Cattle liners....

[ferniesnow]

i went to the "best little shop on the prairies" today.....Mr.R's. That's another story and will share with you later. Man they are a great bunch of guys!

On the way, as usual, on highway #3, there were a lot of cattle liners (Walter, Vanee, Gateway, Butte, Top Hat, Favel, to name some of them) heading west. There have been days that I've counted over 30 of them.

I know nothing, zip all, about the industry and I'm just being a curious George. Where doo they go, how far into the states doo the cattle eventually go for butchering, how long can the cattle be in the truck, what about water and feed, and who takes them from the border to the slaughter house?

Thanks for all the anticipated replies from this forum of many talents.....

 

[imdoo'n]

i went to the "best little shop on the prairies" today.....Mr.R's. That's another story and will share with you later. Man they are a great bunch of guys!

On the way, as usual, on highway #3, there were a lot of cattle liners (Walter, Vanee, Gateway, Butte, Top Hat, Favel, to name some of them) heading west. There have been days that I've counted over 30 of them.

I know nothing, zip all, about the industry and I'm just being a curious George. Where doo they go, how far into the states doo the cattle eventually go for butchering, how long can the cattle be in the truck, what about water and feed, and who takes them from the border to the slaughter house?

Thanks for all the anticipated replies from this forum of many talents.....

noah is at it again, he must be building another ark and is loading it up.

 

[Summiteer]

noah is at it again, he must be building another ark and is loading it up.

But he only needs one cow and one bull...... Gotta feed the tigers I guess.

 

[Longhorn]

Most go to Greeley Colorado...huge processing plant there...

Swift & Company - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[QMAO]

Years ago I made a trip with a buddy that drove cattle liners. There are several places they could be going.
I believe we went to Logan, Utah ? There was also a place in Minot S.D.
They are loaded in Alberta, The liner is sealed at the boarder and not opened until they reach the destination. It is no harm or unusual for cattle to go without feed for 2-3 days.
It was a 2 day trip down to Logan utah.

 

[Longhorn]

Years ago I made a trip with a buddy that drove cattle liners. There are several places they could be going.
I believe we went to Logan, Utah ? There was also a place in Minot S.D.
They are loaded in Alberta, The liner is sealed at the boarder and not opened until they reach the destination. It is no harm or unusual for cattle to go without feed for 2-3 days.
It was a 2 day trip down to Logan utah.

Yes, Logan is another very popular destination...It all depends who is paying more, and how much trucking it takes to get there. And how much 'shrink' the load encounters...the amount of weight lost during the trip...

 

[goodngrubby]

The cattle get off-loaded at the boarder, vet-checked, and loaded back up.

 

[Murminator]

Probably heading to High River

 

[Catchme]

When I was hauling cattle we did many runs to Greely CO, Fargo ND, Pasco WA, Fresno CA, Rapid City SD. Hauled a lot of loads of feeder cattle to Laredo TX and the Mexicans picked them up from there and several loads down to LA ship yards that went across to Hawaii. Surprising how many loads a day cross the border headed south. We would bring horses back from the US to the bovery plant at Ft Macleod then.

 

[007sevens]

Cattle haulers have rules they follow as to time spent in the trailer. They can only haul for so long without water and feed, this is why you will see cattle haulers drive straight through without rest to off load the cattle. Alot of the time the cattle owner will have them fed and watered at a set place so as to not lose condition in the cattle, with cattle weight is money. Cattle can eat at one time enough feed to substain them for a few days, water on the other hand is more crucial as they won't eat if they are thirsty so the time without water is less. I believe time in the trailer without feed is about 80 hours where as water is only about 50 hours, but most cattle won't spend more then 40 hours without feed and water. 40 hours at 100km/hr will get you along ways. I once team drove from Huntsville,Alabama to Calgary in 28 hours.

 

[scotts]

Cattle haulers have rules they follow as to time spent in the trailer. They can only haul for so long without water and feed, this is why you will see cattle haulers drive straight through without rest to off load the cattle. Alot of the time the cattle owner will have them fed and watered at a set place so as to not lose condition in the cattle, with cattle weight is money. Cattle can eat at one time enough feed to substain them for a few days, water on the other hand is more crucial as they won't eat if they are thirsty so the time without water is less. I believe time in the trailer without feed is about 80 hours where as water is only about 50 hours, but most cattle won't spend more then 40 hours without feed and water. 40 hours at 100km/hr will get you along ways. I once team drove from Huntsville,Alabama to Calgary in 28 hours.

Holy dean thats a drive, were you with your dad?

 

[ferniesnow]

The cattle get off-loaded at the boarder, vet-checked, and loaded back up.

Probably heading to High River

That would explain the fast turn around; Bonners Ferry or Eureka are close. Also helps explain the large number of liners coming back empty in the early afternoon.

Murminator, these cattle liners are going west through the Crowsnest.

So, with all the experts chiming in, I have some of the questions answered but not all.

 

[polarice]

That would explain the fast turn around; Bonners Ferry or Eureka are close. Also helps explain the large number of liners coming back empty in the early afternoon.

Murminator, these cattle liners are going west through the Crowsnest.

So, with all the experts chiming in, I have some of the questions answered but not all.

what questions werent answered

 

[ferniesnow]

what questions werent answered

Where doo they go, how far into the states doo the cattle eventually go for butchering, how long can the cattle be in the truck, what about water and feed, and who takes them from the border to the slaughter house?

I was talking about the cattle being shipped along highway #3 only. I know there are big packers in Kansas and Nebraska, but doo these fine Alberta cattle get dropped just across the border and if so where?

 

[indydude]

Many years ago i ran team with a guy from winnipeg manitoba to el paso tx. We left sunday morning and got to the mexican border by noonish wed. We offloaded at the border and the wet backs walked the cattle across the border and then loaded them on another truck and away they went. We only had 13 head on a 53ft pot, they were breeding stock and 2 bulls. We stopped once to offload them for food and water,but i don't recall where. We were home on sunday again.

 

[scotts]

I thought all your questions were answered?? It all depends on what plant is buying and where. Some loads are fattened cattle going to
slaughter some are animals going to feed
lots in the states"not so much anymore"
All I really know is it helps to be 5ft tall to haul cattle. Takes me two days to straighten out after Spending a day loading and unloading pots

 

[ferniesnow]

I thought all your questions were answered?? It all depends on what plant is buying and where. Some loads are fattened cattle going to
slaughter some are animals going to feed
lots in the states"not so much anymore"
All I really know is it helps to be 5ft tall to haul cattle. Takes me two days to straighten out after Spending a day loading and unloading pots

I re-read my post and yes the questions have been answered. I contacted Gateway with a list of questions and I am confusing the two. Here is the list of questions that I asked: (remember these questions are regarding the liners going west on Highway #3)

How many animals are in 1 trailer?
Where do the trucks go?
What is the length of the trip?
Do they off load and another company contracted to take them to the packing facility?
If they off-load, is there a loading yard and procedure with vets, etc?
Is this trip different from a trip south of Lethbridge (ie do some trucks go deep into the states)?
I have also started seeing empty liners coming back (travelling east) at night? Is this something new?
I'm assuming there are shifts at the slaughter house that involve arrival times?

 

[polarice]

I re-read my post and yes the questions have been answered. I contacted Gateway with a list of questions and I am confusing the two. Here is the list of questions that I asked: (remember these questions are regarding the liners going west on Highway #3)

How many animals are in 1 trailer?
Where do the trucks go?
What is the length of the trip?
Do they off load and another company contracted to take them to the packing facility?
If they off-load, is there a loading yard and procedure with vets, etc?
Is this trip different from a trip south of Lethbridge (ie do some trucks go deep into the states)?
I have also started seeing empty liners coming back (travelling east) at night? Is this something new?
I'm assuming there are shifts at the slaughter house that involve arrival times?

the busier slaughter houses run 24 hours and with the dollar being as good as it is the market isnt as good as it was

 

[scotts]

the book you must be writting isnt gunna be that interesting .
1. Number of animals depends on size of animal, tandem truck/ tridem pot. aprox 40 1200 lb cows. As many as 80-90 feeder cattle in the 500lb range.fuller is better as it keeps the animals stable, nobody wants a downer in the doghouse.
2 destination. all over hell
3.Depends on above.
4.Usually not, but sometimes yes
5.If selected loads are offloaded to meet border requirments they can be USDA inspected.
6.Not really all dependent on destination. ie. slaughter, feedlot ect
7.Alot of trailers return empty as there isnt alot of backhaul traffic for cattle liners.
8.Kill floors run 24hrs in most plants with many putting through thousands of head/ day.

I havent been south in almost 10 years.so iam sure alot has changed regarding border issues but those are the basics

 

[ferniesnow]

the book you must be writting isnt gunna be that interesting .
.

Someone told me once to stick to things that I know. I seem to know less and less these days so I thought I'd learn a little.


The "doghouse" must be the trailer or pot. Are the double deckers carrying feeders? Are the haulers (Vanee, Walter, Gateway, etc) also running feed lots?

We are up to 2 pages now and counting.....not bad for something not in the least related to snowmobiles, eh!