Day 093 - 28 Feb 95 - Page 52
1 Q. An over-abundance of the dairy cows?
2 A. That is correct. It is not only he dairy cow. An
3 abundance of meat, that could be the grain-fed and the
4 grass-fed animal or any other part of the industry,
5 including the dairy side.
6
7 Q. On average if the price is not extreme or, you know, in any
8 way, what percentage of culled dairy cows are you using?
9 A. It is a difficult question to answer because it
10 changes, but if I may I can give you a range. It will
11 probably go from 10 per cent to 30 per cent.
12
13 Q. OK. The percentage of different types of beef, the
14 different types of animal that you would buy, I know in
15 beef form, whether grain fed, grass fed or ex-dairy cows,
16 is also dependent on getting the right mixture so you have
17 the right fat content, is it not?
18 A. That is correct.
19
20 Q. So does that vary? The old dairy cows, are they usually
21 quite a bit leaner than the grass-fed or grain-fed cattle?
22 A. They are about the same. It is difficult just to
23 compare one side. Within the dairy industry when they cull
24 a cow they can go directly to a feed lot or they can go
25 directly to a slaughterhouse.
26
27 Q. How old would that be, then, if some of them go to feed
28 lots?
29 A. Old?
30
31 Q. Yes.
32 A. It will vary throughout the years. The beef industry
33 is cyclic and it varies according mostly to the demand and
34 the supply of meat. Right now the latest estimates that
35 I saw for the dairy cattle that is currently going through
36 either to feed lots or slaughterhouse that are being
37 culled, it is about seven and a half years.
38
39 Q. Seven and half years?
40 A. Seven and a half to nine years. That is about the
41 range. It depends on the farmer, whether he wants to keep
42 the prices of milk, the cows or replace them, but that is
43 what is currently -- during the last fall, when that
44 normally happens during the fall when they cull the cows,
45 that is what it was estimated.
46
47 Q. Does McDonald's have any objection to the branding of
48 animals?
49 A. We do not have an objection. I do not know what you
50 mean by that. Do we have a specification that requires
51 that the animals are not branded? No. Branded is required
52 by law in the United States. It even requires the size and
53 even one or two branding. The states add to the branding,
54 like Colorado where you have to brand on both sides of the
55 cattle.
56
57 Q. Not all animals have to be branded, do they?
58 A. That is correct. If an animal goes to a feed lot it
59 does not have to be branded, but the minute you put it on
60 he pasture it has to be branded.
