CALF_News_Feb_March_2019

29 CALF News • February | March 2019 • www.calfnews.net Continued on page 31  “We have three packers within extremely close proximity to the feed- yard. We utilize our low roughage prices to grow beef calves here at Mesquite in the winter. When we have room, they are then sent to be finished at Lariat.” But for Mesquite Cattle Feeders, it’s mainly Holsteins because of how well they perform in the desert climate.“We buy most of our cattle out of the San Joaquin Valley, with a sprinkling of cattle from Texas, New Mexico and Idaho,” Joe Dan says.“We have Holsteins on feed currently from all throughout the western United States. Holstein calves are placed at about 300 pounds and fed to about 1,350 pounds. It’s a 365-day feeding period. About 60 percent of the cattle are custom fed, with the balance being fed by the ownership group. “About 60 percent of the cattle are on an all-natural program – no antibiotics and no implants,” Joe Dan says.“They’re marketed through JBS [at Tolleson, Ariz.]. For the most part, Mesquite contracts for calves ahead of time.“Most calves are contracted three to four months in advance through private treaty with a calf ranch or over a video auction to assure that we have a steady supply,” Joe Dan says.“Once we find good supplies of calves, we usually try to stick with them because uniformity is a big part of feed- ing a good Holstein calf. 90-95 percent Choice or Prime While many areas of the nation are likely less friendly to feeding large num- bers of Holsteins due to colder climates and packers not wanting them due to an abundance of beef cattle, the Imperial Valley remains heaven for the dairy breed. They show it through their performance – at the bunk and at the packer. “These cattle consistently gain more than 2.7 pounds per day as naturals and 2.9 to 3 pounds per day as conventionals. A good one will convert in the low 5s on a dry matter basis,” Joe Dan says.“The main ration is a primarily steam-flaked corn ration. Corn is purchased through unit-train shipments from the Midwest. “Packers like our cattle because they grade a high percentage 90-95 percent Choice or Prime. They’re very uniform and are source verified for specific markets.” Mesquite relies heavily on the cash market.“Due to a lack of competition for our cattle here in Brawley, the Holsteins are killed on a grid, which has a price based on a five-area average price,” he says. “We follow cash prices consistently. We have long been concerned about consolidation in the industry. The big companies can leverage large volumes of cattle for slimmer margins. Since we rely so much on the cash markets, we are concerned about consolidation in the industry and the lighter cash trade volume in the industry.” Red Raiders Joe Dan and brother Sean grew up around Brawley, but have family links to the Texas Panhandle area in Hereford. That led them to select Texas Tech Uni- versity for their college education. “I attended junior college here and helped with a lot of feeding trials by our nutritionist, John Beckett,” Joe Dan says.“We collected data from National [former owners of a Brawley pack- ing plant now operated by One World Beef ]. People from Tech used the data. “I met Dr. Brad Johnson, a meat sci- ence professor at Tech. My parents and I visited the school. I really liked the area and thought I’d like to get out of Califor- nia for ag school. My brother Sean also attended Texas Tech. The education we received there really helped us get more involved with our operations here in Brawley.” The family’s crop production program includes carrots, potatoes, sugar beets, alfalfa, Sudan grasses and durum wheat. With extensive farming and cattle feed- ing operations, Mesquite must maintain strict environmental quality control. “We’ve always sprinkled our pens and alleys to help hold down dust,” Joe ABOVE: Joe Dan Cameron, following in his family’s leadership at Mesquite Cattle Feeders. RIGHT: With a current capacity of up to 44,000 head, Mesquite Cattle Feeders has been part of California cattle feeding since the 1950s.