Raising beef

Simpleterrier

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So I have raised a steer every year for the last 14 yrs. My sis and bil dairy farm and her ai's his herd. Most I get are Holstein but I've had Norwegian red, Hereford, and waygu, crosses.

My next one she is still on bottle is a free martin fleckvieh.

Anyone ever heard of them or raise one?

@farmerjan @Baymule
 

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So I have raised a steer every year for the last 14 yrs. My sis and bil dairy farm and her ai's his herd. Most I get are Holstein but I've had Norwegian red, Hereford, and waygu, crosses.

My next one she is still on bottle is a free martin fleckvieh.

Anyone ever heard of them or raise one?

@farmerjan @Baymule
I have heard of them, and seen a few... never raised one.

Make sure to post photos!
 

Baymule

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I’ve never raised one. Be sure to start a thread for her. Don’t forget pictures!
 

farmerjan

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Fleckvieh are sort of a dual purpose Simmental.... they will milk decently and are supposed to excel at putting on pounds. Don't have anyone around here using it in any of the crosses that are popping up in the dairies.
There are alot of Norwegian and Swedish reds used for the "grazing dairies"... I really like the Montebeliarde crosses... they are a good milking cow and very fleshy... they hold their weight real well and are a good "average sized" animal. Also all I have had any experience with have good dispositions.
The people with Brown Swiss often can sell a bull calf to someone with Braunvieh cattle... they are the "beef equivalent" of swiss and have a great disposition as a rule also; but just as stubborn as a swiss... They were getting to where they did not produce the milk like a bigger animal so many have taken to using a swiss bull in the herd to improve the milk producing qualities.
There are a couple of dairies around here that use Lineback semen... they are another very fleshy animal and most milk pretty good. They are pretty too... kinda like the "speckle park" beef cattle.
Many are using beef semen on their lower half of the herd... any black beef.... angus, limousin, simmental; the black calves will bring $150+ when the hol bull calves bring $50.....

Will be interesting to hear how you like the fleckvieh....

Holstein bull calves are still fairly cheap which makes no sense since the 4-6 wt feeders are now bringing in the 1.30's -1.50's....and a farmer of mine just sold 9 weights for 1.32..... not far behind the straight angus/beef bred calves. I just had one of my nurse cow's to calve ... she is jersey/ holstein which is often a terrible cross... but she is a sweetheart and I raise 3 calves on her and then last year she took an orphan calf 2 days after I sold her "3 steer calves". Luckily she had not bred back as usual, so she got to raise the orphan calf, and then after we weaned him she got a 3 month rest. She just had a heifer, 1/2 angus, and I just put 2 more black bull calves on her 1/2 hol and 1/2 angus from a local dairy I test for. This dairy does a good job and the calves are always good quality, and healthy. 3 feedings and they are getting the hang of it pretty quick...
 
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Simpleterrier

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Good Holstein bull calves day old are bringing 200-250 around here I don't know what colored calves bring.
 

Simpleterrier

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My bil has a tie stall barn and can only milk so many so he usually breeds his heifers to a beef breed Hereford or waygu cause he knows people who have seman cheap or free then breeds his better cows to good stuff. Also the cows in tie stalls live alot longer and they go out to pasture. He has had 15yr old cows. He has some show quality Holsteins and brown swiss. First job I had was at a brown swiss sho farm at 13.
 

farmerjan

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It is amazing the difference in prices in different areas. The big 100 lb type holstein bull calves are back up to the 1.50-2.00 per lb range here... but the smaller ones are still often less than $100.... I think that they are creeping back up since holstein steers are way up....
Most farmers here also breed their "lower" half of the herd to beef. I have been considering getting some of the small holstein bull calves and doing some bottle calves again.... I watched some 250 lb holstein steer calves bring 1.50/lb today... That was as much as the angus/hol cross black calves the same size were bringing...
It is hard to figure the markets anymore... 4 wt heifers were bringing within .10 of what the same size steer calves were bringing today
 

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