Gallery: What you should know before building a hoop beef barn.

Mindy Ward, Editor, Missouri Ruralist

May 19, 2017

9 Slides

Are you looking for an opportunity to keep your kids engaged in the family beef business? Are you trying to find a feeding facility that will allow your calves to produce more gain? Have you considered a hoop barn?

One Missouri team of father and son is sharing a few insights on their hoop feeding facility.

George and Danny Wassmann started taking cows off pasture and into the hoop structure four years ago. So far, they've found the process works. By taking the weather off their back, cattle are improving gains and feed efficiency.

"We have seen a 15% boost in feed efficiency," Danny says. "We are able to finish them earlier and with less feed."

George says the facility allowed him to bring his son back into the farming operation full time. It was a win-win for the entire family.

Look at their cattle finishing hoop barn facility near Boonville in the slideshow above.

About the Author(s)

Mindy Ward

Editor, Missouri Ruralist

Mindy resides on a small farm just outside of Holstein, Mo, about 80 miles southwest of St. Louis.

After graduating from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural journalism, she worked briefly at a public relations firm in Kansas City. Her husband’s career led the couple north to Minnesota.

There, she reported on large-scale production of corn, soybeans, sugar beets, and dairy, as well as, biofuels for The Land. After 10 years, the couple returned to Missouri and she began covering agriculture in the Show-Me State.

“In all my 15 years of writing about agriculture, I have found some of the most progressive thinkers are farmers,” she says. “They are constantly searching for ways to do more with less, improve their land and leave their legacy to the next generation.”

Mindy and her husband, Stacy, together with their daughters, Elisa and Cassidy, operate Showtime Farms in southern Warren County. The family spends a great deal of time caring for and showing Dorset, Oxford and crossbred sheep.

Subscribe to Our Newsletters
BEEF Magazine is the source for beef production, management and market news.

You May Also Like