Sweet times for cows as gummy worms, cookies, marshmallows replace costly corn feed - Polidicks

[quote]KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - Mike Yoder's herd of dairy cattle are living the sweet life. With corn feed scarcer and costlier than ever, Yoder increasingly is looking for cheaper alternatives -- and this summer he found a good deal on ice cream sprinkles. "It's a pretty colorful load," said Yoder, who operates about 450 dairy cows on his farm in northern Indiana. "Anything that keeps the feed costs down." As the worst drought in half a century has ravaged this year's U.S. corn crop and driven corn prices sky high, the market for alternative feed rations for beef and dairy cows has also skyrocketed. Brokers are gathering up discarded food products and putting them out for the highest bid to feed lot operators and dairy producers, who are scrambling to keep their animals fed. In the mix are cookies, gummy worms, marshmallows, fruit loops, orange peels, even dried cranberries. Cattlemen are feeding virtually anything they can get their hands on that will replace the starchy sugar content traditionally delivered to the animals through corn. "Everybody is looking for alternatives," said Ki Fanning, a nutritionist with Great Plains Livestock Consulting in Eagle, Nebraska. "It's kind of funny the first time you see it but it works well. The big advantage to that is you can turn something you normally throw away into something that can be consumed. The amazing thing about a ruminant, a cow, you can take those type of ingredients and turn them into food." PRICING VARIES Feed is generally the largest single production expense for cattle operators. Whatever is fed needs to supply energy and protein levels that meet the animals' nutritional needs. High prices for soy has operators seeking alternatives for both corn and soy. Corn alternatives are in particular demand as supplies are so tight that in some areas of the country, feed corn is not available at any price. Pricing and availability of the many different "co-products" as they are called, varies from place to place, but buyers report savings of 10 percent to 50 percent. The savings for operators are shrinking, however, as savvy resellers tie pricing for their alternative offerings to the price of corn, which surged to record highs this summer due to drought damage. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said last month the harvest now underway will yield the smallest corn crop in six years due to the drought that is still gripping more than half of the nation. "They are using less corn in a number of these rations, but as corn prices go up, prices for really every other co-product go up too," said Greg Lardy, head of the animal sciences department at North Dakota State University. Operators must be careful to follow detailed nutritional analyses for their animals to make sure they are getting a healthy mix of nutrients, animal nutritionists caution. But ruminant animals such as cattle can safely ingest a wide variety of feedstuffs that chickens and hogs can't. The candy and cookies are only a small part of a broad mix of alternative feed offerings for cattle. Many operators use distillers grains, a byproduct that comes from the manufacture of ethanol. Other common non-corn alternatives include cottonseed hulls, rice products, potato products, peanut pellet. Wheat "middlings," a byproduct of milling wheat for flour that contain particles of flour, bran, and wheat germ, also are fed. And every now and then, there is a little chocolate for the hungry cows. Hansen Mueller Grain out of Omaha, Nebraska, which markets chocolate bars alongside oats and peanut pellets, said it all comes down to fat, sugar and energy. "That's all it is," said Bran Dill, a spokesman at Hansen Mueller. Demand is high, he said. But he also said increasing prices are making alternatives less attractive. "The price of this stuff has gone up so much it's gotten ridiculous," he said.[/quote] [url=http://news.yahoo.com/sweet-times-cows-gummy-worms-replace-costly-corn-121437982.html]Source[/url] i wonder if we'll get naturally rainbow colored milk out of this

How the fuck is this going to be healthy? I mean, they're mixing it in with other "acceptable" things but really, this is the kind of shit that makes us fat and unhealthy, what is it going to do for cows?

It is like Japans Kobe Beef. Feed the cows beer and ice cream and you get a very delicious, oh so delicious, steak.

This is strange and scary

[QUOTE=ElectricSquid;37775078]How the fuck is this going to be healthy? I mean, they're mixing it in with other "acceptable" things but really, this is the kind of shit that makes us fat and unhealthy, what is it going to do for cows?[/QUOTE] The cows are going to slaughter? How is that healthy for them?

[QUOTE=ElectricSquid;37775078]How the fuck is this going to be healthy? I mean, they're mixing it in with other "acceptable" things but really, this is the kind of shit that makes us fat and unhealthy, what is it going to do for cows?[/QUOTE] To be fair corn isn't the most optimal food for them health wise either. They should be grazing on grass and stuff. But many of them just going to be killed in the end so it's not being considered a huge deal.

[QUOTE=Squad;37775104]The cows are going to slaughter? How is that healthy for them?[/QUOTE] We need them to be healthy before they're slaughtered.

Sprinkle-flavored beef coming soon in stores.

[QUOTE=Squad;37775104]The cows are going to slaughter? How is that healthy for them?[/QUOTE] If the cows are unhealthy, then their products are going to be lower quality. [editline]23rd September 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=garrynohome;37775121]To be fair corn isn't the most optimal food for them health wise either. They should be grazing on grass and stuff. But many of them just going to be killed in the end so it's not being considered a huge deal.[/QUOTE] I know that, but ffs corn is a big step up from fucking candy sprinkles.

[QUOTE=ElectricSquid;37775078]How the fuck is this going to be healthy? I mean, they're mixing it in with other "acceptable" things but really, this is the kind of shit that makes us fat and unhealthy, what is it going to do for cows?[/QUOTE] I don't think they really care about cows though.

Trust me, for the end-consumer there's second to none differences.

I don't like the sound of this. Human breast milk would be gross because it's made out the stuff moms eat (captain crunch, hot pockets, soda, taco bell). Cow milk seems much purer is it's just processed corn or grass. Why the hell would I want to drink milk made out of processed junk food?

[QUOTE=ElectricSquid;37775078]How the fuck is this going to be healthy? I mean, they're mixing it in with other "acceptable" things but really, this is the kind of shit that makes us fat and unhealthy, what is it going to do for cows?[/QUOTE] 70% of [U]Dairy Cattle[/U] feed during lactation is fed for pure energy. They don't get fat because they're producing 80+ lbs of milk/daily. It's incredibly unhealthy for them. That's why in the industry cows tend to only last 6 years (although the birthing process also has part to do with this), because they start developing deficiencies. It's also why they tend to lose a lot of weight early in the lactation curve and before birthing. There's not much he can do about it though, as people don't want to pay more for milk and corn prices are skyrocketing because it's also being used for every other animal and ethanol.

Yes because feeding cows cow worked so well last time

[QUOTE=CapnScarlet2;37776544]Yes because feeding cows cow worked so well last time[/QUOTE] That was because the cows were fed bones from other cows grounded up into a flour-like substance. These products however have been cooked in one way or another.

[QUOTE=Van-man;37776559]That was because the cows were fed bones from other cows grounded up into a flour-like substance. These products however have been cooked in one way or another.[/QUOTE] I appreciate it's unlikely any serious brain-destroying diseases will result from it, but as a principle it's not great.

[QUOTE=ElectricSquid;37775078]How the fuck is this going to be healthy? I mean, they're mixing it in with other "acceptable" things but really, this is the kind of shit that makes us fat and unhealthy, what is it going to do for cows?[/QUOTE] makes them more fatty aka more meat

[QUOTE=koeniginator;37776812]makes them more fatty aka more meat[/QUOTE] Umm, meat is muscle. Fat is not really edible.

[QUOTE=ShaunOfTheLive;37776848]Umm, meat is muscle. Fat is not really edible.[/QUOTE] what's that stuff that makes the bacon taste good then

[QUOTE=ShaunOfTheLive;37776848]Umm, meat is muscle. Fat is not really edible.[/QUOTE] Gravy.

[QUOTE=ShaunOfTheLive;37776848]Umm, meat is muscle. Fat is not really edible.[/QUOTE] [quote][b]Prime cuts of beef have a high level of intramuscular fat,[/b] which, on one hand, make cooking, broiling, or roasting them quicker and easier and makes them more tender and juicier, but on the other contains lots of saturated fatty acids and HDL's, not great for a person's health.[/quote] [url]http://wildrosebeef.hubpages.com/hub/How-Do-You-Tell-Good-Quality-Beef[/url]

[QUOTE=ElectricSquid;37775078]How the fuck is this going to be healthy? I mean, they're mixing it in with other "acceptable" things but really, this is the kind of shit that makes us fat and unhealthy, what is it going to do for cows?[/QUOTE] What goes in the mouth of the cow isn't the same as what the cow digests for energy. The digestive system of a cow is basically like a huge petri dish. The food that the cow ingests is regurgitated several times for the cow to chew into a fine paste known as cud, which is then swallowed back down. The cud then moves on to other parts of the stomach where bacteria break it down. The cow later digests these bacteria for protein and other nutrients. The cow does extract some nutrients from the cud, but most of it comes from the bacteria. As long as whatever the cow eats can sustain the bacteria, the cow will be mostly fine.

[QUOTE=ShaunOfTheLive;37776848]Umm, meat is muscle. Fat is not really edible.[/QUOTE] Milk contains a lot of fat. More fat would lead to less milk on the market for us (not by much though), but more derived solids such as yogurt and butter. Also, qualities of meat rely a great deal on fat. [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marbled_meat"]You actually want fat in your meat, it's called marbling[/URL]. Otherwise you get really dry and unappealing meat. Not that it matters because your typical dairy cow's meat isn't used for human consumption, but for secondary products such as dog food. [quote]The cud then moves on to other parts of the stomach where bacteria break it down. The cow later digests these bacteria for protein and other nutrients. The cow does extract some nutrients from the cud, but most of it comes from the bacteria. As long as whatever the cow eats can sustain the bacteria, the cow will be mostly fine.[/quote] This entirely. As long as they're not going straight from a corn diet to all sweets diet the bacteria will adapt. Cattle also don't have to have the same amount of nutrients because the bacteria can produce some of the amino acids required for them.

[QUOTE=Shining_Sabe;37777091][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marbled_meat"]You actually want fat in your meat, it's called marbling[/URL]. Otherwise you get really dry and unappealing meat. [/QUOTE] Kinda like chicken meat, since you can easily cook it too much so it's dry as hell, though on the flip-side there's little fat in it.

This might be very bad actually. Cows' stomachs were meant to digest grass. They have trouble digesting corn as it is.

[QUOTE=Mr._N;37777666]This might be very bad actually. Cows' stomachs were meant to digest grass. They have trouble digesting corn as it is.[/QUOTE] That's not going to change, also the USDA grades beef in a way that rewards marbling of meat, and the best way to get that perfect "marbled" slab of beef is to corn/grain-feed the cow, since grass-fed cows usually produce leaner cuts of meat. As long as it is still economical to do so, and as long as enough cows live long enough to make it to slaughter, the factory farmers will cut as many corners as they can to turn the biggest profit.

[QUOTE=ElectricSquid;37775078]How the fuck is this going to be healthy? I mean, they're mixing it in with other "acceptable" things but really, this is the kind of shit that makes us fat and unhealthy, what is it going to do for cows?[/QUOTE] Cattle aren't supposed to eat corn either. They feed them corn to fatten them up quickly and then slaughter them. Except their digestive system can't handle it and it often causes ulcers in their digestive system, leading quickly to infection and a great deal of discomfort. This is why antibiotics are such a big thing for cattle, they get sick due to holes in their digestive system (Well, and a number of other things linked to digestive issues). Grass fed cattle are significantly more expensive and time consuming, but do not have digestive issues or the need for ridiculous quantities of antibiotics that corn fed cattle do because grass is normal for them.

Lol corn is essentially the same as high fructose corn syrup when that shit goes through a cows extremely complex digestive system They don't give a fuk

Hope the cows get good dental, all that candy can't be good for their teeth. :v:

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