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Trucks are rolling out of Douglas County as market cattle and sheep are being shipped for their next step in processing as food for Americans and others.
With our local livestock auction barn gone, it might seem harder to find buyers, but there are many options. Custom buyers are receiving livestock at specified locations around the county, or will pick up large and small lots of cattle and sheep off area ranches.
Livestock are also sold off the video. That is, videotapes of the animals are shown to large audiences at satellite or cable auctions. There is even a local livestock auction Web site. If that scares you off, there is always the newspaper or the oldest venue, neighbor-to-neighbor sales.
Whatever method chosen, it will be most successful when producers’ animals have a competitive edge compared to the average sale.
The bulk of the cattle being shipped include about 12,600 head of 1 year- and 18-month-old steers and heifers, most weighing 700 to 1,100 pounds. Some 400- to 600-pound weaned calves are also being sold now, but the fall of the year is their usual marketing time due to customary calving seasons.
Approximately 20,000 lambs from this year’s crop, plus some old croppers from last year, are also making their way to market. Most of these sheep will weigh slightly more than 100 pounds, but some will weigh in excess of 130 pounds, with some lighter- weight lambs also making the trip. The young animals are independent of their mothers now and the fresh grass that has been such a part of their growth has now begun to dry up as summer weather finally arrives. It is time to move on so they can fully achieve their growth and finishing potential.
Many of the livestock are destined for grass seed fields in the Willamette Valley or feedlots in other areas. From there, they will be processed for meat protein to feed people in large cities, some even making their way back to our local grocery stores.
Not all the sheep and cattle will be shipped elsewhere. Some stay in the county to take their place in the herds and flocks as replacement sires and dams, while others will remain here to be finished and processed for consumption as locally grown food. The primary limitation to keeping them home is availability of high quality forage and other feeds for achieving final weight and degree of finish for a good quality and yield of meat.
Another limitation is that we don’t have the capacity to federally inspect and process large amounts of meat for resale in small packages for home use. The inspection process is a government requirement and food safety issue when selling in this manner. That leaves only meat in bulk, which is a good way to go if you have a large freezer – and locally raised food can be quite delicious.
For more details and information on growing and marketing cattle and sheep, contact me or attend the Douglas County Livestock Association Stockman’s Breakfast educational program from 7 to 8 a.m. Tuesday at Karen’s Coffee Cup, 2445 N.E. Diamond Lake Blvd., Roseburg.
Shelby Filley is the Regional Livestock and Forages Specialist for OSU Extension Service of Douglas County. She can be reached by e-mail at shelby.filley@oregonstate.edu or by phone at 541-672-4461.
With our local livestock auction barn gone, it might seem harder to find buyers, but there are many options. Custom buyers are receiving livestock at specified locations around the county, or will pick up large and small lots of cattle and sheep off area ranches.
Livestock are also sold off the video. That is, videotapes of the animals are shown to large audiences at satellite or cable auctions. There is even a local livestock auction Web site. If that scares you off, there is always the newspaper or the oldest venue, neighbor-to-neighbor sales.
Whatever method chosen, it will be most successful when producers’ animals have a competitive edge compared to the average sale.
The bulk of the cattle being shipped include about 12,600 head of 1 year- and 18-month-old steers and heifers, most weighing 700 to 1,100 pounds. Some 400- to 600-pound weaned calves are also being sold now, but the fall of the year is their usual marketing time due to customary calving seasons.
Approximately 20,000 lambs from this year’s crop, plus some old croppers from last year, are also making their way to market. Most of these sheep will weigh slightly more than 100 pounds, but some will weigh in excess of 130 pounds, with some lighter- weight lambs also making the trip. The young animals are independent of their mothers now and the fresh grass that has been such a part of their growth has now begun to dry up as summer weather finally arrives. It is time to move on so they can fully achieve their growth and finishing potential.
Many of the livestock are destined for grass seed fields in the Willamette Valley or feedlots in other areas. From there, they will be processed for meat protein to feed people in large cities, some even making their way back to our local grocery stores.
Not all the sheep and cattle will be shipped elsewhere. Some stay in the county to take their place in the herds and flocks as replacement sires and dams, while others will remain here to be finished and processed for consumption as locally grown food. The primary limitation to keeping them home is availability of high quality forage and other feeds for achieving final weight and degree of finish for a good quality and yield of meat.
Another limitation is that we don’t have the capacity to federally inspect and process large amounts of meat for resale in small packages for home use. The inspection process is a government requirement and food safety issue when selling in this manner. That leaves only meat in bulk, which is a good way to go if you have a large freezer – and locally raised food can be quite delicious.
For more details and information on growing and marketing cattle and sheep, contact me or attend the Douglas County Livestock Association Stockman’s Breakfast educational program from 7 to 8 a.m. Tuesday at Karen’s Coffee Cup, 2445 N.E. Diamond Lake Blvd., Roseburg.
Shelby Filley is the Regional Livestock and Forages Specialist for OSU Extension Service of Douglas County. She can be reached by e-mail at shelby.filley@oregonstate.edu or by phone at 541-672-4461.
