Farm News, IA
11-03-06
Cattle producers explore new feeding options
By DARCY MAULSBY- Farm News staff
IRETON — An affordable, new hoop system designed to bring cattle production
back to small and mid-sized farms is helping Iowa producers boost cattle
performance while protecting the environment.
“A hoop barn costs less than a mound system, and it helps keep the elements
away from the cattle,”î said Jim Koopmans, who is finishing cattle in his new 40foot by 300-foot Hoop Beef System® barn south of Ireton.
More than 200 visitors stopped by an open house at Koopmans’ Sioux County
farm recently to learn more about the system designed by Dr. Robert Bryant, a
veterinarian from Aurelia with more than 30 years of cattle feeding experience.
By protecting cattle from environmental extremes, the Hoop Beef System
provides a controlled environment to manage weather-related stresses that can
lead to decreased feed efficiency, lower weight gains, disease development and
higher death loss.
To ensure that all animals have easy access to water and feed, the system
provides 40 square feet and 1 foot of bunk space per head under roof, with the
price starting at $210 per head. Barns can range from 200 to 600 feet in length,
so they can hold 200 to 600 head per structure.
“I was looking for a way to keep cattle out of the rain, wind and snow, and the
whole system is geared toward the comfort of the cattle,î” said Bryant, who put
up his first experimental hoop barn six years ago. “While the hoop works with
cattle’s natural instincts to provide an environment where the animals can thrive,
it’s also designed to work for the producer.î
Protecting water quality
While hoop barns aren’t new, they’ve typically been used for swine production
rather than cattle finishing. Iowa State University (ISU) researchers have been
studying hoop barns to determine if they’re a cost effective way for beef
producers to meet the growing number of regulations regarding manure
management and treatment of feedlot runoff.
“You don’t get rain inside a hoop, so the structure will greatly minimize runoff
following a rainstorm,î” said Mark Honeyman, an ISU animal science
professor. He noted that Extension specialists at the Armstrong Research and
Demonstration Farm in southwest Iowa have been monitoring cattle performance
and behavior (as well as the environment) inside a hoop barn at the farm, along
with runoff and soil quality in and around the barn.
Unlike other systems that require expensive containment basins or lagoons,
Bryant’s Hoop Beef System relies on deep bedding to eliminate runoff. Bryant
prefers large round bales of cornstalks, although bean stubble and straw can
also work. The concrete in the hoop is scraped about every two weeks, and
bedding is added as needed. A box scraper can be used to completely clean out
the bedding pack in between groups of cattle, and the bedding and nutrients can
be spread on crop ground.
“There’s no runoff to worry about, and there’s a lot less odor because you’re
bedding every seven to 14 days,î” added Bryant, who said a 300-head barn like
Koopmans’ is sustainable on 100 acres of corn ground. “Also, there are few to no
fly issues with this system.Ӕ
While there is more labor involved with the bedding, Koopmans said, he
appreciates the ability to control his cattle’s living conditions so much better. In
some ways, the hoop system can actually reduce labor, said Bryant, who cited
the need to scrape muddy lots repeatedly, rebuild mounds, and scoop snow and
spoiled, wet feed from bunks in a conventional system.
Cattle comfort leads to increased performance
The Hoop Beef System includes a complete package of bunks, waterers, gates,
blueprints, construction advice and nutrition advice on ethanol by-product usage.
Each barn consists of wood-frame construction and structural-grade steel tubing
supporting a poly-weave tarp. Tested in temperatures approaching 35 degrees
below zero to 114-degree heat indexes of summer, the Hoop Beef System is
engineered to meet 70 mile-per-hour winds and manage sizeable snow loads.
Open curtains and venting at the top of the building create a Venturi effect,
providing airflow even on still, hot summer days. The curtains can be dropped
during winter storms.
All this contributes to better daily gains, said Bryant, who reports increases in
daily gains of one-half pound compared to cattle in muddy outdoor yards, and a
one-fourth-pound-per-day increase during the extremes of winter and summer.
Feed efficiency improves 20 percent over muddy conditions and 10 percent in
summer and winter, he added.
“We want to help bring cattle feeding back to the Midwest’s family farms and
ranches, and feeding cattle in the controlled environment of a hoop barn can
provide an affordable, practical option to make this happen.Ӕ
To learn more about the Hoop Beef System, go to www.hoopbeef.com.