@pythagorean We stopped taking any cattle to the market (where theyre bid on and sent to feedlots for "finishing") after we watched a guy there ruthlessly hotstick our cow over and over when she had nowhere to go. She was stuck in a strange maze with a hundred strangers. To me it was like seeing your dog put in cage and then then yelled at and shocked over and over. I was just a kid.
After that we keep only a small herd, sell the heifers and bulls we cant keep when theyre young as "grassfed beef". We get a lot more for them but its still pretty sad and always awful when we have to get rid of an older cow.
We still barely make enough to pay land taxes and electric etc.
The good news is more and more people seem to want humanely raised animals.
I have a bull i had to pull out of his sick momma, dry off, and bottle feed. Hes a big old boy now! But i dread the day he has to go because we have young heifers. Hes still gentle as can be and loves getting brushed and scratched on.
Sorry for hijacking the thread btw!