By TIM THORNBERRY
Kentucky Correspondent

LEXINGTON, Ky. — For the most part, finishing cattle for processing and to sell is difficult on a small scale. Most producers can’t remain competitive in doing so, and Kentucky just doesn’t have the capacity to keep a large feedlot and processing facility going at this point in time.

There are, however, a growing number of producers who are seeing the whole process through from raising the animal to finishing to overseeing the processing stage. Those niche markets have grown in popularity mostly through CSA’s (Community Supported Agriculture.) In many cases they are finishing on pasture forage.
The University of Kentucky (UK) College of Agriculture is poised to help those in the local beef industry through a series of workshops.
The two-part Pasture-Based Beef Finishing workshop will help them analyze their operations and explore the financial potential for locally-finished beef, according to information from UK.

Greg Halich, assistant Extension professor in agricultural economics, and one of the workshop organizers, said producers face some big challenges in such a system.

“Bringing animals to a finishing weight in a reasonable time frame is no easy task and requires not only a fundamental understanding of how beef cattle mature, but also an understanding of the capabilities and limitations of various forages. Butchering can be a challenge, with issues such as federal inspection, aging and scheduling being potential problems. And marketing may be the biggest obstacle to selling grass-finished animals,” he said.
Lee Meyer, Extension professor in the UK Department of Agricultural Economics, said farmers will learn about many different areas of getting their product from the farm to the consumer.

“The farmers will be able to make a decision about whether they want to go to a completely pasture-based system or if they want to do a grain-on-grass supplemental system,” he said. “There are pros and cons to both those, and there are risks, different costs and different product quality.”

Meyer added that the strategy of the workshop program is to help grow production along with consumer demand.

“There are a lot of people that are finding these are quality products and you get that extra satisfaction of supporting Kentucky agriculture,” he said. “Many farmers don’t know the meat side of things. They know about the animal side and they have to get those cows up over 1,000 to have a good quality product.”

Along with Meyer and Halich, the project involves a host of UK experts who will take participants through every aspect of raising and marketing their beef through a two-phase approach.
The first will be a broad brush according to Meyer, with information about basic forage systems for cattle, target markets and processing costs.

The next workshop will be for those who are currently involved in beef production or those who know they are getting into the business. This workshop will help them customize a program that fits their farm. There will be a lot of emphasis on risk management said Meyer.

“Let’s say there is a drought. If you have a grass-fed system, it is a major problem, so we have some strategies to work around that like having hay stockpiled or using supplemental feeds like soy hulls,” he said. “If you’re going to get a tender product, and everybody wants tender beef, we have to get those cattle to market at two years of age or less so you really have to have good quality forage to do that. That pasture-base is really the starting point to do this well.”

Meyer also said there is a real interest in 100 percent grass-fed beef and that can be done, but some farmers and customers are content with a little supplement to get through droughts or winter to keep the gains up.

The workshops will look at all the systems. Ultimately, consumers will decide what they want and then the farmers respond to that demand, said Meyer.

“One thing that is really important is these customers want to know about how the meat is produced. Being able to describe your system, and the standards used to handle your cattle are all very important parts to this,” said Meyer.

The workshops are funded through a USDA Risk Management Education Program grant and will be held in Lexington on Feb. 18 and 25 and in Princeton on March 2 and 11 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. A date for a third workshop in the eastern part of the state has yet to be announced.

To register for the workshop sessions, contact Sarah Lovett, Extension associate in agricultural economics, at 859-257-7272, ext. 281 or sarah.lovett@ uky.edu Information can also be found at the local county Extension offices. Cost per session is $10. Lunch is included.