Scott Royer - Raising beef cattle for dummies

Raising Beef Cattle For Dummies

by Nikki Royer and Scott Royer

Raising Beef Cattle For Dummies

Published by
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
111 River St.
Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774

www.wiley.com

Copyright 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Published simultaneously in Canada

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com, Making Everything Easier, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: The publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organization or Website is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information the organization or Website may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that Internet Websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read.

For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002.

For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport.

Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Not all content that is available in standard print versions of this book may appear or be packaged in all book formats. If you have purchased a version of this book that did not include media that is referenced by or accompanies a standard print version, you may request this media by visiting http://booksupport.wiley.com. For more information about Wiley products, visit us at www.wiley.com.

Library of Congress Control Number is available from the Publisher upon request.

ISBN 978-0-470-93061-8 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-118-08911-8 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-08912-5 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-08913-2 (ebk)

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

About the Authors

Scott and Nikki Royer raise cattle, sheep, pigs, and chickens on their diversified family farm in Indiana. In addition to raising the calves from their own cow herd, the Royers also purchase and finish feeder cattle from other producers. Nikki has been involved with raising cattle her entire life, showing her first calf at the age of six. For many years she and her family exhibited champion cattle across the country. Both Scott and Nikki are graduates of Purdue University School of Agriculture. Scott worked in the animal feed business and as an animal health research scientist before becoming a full-time livestock producer in 2001. After receiving a masters degree in Meat Science, Nikki was a sales representative until joining Scott to raise cattle and kids on the farm that her family started in 1874.

Scott and Nikkis mission at their farm is to provide delicious, nutritious food thats raised sustainably in a low-stress pasture environment. In 2010, they direct marketed over 45,000 pounds of meat through farmers markets, on-farm sales, and the Internet.

Dedication

Nikki Royer: I dedicate this book to my dad, Knic Overpeck, who was an amazing cattleman.

Authors Acknowledgments

Nikki Royer: Thanks to my husband Scott for being the best spouse and partner I could ever hope to have. To the rest of my family, thank you for your patience during this project. I would like to acknowledge Stephanie for the recommendation and Jennifer Moore, Jessica Smith, David Lutton, and Erin Calligan Mooney for guiding the creation of this book.

Publishers Acknowledgments

Were proud of this book; please send us your comments at http://dummies.custhelp.com. For other comments, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002.

Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

Acquisitions, Editorial, and Vertical Websites

Project Editor: Jennifer Moore

Acquisitions Editor: Erin Calligan Mooney

Copy Editor: Jessica Smith

Assistant Editor: David Lutton

Editorial Program Coordinator: Joe Niesen

Technical Editor: Mark Castor

Editorial Manager: Carmen Krikorian

Senior Editorial Manager: Jennifer Ehrlich

Editorial Assistants: Alexa Koschier, Rachelle Amick

Art Coordinator: Alicia B. South

Cover Photo: iStockphoto.com Michael Gray

Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com)

Composition Services

Project Coordinator: Patrick Redmond

Layout and Graphics: Jennifer Creasey, Melanee Habig, Joyce Haughey

Proofreaders: Rebecca Denoncour, Melanie Hoffman, Jessica Kramer, Lauren Mandelbaum, Dwight Ramsey

Indexer: Christine Karpeles

Illustrator: Barbara Frake

Special Help: Christine Pingleton

Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies

Kathleen Nebenhaus, Vice President and Executive Publisher

Kristin Ferguson-Wagstaffe, Product Development Director

Ensley Eikenburg, Associate Publisher, Travel

Kelly Regan, Editorial Director, Travel

Publishing for Technology Dummies

Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher

Composition Services

Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services