How Five Rivers Cattle Feeding matches rations to cattle

Thirty million pounds of rations, made up of grains, roughages, protein, fat, minerals, vitamins and byproducts, are made daily across the 13 feedyards that is Five Rivers Cattle Feeding in the United States.

All have to be sourced at a competitive rate, fastidiously quality checked and matched to cattle to garner full genetic potential.

Five Rivers is the world's largest cattle feeder.

It feeds close to the number on feed across the entire of Australia.

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Kuner Feedlot, on the Great Plains of northern Colorado near the town of Greeley, is arguably it's most complex facility and best known. It's home to the company's highly regarded Aspen Ridge Natural Angus beef program.

By virtue of remaining at the cutting edge of efficiency, sustainability is built in, say those running the operation.

"The feedlot sector probably puts more technologies together in the one place and is the most efficient segment in the life cycle of a beef animal," Kuner's animal nutritionist Tony Bryant said.

It's rare that an operation like Kuner opens its doors and talks candidly about how everything is pieced together but Farmonline was recently given the opportunity to tour the facility.

Five Rivers Cattle Feeding is owned by New York-based asset managers Pinnacle Arcadia Cattle Partners.

Across its facilities in Texas, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas and Arizona, Five Rivers has the capacity to feed 950,000 head.

It started out as Monfort in Greeley, which by the late 1960s had grown into the world's first 100,000 head feedlot and for the next two decades invested in construction numerous company feedyards.

Over the years, owners have included Continental Grain Company, which went on to become ContiBeef and form a joint venture of ten yards with Smithfield, which was when it was named Five Rivers.

In 2008, JBS took ownership before selling to Pinnacle Arcadia in 2018.

Kunur right now has 86,000 head on feed as it heads into winter. Per head, 15 square metres, or 160 square feet, is allocated. Cattle are fed for 150 to 180 days.

Typically, Kuner cattle are bought in as one-year-olds from backgrounders and stockers throughout Colorado and California but also from Wyoming and Montana.

Each of Five Rivers' yards makes its own purchasing decisions, for both cattle and feed, says Jordan Levi, who sits on the board of the holding company for Five Rivers.

The Aspen Ridge program kicked off in 2011. It promises no hormones, steroids or beta-agonists, no antibiotics or ionophores and no animal byproducts.

Sick animals are treated and removed from the program, Dr Bryant explained.

It is guaranteed via a producer-signed affidavit and third party verified.

"All cattle in this program arrive with an electronic identification - in the US that's voluntary so we pay more money for cattle enrolled in those programs," Dr Bryant said.

Aspen Ridge beef grades US Department of Agriculture Prime and Choice, which makes the returns on those cuts higher.

Steers in the branded program are on feed for 184 days on average, compared to the 168 average for traditional steers.

Their average daily gain is 1.27 kilograms, compared to the 1.59kg of the traditional animals, which makes their out weights average 617kg against 644kg for traditional.

Dry matter conversion in the natural program is 7.5 pounds:1 pound feed, compared to traditional at 5.8lb.

"We take a 30pc productivity reduction in these natural cattle," Dr Bryant said.

"There's pros and cons to the program and we produce both because we're incentivised to but from a true sustainability standpoint, that's worth noting."

Across the 13 locations, the amount of feed required varies based on the type of cattle, the season and of course capacity.

Kunur makes 12 different rations.

"When you're feeding 100,000 mouths, any little change - just being down for ten minutes - affects the whole day," Dr Bryant said.

"Maintenance has to be right on the money. We regularly schedule down time to work on equipment. We batch feed ahead to do that."

All incoming ingredients are sample tested. It's a narrow margin business, Dr Bryant explained, so what is purchased depends on what is local to contain freight costs and what the competition and prices are like.

"Whey is one feedstuff we are using now," he said.

"It's a good source of energy. There is a cheese plant nearby and they consider it a byproduct.

"Cattle are amazing creatures. They can upscale a lot of feedstuffs that aren't usable for any other purposes.

"We are constantly looking at the interchangability of ingredients to balance cost. A lot goes into deciding what we feed.

"And we have to be nimble. Between drought and urban sprawl we have to be able to switch up ingredients.

"We don't always look for just the cheapest, it has to be good quality. It's a constant balancing game."

One of the most important things that happens at Kuner is flaking grains - corn typically but sorghum and barley at times and on the odd occasion wheat.

The three flaking mills produce 105 tonnes per hour.

Corn is soaked so water is absorbed into kernel, then steam, pressure and rollers applied which ruptures the protein structure around the starch and makes it more available for cattle, Dr Bryant explained.

At Kuner, all that adds up to 18pc more energy retained and lower greenhouse gas emissions per kilogram of beef produced.