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Slideshow: This facility combines experience and simplicity to make cattle handling safe and easy.

Tom J Bechman 1, Editor, Indiana Prairie Farmer

February 1, 2022

8 Slides

Anyone who has handled beef cattle to process or load them out to market knows it can be a daunting task. The secret is a handling system that works for your operation.

When you look at Caleb and Jonathan Richer’s system, with a cattle-working chute and a semi load-out ramp nearly side by side, it looks simple and compact. Caleb says that was the goal: Build something simple that works for their system.

It doesn’t hurt that Caleb is an engineer by training. Both brothers work off the farm, located near Loogootee, Ind., but both live where the cattle are located. In fact, the chute and load-out facility are just beyond their two backyards.

Simple but effective

The Richers have a 50-cow beef herd, but also buy calves to finish each year. A sizable number of cattle are earmarked for their freezer beef business. The rest are shipped to a local processing facility.

“We needed a chute so we could get both cows and calves in to process them, and the manual chute we picked works very well for us,” Caleb explains. “We keep records, but we also keep a board we can write on while we’re working cattle so that everyone knows what is happening with each animal.”

When cattle are headed into the catch chute, a couple of simple homemade devices prevent them from backing up once they’re in the aisle headed toward the chute. While the Richers designed the system to make it easy for cattle, it’s also sturdy so the people working the cattle are protected.

The load-out works for loading semitrailers, Caleb says. It’s built strong and sturdy.

“Once cattle start down the chute, they usually go fairly easily,” he says. “So far, this system has worked well.”

Click through the slideshow to see photos of the Richers’ facility.

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Young Farmer

About the Author(s)

Tom J Bechman 1

Editor, Indiana Prairie Farmer

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