Pearl Snaps

Stories of a cowgirl living life by her own lights

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Pennsylvania’s Beef Industry

Today I’d like to share with you some interesting facts about my home state’s beef cattle industry.  Most people don’t normally associate Pennsylvania with beef cattle production and would be surprised to find out that the beef cattle industry is very important to agriculture in our state.  My family currently operates a small cow-calf operation in south-central Pennsylvania.  We raise Angus/Hereford crossbred beef cattle.  We mainly sell our steers and some heifers as freezer beef to family and friends when the cattle reach a weight of approximately 1200 lbs.  This year we have decided to retain our heifer calves to expand our herd.

Some facts about Pennsylvania’s beef industry:

  • Pennsylvania farmers had 1,590,000 cattle and calves on January 1, 2009.
  • During 2008, PA had 27,000 total cattle operations, including 12,300 beef cattle operations, ranging in size from 1 – 2,800+ cows.
  • At the beginning of 2009, there were 75,000 head of cattle in feedlots in PA.
  • PA ranks 20th in the country for beef production, 2nd in the country for veal production.
  • PA has 5,000 feedlots feeding 1 to 1,000 head per feed lot.
  • During 2008, PA produced 1,222.6 million lbs of red meat.
  • PA boasts more than 3,000 certified beef and dairy producers in the Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) Program; BQA certifies producers in best management practices with classroom and hands-on training.

To learn more about Pennsylvania’s beef industry, visit The Center for Beef Excellence.

The Pennsylvania Beef Council has recently created a series of videos featuring some beef producers from Pennsylvania.  I’ve included these videos in today’s post to allow you to become more familiar with Pennsylvania’s beef cattle industry.

John & David McCullough, McCullough Farm, Mercer, PA

The McKeans, McKean Brothers Angus, Mercer, PA

John & Judy Ligo, LiTerra Farms, Grove City, PA


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Unwanted horses: A proposition from an unlikely source

I was scanning through news articles online last week like I always do when I came across one titled, Thoroughbreds: From Elite to Meat, recently published in the Huffington Post.  The main thing that caught my attention right off was the title.  I figured that this was just another run of the mill anti-horse slaughter rants that I usually come across.  The author of this interesting article was none other than the infamous Ingrid Newkirk, president of PETA.  Yes, I said PETA.  Something about this article was different than many of the other anti-horse slaughter pieces I usually come across.  For once I actually found myself thinking, “Wow, one of these animal rights extremist groups is actually making a proposition that doesn’t sound all that bad.”  Scary, to think that I might actually half agree with PETA on something.  Though their proposition isn’t perfect, and could use some tweeks from horse-minded folks involved directly in the industry, it didn’t sound that far outlandish.

PETA’s proposal requests that the Jockey Club set up a retirement fund that would require a mandatory $360 retirement fee for each registration of a foal and for each transfer of ownership.  Through this proposed plan the $360 fee would apply to new registration for foals and ownership transfers of broodmares and breeding stallions.  PETA suggest that is could provide a potential $20 million in revenue to be put towards retirement funding for older Thoroughbreds.  Though the Jockey Club currently has a Retirement Checkoff, it has to date only generated approximately $95,000 from 64,000 foal registrations.  That is only about $1.50/horse and does not cover the total cost to feed one horse a day.

I think that the idea behind this proposal is a good one, but the price required may be a little steep.  With the unwanted horse issue looming over our heads, growing larger by the day, and no definite hope of having horse slaughter reinstated in the United States, those of us in the horse industry need to think a little outside the box on ways to provide proper care and management for retiring, aging horses.  If slaughter is not an option, other options for humane retirement or euthanasia must be available to owners.  I don’t necessarily think that this proposition will be a fix-all but one of a wide array of methods that will be vital to decreasing the current unwanted horse population and ensuring the perpetuation of the horse industry.  Though some may not like to hear this, those of us in the horse industry need to start thinking “outside the box” if we are ever going to solve our problems.

What are your thoughts on PETA’s proposal?  What solutions would you suggest to solve the unwanted horse issue?


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Forage Facts: 300 Days of Grazing

Harvested feed sources have always been the largest cost of production for cattle producers.  With increasing input prices, many producers are looking for new, innovative approaches to feeding and managing their cattle with fewer of these inputs.  Some are choosing to reduce the amount of fertilizer applied to the field, while others may completely opt out of purchasing fertilizer.  Some producers have adjusted stocking rates, while others look at alternative options.  Either way you try to manage costs, whether by reducing inputs or stocking rates, there’s a chance that you could negatively impact production and your bottom line.

Researchers at the University of Arkansas developed the 300 Day Grazing Program in an effort to help livestock producers manage their “bottom line.”  The researchers took into consideration the rising costs of feed, fertilizer, and fuel to develop this program.  Their goal was to implement management changes to enhance the utilization of grown forages and reduce dependency on fertilizer, supplemental feed, and fuel.  Important parts of this new management scheme included stockpiling forages, improving grazing through rotational grazing systems, utilizing complimentary forages, establishing legumes, and efficiently managing hay to reduce storage and feeding losses.  The 300 Day Grazing Program was able to successfully demonstrate a positive impact by increasing grazing days, reducing nitrogen fertilizer needs, and improving hay efficiency.

To learn more check out this video from the Arkansas Farm Bureau.

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