Steak advice?

[vetran]

That's rubbish .. I give you a free shot on goal and you fluff it like Harry Kane does!

You could have mentioned the gene pool and all manner of things. Come on, you can do better than that

I was going to say the planet would have much preferred to thank your parents I was being gentle with you.

You should stop fantasising about being Harry Kane's fluffer!

[malvolio]

And this is a thread about steaks, not mince or stewing steak... which wouldn't presumably come from a past-it dairy animal or a stringy old bull?

A 6-9 month bull calf is not a past-it anything, or stringy...

[d000hg]

A 6-9 month bull calf is not a past-it anything, or stringy...

Neither is it a dairy cow.

[Whorty]

I was going to say the planet would have much preferred to thank your parents I was being gentle with you.

You should stop fantasising about being Harry Kane's fluffer!

No need to be gentle with me

[DealorNoDeal]

A townie that lived and worked on farms for most of the first 20 odd years of his life...

Anyway I suppose your farmer friend doesn't actually have several fields full of aging bulls that he can't bear to part with. Where do you suppose they went? And you do realise that most of the meat in the food chain comes from animals less than 9 months old? The quality stuff comes from cattle bred for beef, as you say, but the bulk is from dairy stock. Which is really where we came in, I believe.

No, where we came in is you accusing me of being a townie (ie. ignorant/clueless) because I didn't know that "Beef is a by-product of milk production"

Now you've back peddled on that by saying the "quality stuff comes from cattle bred for beef" but the "bulk is from dairy stock"

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In all the rural places I've lived, cattle farmers have either been dairy or beef but not both. This farm near where we live now is the first I've come across where the beef is a by-product of dairy. Most dairy farmers kill male calves at birth. Not a nice thought but the reality.

I don't know whether it's true that the "bulk is from dairy stock" but I'd rather give that a miss.

[Whorty]

No, where we came in is you accusing me of being a townie (ie. ignorant/clueless) because I didn't know that "Beef is a by-product of milk production"

Now you've back peddled on that by saying the "quality stuff comes from cattle bred for beef" but the "bulk is from dairy stock"

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In all the rural places I've lived, cattle farmers have either been dairy or beef but not both. This farm near where we live now is the first I've come across where the beef is a by-product of dairy. Most dairy farmers kill male calves at birth. Not a nice thought but the reality.

I don't know whether it's true that the "bulk is from dairy stock" but I'd rather give that a miss.

My guess, and it is a guess but I'd be surprised if I was far off, is that dairy cows go to 'beef products' such as burgers, microwave lasagne etc, and dog/cat food. It's still meat, and still has a value, so unlikely to be just dumped. So given the volume of this type of food that is consumed in the UK I wouldn't be that surprised if more dairy cows are eaten compared to beef cows.

My logic could be completely flawed

[malvolio]

My guess, and it is a guess but I'd be surprised if I was far off, is that dairy cows go to 'beef products' such as burgers, microwave lasagne etc, and dog/cat food. It's still meat, and still has a value, so unlikely to be just dumped. So given the volume of this type of food that is consumed in the UK I wouldn't be that surprised if more dairy cows are eaten compared to beef cows.

My logic could be completely flawed

Or perhaps not...

[DealorNoDeal]

My guess, and it is a guess but I'd be surprised if I was far off, is that dairy cows go to 'beef products' such as burgers, microwave lasagne etc, and dog/cat food. It's still meat, and still has a value, so unlikely to be just dumped. So given the volume of this type of food that is consumed in the UK I wouldn't be that surprised if more dairy cows are eaten compared to beef cows.

My logic could be completely flawed

Very old cows, that are past their prime as milkers, probably end up as pet food.

Most dairy farmers don't raise cattle for beef. Sadly, that's why most male calves are killed at birth. They only need female calves for the dairy herd. The margins on beef are tight, and it's generally not worth the cost of rearing dairy breeds for meat when they don't carry a premium like beef cattle.

No decent restaurant chef would buy steak that came from a dairy cow. And neither would I.

[Whorty]

Very old cows, that are past their prime as milkers, probably end up as pet food.

Most dairy farmers don't raise cattle for beef. Sadly, that's why most male calves are killed at birth. They only need female calves for the dairy herd. The margins on beef are tight, and it's generally not worth the cost of rearing dairy breeds for meat when they don't carry a premium like beef cattle.

No decent restaurant chef would buy steak that came from a dairy cow. And neither would I.

That's not what I said ... I said my guess is that they are used a meat in processed meals and pet food.

A quick google confirms this.

Lady dairy cows are ‘retired’ when they can no longer produce enough milk. It’s typically an inglorious ending to an animal that has churned out thousands of gallons of milk during a ten year lifetime. In conventional dairy herds, these cows will often be sent to the slaughterhouse and turned into cheap burgers, soup, or even dog food.

[malvolio]

And in response to DnD's earlier post, somebody's farmer friend will have to change his ways. This from the Grauniad, which also clears up a few other points.