Custom Feedlot in Nebraska | Checking on our Fat Steers

[@billcampbell2943]

U are such a cool humble guy it is a pleasure to watch u

[@sleepranch]

Thank you Bill!

[@brentbernath7257]

good to see how feedlots work.. we sell most of our calves off cow.. thanks for showing us

[@normananderson1476]

Good looking steers, me & my dad fed our steers a lot of ground up ear corn, retired Iowa farmer I am.

[@rspranchinmontana]

Appreciated seeing and hearing all the feedlot info. Sure hope this drought turns around for all of us. Hay prices here in Montana have tripled or more and grains have quadrupled. Just killing us on the bottom line.

[@sleepranch]

Thank you! Ya it’s been really hard on a lot of people and I hope you guys can fare it well!

[@dennisdenoranville9251]

I watched this video twice 👍

[@terryhobdy5727]

Just found your videos I really enjoy watching from middle Tennessee 👍

[@sleepranch]

Thank you Terry!

[@americannavajopatriot9412]

Awesome video! Thanks.. keep 'em coming.. New subscribers 🇺🇸 Navajo Nation, Arizona USA 🇺🇸

[@sleepranch]

Thanks man!

[@bobroberson9286]

ANOTHER very informative video, really enjoy watching these 👍

[@sleepranch]

Thank you Bob!

[@Pam_Doddridge]

I love your channel, love that you work your cattle with horses. Happy I found this channel.

[@kopenhagenkid]

Nice looking steers Carson

[@jamesbogart4800]

I must say quality of your cattle is quite good, very impressive.

[@CowpokeKev]

thanks Carson, great to see different operations. looks like you guys keep things practical and that means success for a lot of us.. thanks again! take care

[@nancytitus3117]

So very interesting thank u Carson

[@marlenesimms1804]

Thanks for the info. Always interested in learning. Cow/calf is my passion! But it's rewarding to see the end product.

[@August84118]

Really found this informative…you don’t normally get to hear from the feedlot point of view. Nice looking feedlot. Grew up in California, always drove up I-5 and Harris feedlot…HUGE facility. Literally went on for miles, and yes you definitely knew when it was coming up!

[@user-zu2bw7ig5v]

Nice seeing a SD rancher. I'm a hoof trimmer on the eastern side of the state.

[@jesusmarin2833]

hey from Washington very educational video my dad works in a cow feedlot

[@sleepranch]

Thank you! That’s really cool!

[@keenankelley187]

New subscriber farmer from Kansas. Cattle look good. Merry Christmas

[@sleepranch]

Thank you Keenan! Merry Christmas!

[@countryflyer4536]

I own a ranch 11 miles south of Hay Springs. I have passed that Feedlot sign for 25 yrs and never seen it!! pretty cool...

[@farmhandluke5182]

Thanks for the road trip, nice looking feedlot! Pretty slick idea using that old hopper bottom grain rail car for a overhead bin 👍 great looking group of steers you had there! Them are some great daily.gains🥩 , old red didn’t like the 2 hours in trailer away from the feed bunks that’s why he tried to get in your back pocket!😁 merry 🎄 Christmas to you and your family Carson! 👋

[@sleepranch]

Thank you Luke, Merry Christmas to you and your family!

[@kopenhagenkid]

Great video Carson

[@AcesUpOffroad]

Nice video and information. Thanks from a southwestern SD ranch.

[@sleepranch]

Thank you! Fun to hear from other South Dakotans!

[@michaelruane8370]

Great video, Carson very interesting to see how you farm in America, very different system to here in Ireland. Keep up the good work 👍

[@sleepranch]

Thank you Michael, would be interested to hear how things are done in Ireland! Merry Christmas!

[@c_turfgrass7773]

How do the two places differ?

[@williamgilroy8974]

I'll take the red one Carson. Great looking steer.

[@kopenhagenkid]

Awesome looking feedlot

[@sd90mac8]

Thanks for the input on how these great animals are being cared for to their final growth, great video, Merry Christmas Happy NEW Year, more please, and be safe out there.👌✌️🤠👍

[@sleepranch]

Thank you! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

[@beckyumphrey2626]

Awesome video. God Bless.

[@morrieveilleux6074]

Very interesting and informative, thanks.

[@sleepranch]

Thanks Morrie!

[@donelookin3386]

Thanks, this was very interesting.

[@bcpfarmandtrucking6560]

Wishing you and all your family a Merry Christmas and happy new year 🍾🍻🍻

[@sleepranch]

Thank you! Merry Christmas to you and your family as well!

[@badgerpa9]

Good education.

[@jimaalbers857]

Hello from the East side of the state. Steers look great should be some good eating. Keep up the videos enjoy seeing the hills, don't make it out that way near enough.

[@sleepranch]

Thank you Jim, I really appreciate that!

[@BrianGLee-bc7hj]

A learning experience

[@shanenelms9740]

Another great video

[@sleepranch]

Thanks Shane!

[@Greg-ge7pp]

My dad managed Minatar feedlot back in the 70s last I knew it was still there

[@sleepranch]

Awesome!

[@johnhughes2113]

Hi Carson and family, your vids are a great eye opener of the ranching life style, I’m actually from Wales Great Britain, you mentioned your family settled in 1800 from England and were miners, do you know whereabouts in England they from, lm a retired farmer totally different to what you do which I find to be fascinating, please keep the vids coming thank you all stay safe 🙏👋

[@sleepranch]

Hey John, thank you! That’s awesome, I’d love to hear more about how you guys farm in Wales! I believe my family was from Devon county in England, our records say from Brixham, Devonshire

[@deborahlewis5964]

Another great video.. I really enjoyed taking the trip to the feedlot….That red cow..even thought it wasn’t black.. all beautiful steers…. The guy at the feedlot was really informative…. Now they off to get processed…Do they go to Sturgis for processing?

[@sleepranch]

Thank you! We do some processing in Sturgis and some in belle fourche!

[@fabriceenjalbert4538]

Great video. Approximately, how many steers/cows on a feedlot like this one ? Really impressive for European guys …

[@sleepranch]

About 4,000 head at this one!

[@philipcarr92]

Carlson have you ever thought about making your own beef jerky? Our wyoming life channel make & sell their own brand jerky which seems very popular.

[@sleepranch]

Hey Philip, I haven’t really thought about it yet but that is a good idea! Thank you!

[@billmonroe8826]

I happened onto this video and recognized your turn to Zochol feedlot. Good educational video for those that aren't around that lifestyle. Not to mention you had a nice little vacation for the day. :-)

[@scottraven1721]

Good one ! Now we know Thanks

[@cattleconnector794]

Carson, you spoke a lot about Cash vs Formula Marketings. As a fellow cattleman, can you explain how Formula Pricing aids in Price Discovery? I am curious what attracts a producer to that marketing arrangement. As a 6th Generation Rancher, your family has clearly taken the necessary steps in being stewards of the land and promoting productive genetics, why would you accept an "Average Price" for your pens of cattle?

[@sleepranch]

Thank you for the great question! I can’t speak for all operations but I can speak from our experiences and observations. In terms of price discovery, formula pricing seems to be way less desirable when compared to cash pricing (I may be a little biased in my answer) we have sold cattle using a formula only a handful of times. Our whole breeding program and the genetic traits we desire and breed for is focused on increasing carcass quality traits and producing cattle that do well in the feedlot scenario. That being said, our cattle seemed to do relatively well on a grid but the premiums tended to be very minimal and discounts tended to be very extensive. Cash sales and marketing are more desirable in my opinion but having the option to utilize both styles and maybe capitalize on the formula when cash is poor seems to be an advantage. Again this is only my opinion and I’m always interested to hear other producers opinion on the matter.

[@codyvolmer521]

With a 3 to 1 discount to premium ratio it’s taking any risk away from the packer and setting it entirely in the producers lap. If it was feasible it would be more competitive to have them all sold at auction for true price discovery.

[@blossomquisno9187]

Excellent looking steers, how many steers you send to get finished?

[@FarmerC.J.]

Great video! Beautiful animals! Have you thought of finishing your cows at your ranch ,sending them off for processing ,then the finished product being sold directly from your ranch ?

[@sleepranch]

We have thought about it! We may need to look into it more!

[@MrBryanOConnor1]

Carson very interesting. How long were those steers at finishing school?

[@zakyoder4207]

Good video!

[@rmlestes]

thanks

[@johnmccaughan4195]

Good-looking cattle. Listened to a talk a few days ago about selling red or black cattle. The consensus of the group was, there is no difference in the product. Just that the Angus folks do an excellent job of marketing and people want Angus meat or at least black cattle.

[@sleepranch]

That is very interesting!

[@debt4717]

It's the same out here in the Sacramento valley. The buyers want black angus (and black get more per lb at the sale barn). We raised herfords when i was a kid, but I guess that these days they're not stylishly as palatable as black. LOL!

[@donelookin3386]

Can you investigate 'grass-fed' beef finishing or operations? In talking to friends with celiac and other digestive issues and a couple of friends going through cancer treatments, the common thing that was recommended was to cut out CORN, zero corn in the diet, not supposed to be human food. They were even told to get milk and cheese etc that came from cows NOT fed corn. The NON-fed corn/grass-fed is becoming a strong market here.

[@sleepranch]

I could definitely investigate it and make a video about it! My current knowledge of the matter is very limited so I want to be wary of any information I spread now. My initial response would be that humans have a hard time digesting cellulose which is a main component of corn, but cattle are ruminants (this refers to their digestive tract) which allows them to digest cellulose better. This gives cattle the ability to break down corn and grasses (high in cellulose) and extract the nutrients from them. Since the cellulose breakdown has already been done by that cattle, meat from cattle that have been fed corn is east for humans to digest. Doctors may not be educated on the digestive system of cattle so this is why they could be pressuring people away from eating meat from cattle that have eaten corn. Especially with celiac as that is a digestive disease. Again, I am not a doctor or a nutritionist but I wall look into the matter more and get a better response! I hope this will suffice for now! Thanks!

[@danielrandolph9170]

The 4 large packers are more or less they st the price that the cattlemen going to make per head h it just enough to keep the cattlemen head above water. Yal stay safe

[@Mauka_to_Makai]

One more question isn't the red Angus the same as a black Angus, except Color. Or is the buyer just concerned that the red might be a cross with a Hertford and that's why red Angus are not desired.

[@sleepranch]

You are correct, the quality of red and black angus are very similar! In this case, we took the red steer home to make our pen of finished steers look more uniform as 99% of our cattle are black. There may be no difference in quality but being more uniform could be more eye appealing to the buyer. Thank you for the questions!

[@anchorbrandranch]

Hey Carson Great video! Interesting from the beef 🥩 production perspective but my question is a KZbin one. Do you know what set this video apart and got so many views? It did awesome! Did the George Strait music on the radio effect your monetization ? I have had a few videos where they couldn’t be monetized because of music playing in my pickup truck 🤷🏿‍♂️ Anyway you are doing great keep it up ⚓️🐂

[@sleepranch]

Thanks Ramzi! Ya I’m really not sure what set it apart but I found it interesting that it did much better than my other videos! I have had some trouble with the music stuff as well, it’s been a learning experience for sure as I figured music in the truck would be okay! I enjoy your channel and Happy New Year!

[@ravenfeather7087]

Yur under arrest, cowboy! What's backgrounding?

[@glenhofer6809]

They sure look yummy

[@Mauka_to_Makai]

Do you just hire the feed lot to finish your cattle for market and pay him a fee. Or do you sell them to the lot? I was just wondering if the selling of your finished calves is all decided by the lot owner?

[@sleepranch]

Great question Linda! We retain ownership of our cattle while they are being fed in the finishing feedlot, but there are many producers who sell their calves to feedlots and do it that way. We pay the feedlot to cover the cost of feeding our cattle and a fee on top of that as well. Usually the owner of the cattle and the feeder of the cattle converse and work together to decide the best way to market the cattle. Thank you for the question and let me know if I can answer it better!

[@Mauka_to_Makai]

@@sleepranch Perfect answer, good explanation!

[@adamh3863]

Formula pricing will always outperform cash bids on good cattle fed and handled the right way. Nearly all beef breeds that are fed right grade choice and above. “Negotiated cash” hasn’t existed for us since COVID. Our only leverage is to turn down their bid and wait to see if they return with a higher bid.

[@davezeigler1804]

Whats the name and location of that feedlot? we are looking for a custom feeder to feed our calves

[@sleepranch]

Hey Dave, it’s called Zochol Feedlot and it’s just Northeast of Alliance Nebraska maybe 10-15 miles!

[@rubeniguado1440]

So about whats the price for head or the period they are there just curious how it works

[@richardg4764]

What do you mean background our calf’s?

[@ronmorgan4799]

Didn't say what it cost a day in the feedlot for each cow ???

[@jimmyjohnson7041]

Backgrounding ? That mean you dump the cattle off of a truck as you pull away ?

[@kennethcummings8009]

What the name of the place I have cattle the need finishing

[@sleepranch]

Zochol Feedlot in Nebraska!

[@rebeccadees2300]

I don't like showing my ignorance but what does "backgrounding" mean?

[@normaamiot71]

whats backrounding

[@sleepranch]

Hi Norma, that’s a great question! Backgrounding usually refers to the time period when calves are weaned off their mom and are started on a more forage based feed ration. The goal of backgrounding is to try and control feed and a average daily rate of gain for the calves while feeding them to a target weight. This really builds the framing and body of the calves before depositing more muscle and fat with higher energy feeds as done in a finishing feedlot. If you’re interested, I have a previous video where I talk about it more!

[@randaljohnson580]

I think you have someone fat as I didn't think you had a red cow on the ranch. When were these steers born?

[@sleepranch]

We raise semental-angus cross cattle and rarely have reds. This steer actually came from some calves that we bought to finish out (of which most were black but a couple were red) it wasn’t one we raised. The fat steers in the feedlot were born Feb-March of 2020 and the smaller steers getting fed were born Feb-March of 2021. Thank you for the question Randal!

[@randaljohnson580]

@@sleepranch My son calves the same time and his fats were gone long time ago. I know you set a time when you want to finish but why ?

[@sleepranch]

@@randaljohnson580 Great questions! So the majority of our fat cattle were finished and sold back in may. This pen at the feedlot now would have been some steers that were smaller than our average steers so we kept them home over the summer and put them on grass to build them up more before sending them to the finishing feedlot. There are also some bought cattle in this group. Rather than sending them to the feedlot at about 800 lbs, as we did with the majority, these were sent to the feedlot in August (this year) weighing around 900 lbs. We try to market our feed through our cattle the best we can so we put smaller calves on grass over the summer or feed them longer in our backgrounding feedlot until they are ready to really put the meat on at the finishing lot. This also helps with cash flow throughout the year! Let me know if I can answer your question better!

[@randaljohnson580]

@@sleepranch thank you for responding just great to know how other ppl finish their fats. My bucket list is to come and ride with you and yes I can ride.

[@sleepranch]

@@randaljohnson580 sounds like a great bucket list item, we will see what we can do!

[@LordoftheOzarks]

4 pounds a day! Heck yeah! Is that with implants?

[@sleepranch]

Thanks! Yes it is!

[@jaredleber1933]

What feedlot in Nebraska was this?

[@sleepranch]

It’s called Zochol Feedlot!

[@glenanders5267]

what is the definition of a "fat" steer.

[@sleepranch]

Great question Glen, usually when people use the term “fat” steer they are referring to yearling cattle that are being fed a finishing ration to bring them to a desired weight or body condition for butchering and processing. The meat in grocery stores usually comes from cattle that would be considered “fat” or “finished”. Let me know if I can explain that better!

[@calebmanuel17]

@@sleepranch thenhow about cull cows and bulls

[@AcesUpOffroad]

@@calebmanuel17 they are generally sent straight to slaughter, mainly used in hamburger. If they are young they may be fed for awhile

[@calebmanuel17]

@@AcesUpOffroad oh i see because im following a bullhauler youtuber he hauls full time kills cows like old cows and bulls

[@davidhickenbottom6574]

Negotiate that's a laugh.

[@ryanlister1130]

How awesome. Kind of like being force fed fast food and living the rest of your life in the cab of that truck. Feed lots put profit over ethics we can do better.

[@brendanmolloy2884]

Why do people favour black cattle over red cattle?

[@sleepranch]

It’s a matter of personal opinion as to what people like. In this case I was being a red one out of our pen of black cattle. Just to make our pen more cohesive and eye appealing to the cattle buyers

[@dustinsonnier5602]

@@sleepranch got a question for you is their ever a time that a feedlot has had problems with making sure every head of cattle in a pen get a bite of food to eat and was their ever problems with cattle bossing the others around at the feedbunk