On Mon, 24 May 2004 00:55:18 -0500, Michael Odom
> wrote:

>
> There are real economic reasons for feeding grain to cattle, though.
> It's a less expensive way to raise them and finish them, and everybody
> wants more for their dollar. Factory farming on the scale of some of
> today's big beef producers would not be possible without grain feeding
> the animals. You get more calories per ton of grain than you do with
> hay. I've read that it simply wouldn't be possible to haul enough hay
> to a big feedlot to replace the caloric intake a diet of corn
> provides. Corn has more energy in it, regardless of the animal's gut.
> Cheap beef demands such measures.

I know diddly about raising cattle, but what makes sense to
me is to range feed them to maturity and then finish them
with grain.... but please, not with "protein enhanced"
grain.

My mother used to raise sheep, which meant I got free lamb
every year. It was (and still is) the BEST lamb I've ever
eaten. She let her sheep graze, but they were fed
(unadulterated) alfalfa twice a day too. Unfortunately,
lambs cost her more to raise than she ever got back when she
sold them... and that's why it was a hobby, not a business.



Practice safe eating - always use condiments