Scare Factor.

Efficiency, finances, and most importantly health is why we choose to feed cattle in a pen.

Factory farming is a scary term that is often used to show large farms in a negative light. We've never seen a "factory farm" in the sense of a giant factory-like operation that churns out thousands of animals per year. The truth of the matter is factory farming is a term that is highly misleading and is often used to refer to intensive animal farming or, even more specifically CAFOs. CAFO stands for Concentrated (or Confined) Animal Feeding Operation and has at least 1000 animal units (for cattle one unit is one steer) that are confined for at least 45 days out of a 12-month period.

Intensive Animal Farming.

We would be considered as an "intensive animal farmer". All of our cattle are in pens, surrounded by fences, and have feed delivered to them day in and day out. The land in our area is very expensive and there is no way we could successfully feed the same amount of cattle on the correct amount of pasture. Not to mention the extreme drop in efficiency we would see all across our operation. An acre of farmland in our area costs anywhere from $4,000-$6,000 because it is very good at growing crops. If you consider nothing else, it makes more sense financially to raise the cattle in barns and lots and use the land to grow feed for them.

A predator may think a small calf looks like dinner if they wander away from the herd.

Efficiency is something we always try to maximize. Our goal is to raise the greatest number of pounds with the least number of inputs (feed, antibiotics, etc.). If our cattle were on pasture it would take significantly longer for them to reach finish weight and a greater amount of inputs to get them there, specifically feed. In different parts of the world or even other parts of this state, it does make more sense to raise cattle on pasture. We are not saying raising beef on pasture is the wrong way to do it, just that it isn't feasible for us to do at our location.

Health is Most Important.

Believe it or not, we don't only have money and efficiency in mind when we raise cattle. Of course, they are important because if we don't make money we can't raise cattle but we also think about what is best for our herd. Keeping them relatively confined allows us to keep a better eye on them. We can catch a sick one the day we notice he doesn't feel like eating or treat lameness the moment it appears. By keeping the cattle contained we are able to better control their health should something go wrong. We can also keep them safe from predators, a coyote will take down a calf given the chance.

A video of our transition barn which usually houses the smallest calves

Everyone Has Their Own Way.

There are many different ways to raise cattle, none of the necessarily better than the others. We believe, that if a farmer can take care of their cattle effectively and efficiently their way is definitely the best for their situation. It's easy to forget that farmers are experts in their field (pun intended) and that they often know how to handle raising their livestock better than anyone else. Our goal as livestock producers is to raise cattle with not only our financial and efficiency goals in mind but with the cattle's well-being at the top of the list.

Thanks for reading!

John and Emily Crain