Category: North America

Kuner Feedlot (Colorado) – beef fattening company
The map shows a large feedlot near Greeley (Colorado, see 220.1) with a fattening capacity of a maximum of 100,000 cattle. However, a distinction must be made between the capacity of the feedlots and their actual occupancy, which is usually somewhat lower.

The location on the Denver to Omaha railway line was the key location factor for the creation of this feedlot. Three feedlots of this size were built by the original owner (Monfort): the first in 1970 in Gilcrest, the second in 1974 in Kuner and the last in 1987 in Yuma. The Kuner Feedlot is currently operated by JBS Five Rivers Ranch Cattle Feeding LLC. Five Rivers owns a total of twelve feedlots in six US states, most of them in Texas and Colorado.

IRRIGATION AND FORAGE MANAGEMENT
With the short grass prairie, there is still natural vegetation north of the feedlot in the valley of the South Platte River. On the other hand, irrigation farming is carried out on the adjacent arable land. Irrigation is carried out either by carousel irrigation or by surface irrigation via the Latham Ditch moat. The cattle required for fattening in the feedlot are bought up in almost all states west of the Mississippi, fattened for about three to five months and then slaughtered.

Large quantities of feed are required for the up to 330,000 animals that are fattened in the feedlot until they are ready for slaughter. The corn used to make the corn silage – which requires 4,000 acres of acreage – comes mostly from areas more than 100 miles from the feedlot, such as Kansas or Nebraska. The green fodder alfalfa (lucerne) – which requires 1,600 hectares of cultivated land – is purchased in the region, the average distance is 20 miles. The feed required is stored in feed silos and processed in the centrally located feed plant. From there it is driven by truck to the fattening pens and slowly filled into the feed troughs.

The animals are ready for slaughter at the age of 14 to 16 months. They are transported by truck to the slaughterhouse in Greeley; the location on the railroad no longer plays a role today.

The disposal of animal excrement does not cause any problems in large-scale farming. Due to the dry climate, these are stored outdoors in large piles until they are given to farmers as fertilizer. The surface runoff that occurs during rainfall is collected in collecting basins and later spread onto the agricultural areas.

The agricultural areas shown on the map do not belong to the feedlot, but are owned by neighboring farmers. For more information about the continent of North America, please check topb2bwebsites.com.