ABSTRACT
Cattle are merely a way of harvesting and marketing an otherwise worthless grass crop. Cow/calf operations have always been a grass/roughage-based business, but these operations usually only produce animals in the 300 lb to 500 lb weight category. The southern grass problem has largely been solved by using "Turablewheel" power fences that allow a pastureman to easily enlarge or contract the calves' grazing area in response to rainfall. Most stocker-feeder operations in the South have been based upon the use of cool-season annuals. The grass farmer's dilemma with cool-season annuals has been the widely varied growing conditions. The biggest problem for farmers who try to practice controlled grazing is that of keeping calves from overgrazing fall growth. Much of the production profit in stocker-feeder operations is lost in freight and marketing charges that can be eliminated with an on-farm finishing system.
