "Feedlot" them". We don't even run them in "Sacrifice Paddocks" (I think that's a fancy grass fed term for feed-lotting in the winter). When I was working in Vegetable processing, I worked for a vegetable packaging center. The frozen grader screenings were all going to a landfill. I felt my cattle would Love them and it turned out I was right.
We limit most of the vegetable feeding to the calves destined for meat. The cows and other calves may get a little in the winter to boost protein as well as give some dietary variety that helps with a better compliment of vitamins and minerals as well as some energy. I am basing the percent of the diet for the fed calves on the difference between vegetable consumption in the winter when the grass isn't growing and we are feeding hay. In the winter, it is about 35% of the winter feed and hay. In the Spring and summer, the consumption of the mixed feed drops to about half because they are foraging the pastures more.
If I wanted to get technical to the nth degree, I'd say our cattle are on a forage based diet. 100% grass would eliminate many of the plants that are ideal for a healthy soil that sequesters carbon and makes the grass, cattle, beef and environment healthier. This would include the clovers, forbe's and trees (Our cattle will strip some leaves as we rotate them through a pasture. I feel there are some parts of the leaves they crave, probably part of a pasture pharmacy so to speak). Our overall goal with regards to the pastures is the health of the site. That, in turn feeds the soil that feeds the plants the cattle eat and makes for a healthier and more flavorful beef. My general philosophy is plant diversity makes everything better.
The Silage we supplement is basically frozen vegetable screenings. We feed no grains. This was all going to a landfill prior to me converting it to cattle feed. I'll attach some pictures, but we mix it with hay and allow the cattle free choice access.
