Alderspring Grass Fed Beef

Alderspring RanchGrass Fed Beef is:

Grown by us on our high mountain ranch in Idaho

Grazed on certified organic and transitional pastures

Fed only pasture and hay; nothing else, ever

Never given chemicals of any kind (no antibiotcs, no hormones, no pesticides)

Dry-aged 18-21 days, the old world way

Hand carved and packaged

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It's always interesting when reseach backs up what you know is true from experience. This abstract from the 2002 regional meetings of the American Society of Animal Science describes how weaning calves using the low-stress techniques we've applied to our animals improves post-weaning weight gain. (In our opinion, this is primarily because the calves continue eating and rarely get sick if they can touch noses with their dams).

Fenceline contact of beef calves with their dams
at weaning reduces the negative effects of separation
on behavior and growth rate.
E.O. Price*1, J.E. Harris1, S.M. Mongold1, R.E. Borgwardt1
, M.I. Sween1, and J.M. Connor2,
1University of California, Davis, CA, 2University of California Sierra
Foothill Research & Extension Center, Browns Valley, CA.

One-hundred Angus/Hereford-cross calves in each of three years were assigned to receive treatments for seven days to determine the effects of different weaning techniques on their behavior and subsequent growth. Treatments were: 1) fenceline separation from dams - on pasture; 2) total separation from dams - on pasture; 3) total separation from dams - in drylot - preconditioned to hay; 4) total separation from dams - in drylot - not preconditioned to hay; 5) non-weaned controls - on pasture.
At the end of the seven-day treatment period, all calves were placed on pasture in large groups. Calf behaviors were monitored for five days following. Weaning and body weights were obtained weekly for 10 weeks. Fenceline calves and cows spent approximately 60% and 40% of their time, respectively, within 3 m of the fence separating them during the first two days post-weaning. For the first three days, fenceline calves vocalized less and spent more time eating and lying down and less time walking (pacing) than calves in the three totally-separated treatments.

Treatment differences in behavior were greatly reduced on days fourand five. At two weeks post-weaning, fenceline calves had gained 95% more body weight than calves in the three totally-separated treatments (21.4 vs. 11.0 kg, respectively). At 10 weeks post-weaning, fenceline calves had gained 31% more weight than the average calf in the totally separated groups (50.0 vs. 38.2 kg, respectively). A follow-up study
demonstrated similar advantages of fenceline contact when calves were weaned under drylot conditions and their dams had access to pasture. It was concluded that fenceline contact between beef calves and their dams at weaning reduces the negative effects of separation on calf behavior and growth.

Calf Weaning