From Bottle Calf to Beef Filled Freezer A Beginner's Guide to Raising Your Own Beef

When the Covid virus exposed vulnerabilities in the nation's meat supply chain, it sparked some folks' interest in raising their own, home raised beef. Perhaps you are one of them. Maybe your child is interested in raising a 4-H or FFA bottle calf project. Maybe you are new to the food self-reliant lifestyle and are looking for help getting started. Maybe you are just looking for a less expensive way to fill your freezer. If you have an interest in raising a bottle calf to fill your freezer, this book is for you!
From Bottle Calf to Beef Filled Freezer guides the reader through the process of raising a baby dairy breed calf from the day he leaves his mother cow all the way through to beef safely stored in the home freezer. The easy to follow, step by step instructions are designed to be a beginner's guide, providing the information and tools necessary to make their beef raising project a success. Heck, you might even know the difference between a cow, calf, bull or steer. This is the perfect book for you. Well, I definitely know the difference and you will too after reading this concise, easy to read book. I think you will find it a learning experience you will enjoy!

The book guides the reader through all the steps necessary from project pre-planning to preparing a cut and wrap order for the butcher. Some of the issues addressed include:
•Why raise a freezer beef?
•How much is this going to cost me?
•What dairy breed calf will best fit my beef project goals?
•What supplies will I need?
•How do I plan and prepare for the calf's arrival?
•What questions do I need to ask the calf seller?
•How do I recognize and treat calf health issues?
•Do I need to castrate and dehorn my calf?
•Should I raise grass fed or grass and grain fed/grain finished beef?
•How much and what should I feed?
•How do I decide how to have my beef cut?

This book covers it and does so in a fun and non-intimidating manner!
Step by step instructions are provided to help you estimate the cost of producing your own beef. An estimate worksheet is included that will enable the reader to personally project their own costs. A prepared sample worksheet is also provided as an example. The sample beef cut and wrap order form will help you prepare for the beef cutting questions that the butcher will ask on harvest day.
The author, Leeann Ulics Moos, has over 40 years of experience working in the commercial dairy production and finance fields. Since childhood she has raised much of the beef, pork and poultry products served on her family's dinner table, a tradition her family continues to this day. Her life-long experience is a valuable asset for folks interested in raising their own meat.

Leeann has had a life-long love affair with cattle; well, actually livestock in general. Growing up on a small ranch in the Northern California foothills, she was blessed to have parents who encouraged her non-stereotypical interests. A gift few parents would have allowed their young daughters to pursue in the mid 1960s. The family dinner menu was often centered around a 4-H project raised by her, her sister, or brother.
After graduating from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a Bachelor's degree in Dairy Husbandry, her love of cattle, dairy cattle in particular, has led her through a variety of jobs and businesses, all involving dairy cattle. After her early jobs as a dairy herdsperson and dairy manager , she went to work for a national bank with one of the country's largest dairy loan portfolios. Her responsibilities as a vice president and dairy field specialist sent her around the Western United States appraising dairy cattle, dairy beef, and evaluating dairy and calf ranch management.
Leeann's time in the banking industry was followed by building her own dairy cattle appraisal and consulting company. In the late 1990s, Leeann, her husband Jonathan, their young son, and soon-to-be-born daughter moved to the Stephenville, Texas, area where they became managing partners of a dairy farm.
The couple currently lives in East Texas where they continue to enjoy sharing home-raised meats and vegetables with friends and family. They can occasionally be spotted spending an afternoon or evening at a local livestock auction, just for the heck of it.