Master Beef March 10, 12

The last two Master Beef classes were held on the topics of Genetics and Forages. The genetics class was taught by Dr. Kirkpatrick and discussed various breeding systems. Cattle breeds keep very detailed information, for example take a look at http://www.angus.org/sireeval/howto.html to learn about EPD's (expected progeny differences) for Angus cattle.

The forages class was taught by John Goddard, a local veteran extension agent. During his presentation he put up a slide with the word "Abattoir" and asked if anyone knew what this was. I was the only one to raise my hand, I answered that it was a local meat processor/butcher. He was a little surprised and said that yes I was correct, it was a slaughterhouse, and that in several years of teaching this class in seven different counties I was the first person to answer the question correctly.

Later in his presentation he put up a slide which asked if there would be a difference in hay quality if one mowed at 7 am or 7 pm? Again I was the only one in the class to raise my hand, I answered that hay cut in the evening would be better quality. He said that was correct, did I know why? I answered that during the course of the day the plant used sunlight to increase the sugar content which made the grass/hay more palatable. The sugar levels decrease overnight and are lower in the morning.

Finally at the end of the forage class we had a forage analysis contest. The instructor brought four bags of hay, each member of the class graded the four samples from best to worst and wrote the answer on a card ( I wrote 4312). As a tie breaker he showed us a picture of the square bales and asked us to write down how much we thought that hay bale #1 weighed (he had weighed the bale on a digital scale accurate to the ounce). Our instructor collected the cards and told us that the correct order was 4312. Four students had written down 4312, so we went to the tie breaker. You can probably guess where this is heading. He then told us that bale #1 weighed 43 lbs 10 oz. The guesses were 58 lbs, 47 lbs, 45 lbs, and 44 lbs. I had the winning guess of 44 lbs. As the instructor handed me a framed Forage Analysis Expert Award he said I must be a ringer.

I tell this story not to brag, it was just a rather interesting evening. During the break in our class I told the instructor that the reason I knew the answers to his two questions was that I had recently attended a local grazing conference where I picked and read a sample of the Stockman Grass Farmer which mentioned abattoirs and had an article titled "Free Beef from Afternoon Paddock Shifts" (explaining how grass quality improved in the afternoon and that cattle gained more weight if shifted to fresh grass in the afternoon instead of in the morning). I was just lucky in guessing the weight of the bale of course.