The Rural Voice, 1981-03, Page 12Dairy beef - a product of
Perth's healthy
dairy industry
Jack Tinning. a Mitchell area dairy farmer. sells his bull calves as vealers when they
reach 400-500 pounds in weight. [Photo by Thiel]
BY DONNA THIEL
In today's economy, farmers can no
longer afford to keep livestock that isn't
providing a substantial return on their
investment. For many dairy farmers, this
means when cows fail to produce, they're
sent off to the slaughterhouse.
Interviews with three Perth Count)
dairy farmers indicated cows are often
"retired" if their milk production is down
or if the cows can't be gotten into calf.
Also, several dairy farmers sell their bull
calves for beef when they're a few days
old. Contrary to media reports, Perth
dairy farmers felt their cows were
generally in good shape when they were
shipped out.
PG. 10 THE RURAL VOICE/MARCH 1981
David Packham. of R.R. 2, St. Pauls,
milks 30 to 35 cows and keeps his heifer
calves as replacements.
"There are always a few cows that
have low production or have touble
getting into calf, so they must be sold.
But their general condition is good and
our older cows are fed heavier before
being shipped out, the farmer said.
Jack Tinning, of R.R. 2, Mitchell, has
heen keeping his bull calves as well and
feeding them a diet of a pound -and -a -halt
of Tenderlean and all the dry corn they
can eat. In four months, the calves weigh
between 450 to 500 pounds and are ready
to go to the packers as tenderlean
vealers. Implants are also used on
different calves to fatten them up.
Tinning milks about 60 head and feels his
cows go to market in good shape.
Angus Barber, of Burns Foods, Kitch-
ener. said "Depending on the amount of
flesh. the cuts of meat go into the process
meats such as bologna and summer
sausage. The rougher cuts are made into
hamburg and this meat is generally from
older cows. Only a few of the younger
cows are cut into commercial beef cuts,"
Barber explained.
In comparison, Frank Hess, product
manager of Schneiders Inc., Kitchener.
said his company doesn't process many
older cows.
"Cows that are processed are generally
mixed into bologna. summer sausage and
hamburg. The average cows are graded
DI and D2's."
Another dairy farmer. John McIntosh,
R.R. 7, St. Marys, raises his bull calves to
the weight of approximately 1200 pounds
on a diet of corn and grain, with a
supplement of pelleted concentrate.
Cows are graded by the Canada D's.
The ideal cow has a minimum of fat and
conformation which means a good hip
and loin. The colour, texture and firm-
ness of the lean meat is also considered.
DI is mature, good to excellent cows and
steers having a minimum of fat and
conformation. The D2 is the mature,
medium cows and steers and the entire
loin is used.
The D3 grading is the mature fair cows
and steers which are better than D4's,
cows and steer displaying excessive fat.
The final grade, D5's, are thin cows and
steers which are classified as manufact-
ured quality.
Dairy men who are feeding their cows
top quality feed for high milk production
must have top quality cows. Cows from
these herds must be the DI and D2's. The
other grades are monitored and only the
best meat is kept as cuts or roasts.
In Perth, dairy beef is only a byproduct
of the dairy industry.