beef Flashcards
canada as a beef exporter
- Canada is a small player on the world
stage in terms of overall production - However, Canada is a fairly significant
exporter of grain finished, high-quality
beef - Exporting beef is an important aspect of
this industry in Canada, we cant eat all the beef we produce
-USA is our largest export
overview of beef industry
- 54,000 beef producers and dropping
- 2005: Peak cattle inventory at 17 million
– BSE effect!! - Dropping steadily since then now at 11
million head - The industry has been in a period of
significant contraction - Beef cow numbers are at 3.46 million
western canada concentration of beef
- Beef production is concentrated in
Western Canada - > 80% of beef cow herd in 3 prairie
provinces - Alberta dominates fed cattle production
by feeding 2/3 of the cattle destined for
slaughter - Alberta would be ranked 4th for fed
cattle production when compared to
U.S.
industry segmentation
– Cow calf industry which is predominated
by small herds
– Intermediate stages of backgrounding and
stocker operations
– Feedlot industry which is predominated by
larger commercial operations (primarily
southern Alberta)
-three phases are: cow-calf, background/ stocker, feedlot
backgrounder
- Feed cattle for growth prior to going into a
feedlot for finishing - May occur on original cow-calf ranch or
may involve a change in ownership - Backgrounding involves feeding calves for
a shorter period for moderate weight gain
(1 kg/day) - Medium-low energy rations (forage based)
stocker
- Stocker operations utilize forage and crop
residues - Grain stubble, wheat pasture, grass
- Often will involve utilized pasture on
calves that have been backgrounded the
previous winter - Will be sold as yearlings for a short period
of finishing in the feedlot
feedlot
- Fed in pens where harvested feed is
brought to them - High energy diet (barley & barley silage)
- Cattle may be 12-24 months of age by
time of slaughter
-calves fed for 180-280 days, yearlings 100-180 days
-* Target slaughter weight of 1250-1550 lb
(live) for steers - High energy, low roughage diets to
optimize growth
-most in AB
Why is the feeding industry
concentrated in Alberta?
- Access to grain
- Access to weaned calves
- Dry semi-arid climate which is ideal for
cattle production - Established infrastructure with the
meat packing industry concentrated in
Alberta
three ways cow calf can sell there calves
- Direct sale to feedlot
- Auction market system
- Satellite/Internet sales
factors leading to the cattle price right now
- Contraction of industry has led to fairly high
prices for cow-calf industry for several years - Drought of 2021-2023 has had a major impact
on cow numbers - Weaned calf prices have seen historic highs due
to high demand and low volume - Prices quoted in $/cwt live weight
- Feedlot profitability is tied to grain prices,
Canadian dollar and cattle prices
– This can be highly volatile with low margins
packing plants
- The packing industry is extremely consolidated!
- There are only 4 major players in the packing
industry in Canada
– Cargill: High River (4500/day), Guelph (1500/day)
– JBS (Brooks) (4000/day)
– Several smaller packers (Harmony Beef: 700/day)
objectives of calving management
Minimize losses at birth
Minimize Post-natal Losses
Reduce Disease in calving females
calf crop %
(# of calves weaned/ # cows exposed to bull ) x 100
-TARGET LEVEL = 85%
factors contributing to neonatal losses
Dystocia
Maternal Nutrition
Maternal Behaviour
Climate (Hypothermia)
Infectious Agents and Environment
risk factors of dystocia
-first calf heifers: 18.7% of heifers assisted, only 5.4% cows
-male calves
-twins
-calves born to cows with poor BCS
dystocia prevention
➢ Select bulls for low birth weights in calves
➢ Birth wts account for 30-50% of
variability in dystocia rates
Replacement heifer rearing
program. 85% mature weight at calving
Adequate Surveillance and Early
Assistance.
Calve heifers before cows (2-3 wks) Need longer to return to estrus than cows
normal stages of calving
Stage 1
3 hours-72 hours (cows<heifers)
Ligaments of pelvis relax
Cervix, vagina dilate
Cervical mucous plug released
Cow separates from herd
Tail raised, back arched, may start to strain
Stage 2
◦ Appearance of water bag
◦ Expulsion of calf through the birth canal
◦ 30 minutes to three hours (cows<heifers)
Stage 3
◦ Expulsion of fetal membranes
◦ Usually expelled within a few hours of birth
◦ Involution of uterus may take up to 40 days
when to help with dystocias
Cow actively strains for 40 minutes and no progress is made
90 minutes have passed since the first waterbag appeared
The legs emerge with the sole of the hooves pointing up
The head or tail only emerges
A cow has demonstrated greater than 5-6 hours of anxiety, eg: walking about, tail extended, apparently looking for something
An uncalved cow is mothering another calf
abnormal maternal behavior common
-1st calvers more likley
-cows with dystocias
-prolinged births
-less vigorous calf with also result in AMB (heifers)
High incidence of AMB can stem from poor condition of cows
hypothermia
A calf within first 2-3 hours is unable to regulate body temp very well
Even a normal calf can become hypothermic quickly
Chilled calves will not be able to get up, suckle and make use of colostrum
-calves less then 35 degrees C. cold body, no suck reflex. normal is 37.8 C
Tube with 1-2 litres of warm colostrum
Place in warm room or “hot box”
Hot water baths are essential for calves less
than 26 C (80 F)
Warm fluids IV,
how to decrease infection pressure
-dont confine herd, seperate wintering and calving areas.
-snow removal and bedding
-seperate nursery for pairs
-creep areas or calf condos
-quarantine of diarrheic calves
failure of passive transfer of immunity
level of adequate colostrum should be > 24 g/dl
-measure 1-7 d old with RID, or total serum protein, or turbidity
-want > 5.8 serum protein to be good, 6.2 to be excellent
colostrum management
A calf needs a minimum of 1-2 litres of colostrum within 4 hours of birth
Beef cow colostrum contains 150 g of IgG/litre on average
Gut closure begins at 6 hours and
continues until 24-36 hours
Calves need 80-150 g of
immunoglobulin (1-2 litres of colostrum)
Normal calves will drink between 1 to 2 litres/feeding
vaccination pre calving
E coli and Rota/Corona virus vaccines
6 weeks and 2 weeks pre-calving
-increases calf immunity
calf management at “Turn out”
- Clostridial Vaccines (7or 8 way)
- Initial Histophilus somnus vaccination (optional)
- Other respiratory vaccines (optional):
- Mannheimia hemolytica, P. multocida
- IBR/PI3/BVD/BRSV
- (intranasal vaccines as option)
- Dehorning and castration if required
- Growth implant for steer calves (heifer calves?)
- Vitamin E/Selenium injection
*Vaccinations of Cows prior to breeding season
Modified live IBR/PI3, BVD, BRSV vaccine
* Campylobacter fetus (Vibrio) (optional)
* Leptospirosis (optional)
* Histophilus somnus (optional)
* Clostridial vaccine booster for heifers! (cows?)
Management of Cow Herd Prior to
Breeding Season
- Fly Tags
- Body condition score cows
- Weigh heifers for assessment of target weights
- Reproductive tract scoring and pelvic
measurements in heifers? - Estrous synchronization for heifers?
- Bull evaluations +/- Trichomoniasis testing
Objectives of Reproductive Management
*High percentage of cows pregnant
*Maximize weaning weights
*Uniform calf crop: short breeding season
* 42-45 days for heifers
* 63 days for cows
*Breed heifers to calve as two year olds
*One calf/cow/yr over 3-5 reproductive
lifetime
gestation legnth and pregnancy breeding
- Fixed gestation length (282 days): Cows must conceive within 85 days of calving
- Delay in first estrus due to suckling
- Suckled beef cows do not begin estrous cycles for 40-60 days post calving
- Conception rate of 60% - 70% maximum
flushing
-Feed cows increased energy rations
so that they are gaining weight just prior to
breeding season
*Cows in positive energy balance are more
likely to conceive
*Cow with above average weight gains on
pasture were 2.16 times more likely to be
pregnant
Management Program for Heifers
*Raise heifers to reach target weights
* 65% of mature weight at breeding
* 85% of mature weight at calving
* Winter heifers separately
* Feed appropriate ration
* Select heifers from early calvers
-15-20% cow herd replaced each year
-replacements must be calving in first period or
earlier!! (100 day PPI)
first time heifers breeding interval
- The time from calving to cycling (post partum
interval) lasts 80-100 days for first calf heifers
In order for first calf heifers to be cycling at the start
of the next breeding season: - Heifers need to calve 0-20 days ahead of the cows, 30 days for momentum!!
-Therefore heifers need to be cycling by 12-13.7
months of age - (Mean age of puberty is 11.5-14 months)
bulls
bull: cow ratio:
yearlings 15-20
2 year olds: 20-30
3+ years: 30-40
-max scrotal surcumference met by 4-6 yr of age
*By 12-14 months of age, bulls should have
reached a minimum scrotal circumference
(32 cm)
-Scrotal circumference is correlated to age of
puberty of female progeny
culling cows
- Most cows are not in herd for longer than 11 years
- Average is 5-6 calves in cow’s lifetime
- Minimum of 15% of cows are usually replaced
yearly - Primary reason = reproductive failure
- Other reasons: age, cancer eye, udder problems
overwintering beef cows
-#1 expense
-extending grazing szn can lower.
-separate groups based on BCS
* Feed analysis for least cost rations
* Methods of feeding may affect wastage
* Target BCS of 2.5-3 at time of calving
Increasing Profit in Cow-Calf Herds
- Increasing lbs of calf weaned/cow exposed to bull
- Biological productivity
- Reproduction/calf survival (calves weaned/cow)
- Calf growth (weaning weights)
- Increasing market value of calves weaned
- Calf price/lb
- Reducing expenses of maintaining cow herd
- Lowering cow costs
- Feed costs
5 Ways Low-Cost Producers Reduce Costs
- Reduce supplemental feed costs
- Rotational grazing and pasture management
- Right genetics
- Reduce labour costs
- Strong herd health program
Monitoring Productivity in the
Cow-Calf Herd gold indicators
1 growth: weaning weights, sale weights.
2 open cows: open rate %, usually 7%
3 Length of calving period, usually 63 days
4 death loss: usually >4%
Calf crop %
- Overall measure of biological productivity
- Reflects management of reproduction and calf
mortality - Requires only simple inventories
- Target of 85%
-lbs calf crop %
Weaning Weights
- Can be used as a measure of a cow’s producing ability
- Can also be used as a measure of the sire’s genetic
potential - However can be misleading:
- Bull calves > heifer calves
- Calves from cows > Calves from heifers
- Older calves > younger calves
Adjusted Weaning Weights
-Simplest form simply adjusts for age of calves
* Estimates a weaning weight as if all calves were
weaned at 200 or 205 days of age
* ADG = (Weaning Wt - Birth Wt)/Age of calf
* 200 day Adjusted Wt = ADG x 200 + Birth Wt.
* “Artificial” number
* Give “unfair” advantage to late calving cows
-can adjust sex
DNA testing
-linked to production records!
* Present Cost is $12-$20/sample
* Generally a parentage panel using 120 SNPS to determine which bull sired a calf
* Tests can be done on blood or hair follicles
* Genetic tests can be done to identify breed composition for breeding decisions in commercial cross-bred herds to improve hybrid vigour
viral vaccines killed
*IBR, PI3, BRSV, BVD 1 & 2
* Triangle 5 (Boehringer)
* Vira-Shield 6 (Elanco)
* Cattlemaster Gold FP 5 (Zoetis)
Respiratory Bacterial Vaccines
- Mannheimia hemolytica, Pasteurella multocida
*Can be in combination with virals
calving/ branding protocols
- Calving
- Weigh and tag calves
- Vitamin E/Selenium
- Branding (Pasture Turnout)
- 7-way Clostridial +/- H. Somnus
- Mannheimia hemolytica*
- IBR, BRSV, PI3, BVD vaccine*
- Intranasal vaccines vs Injectable*
- Growth implant
- Castrate
- Dehorn
weaning calves fall vaccines
IBR/PI3/BVD/BRSV (modified live virus)
* *Pasteurella multocida/Mannheimia hemolytica
* 7-way Clostridial +/- H. somnus
* Pour on endectocide (Ivomec, Cydectin,
Dectomax)
* Weigh for weaning weights
pregnancy exam
- Bred Heifers:
- Pour-on endectocide
- 1st dose of scour vaccine (E coli, Rota, Corona)
- Mature Cows:
- Pour-on endectocide or other form of lice control
- Identify culls
- Open
- Bad udders
- Temperament
- Feet and legs
pre calving vaccination
- Cows
- Scour vaccine (Rota/Corona virus/E coli)
- Vitamin AD? (Could be included in ration if appropriate?)
- Heifers
- 2nd dose of scour vaccine
- Vitamin AD?
3 parts of feedlot management
*Fiscal Strategy: facillites, land for manure, livestock financing, operating capital
*Livestock Inventory Control
*Technical Aspects of Feeding Cattle
What determines the price of a weaned calf?
- Demand!
- Gender:
- Price for male calves > Price for female calves
- Due to feed efficiency advantage
- Weight:
- Lighter calves tend to cost more $/cwt (Weight breaks)
- However, despite these price differences the heavier calf is still worth more total $
- Quality:
- Castration status – Steers > Bulls
- Horns, frozen ears, body condition, previous vaccinations etc.
- Breed type?
- Size of group:
- Cow-calf producer takes calves to auction market and are those calves are sorted into sales
lots by gender, weight and breed type - If an owner brings a large group of uniform calves and these can be sold together as a large
group because they are all the same weight
-small 2-10 groups common, lower price
What is “yardage”?
- Daily non-feed costs not associated with ownership
of cattle - Fixed costs – taxes, insurance, depreciation on facilities
- Non-feed operating costs – fuel, utilities, office, repairs,
labor etc. - Think of it as the “hotel” charges for a feedlot to
operate - Typically charged as $/head/day
- Feed costs, medicine/vaccine costs, bedding costs are
often charged separately or in addition to yardage
risk aversion in feelots
- Feedlot must continue to operate even when profit can’t be
projected - Some strategies available to mitigate risk of losses:
1. Increasing the custom feeding proportion of cattle
2. Forward contracting to packer
3. Forward contracting grain prices
4. Hedging – using commodity futures on Chicago Mercantile Exchange
step up rations
- A simple solution for dealing with many types of cattle and feed sources etc.
- Series of rations (8-10) formulated to specific nutrient requirements
- Consistent increase in energy content
- Each step up = approximate substitution of 10% grain for 10% silage
- Natural progression of energy levels
- Allows adaptation of rumen organisms
- 3-5 days minimum at each step
- Progress to 85% concentrate finishing ration
- Can predict performance based on energy/protein level
- Can accommodate least cost formulation
- Simple enough for day to day application
Management of Step-Up Rations
-Cattle are fed “ad-libitum”
* Get cattle on full feed, keep them there and avoid rumen acidosis
* Individual at feedlot designated as “bunk-reader”
* Evaluates amount of feed consumed and gives instructions for daily
feeding
* Looks at each bunk early in the morning
* “slick bunk” – no feed left over at all
* Makes decisions regarding what should be fed
* Amount to be fed and which ration
processing at feedlot
- Should be done as quickly as possible after arrival 12-24 hrs, delays can lead to disease
- Processing protocols will be “risk class specific” and “feedlot specific”
- The amount of time it takes to “fill” a pen will affect the risk
- Slower fill = greater risk
- Identification
- Vaccinations: IBR/PI3/BVD/BRSV Modified live vaccines
- Mannheimia hemolytica
- Histophilus somnus
- Clostridial bacterin
- Early Treatment/Prevention of BRD – “Metaphylaxis”
- Parasite Control Products
- Implanting
- Castration/Dehorning
- Quality Assurance
- Injection sites/changing needles/ withdrawal times etc.
Animal Health Issues in Feedlot Cattle
- Three major categories of health issues:
- Bovine Respiratory Disease: Mostly occurs early in the feeding period
- Lameness: Can occur throughout feeding period dependent on cause
- Nutritional-related diseases (bloat, acidosis: Mostly occurs later in the feeding period
Bovine respiratory disease
- Most important disease concern in feedlot cattle!!!
- Cattle are often grouped into “risk categories” based on their “risk factors”
- Weaning
- Age/weight (younger/lighter = higher risk)
- Mixing – auction market vs ranch direct
- Transportation
- Weather
- Gender
- Vaccination history
- Previous exposure to bunks and feed
- Other management factors: castration, preg
Some basics of BRD
- Morbidity and mortality are dependent on the combination of risk
factors present - Morbidity peaks within the first 7-10 days for auction market calves
- Morbidity can approach 35-50%
- Case fatality is 5-10%
- Many calves arrive at the feedlot already incubating disease
BRD management solutions
-vaccination at time of arrival: reduces disease it peaks first 7-10 days.
-prevaccination: eduction in disease but doesn’t mitigate all other risk factors
* There are specific sales and programs for pre-vaccinated calves
-Preconditioning: * A step beyond pre-vaccination, preconditioned calves are:
* Weaned for a minimum of 45 days prior to sale or shipmen
- Cow-calf producer benefits from increased sale weight and a premium price
- Preconditioning programs were much more commonplace in the 80’s and 90’s
- Challenges included:
- low numbers of pre-conditioned calves available
- Price premiums not always enough for cow-calf producer
- Purchase price vs BRD risk dilemma
Metaphylaxis
- Administration of an injectable long acting antimicrobial to control BRD upon arrival
- Provides treatment of early cases already incubating disease
- Provides prophylaxis to cases that may develop in the next few days
-Many antimicrobials have label claims for metaphylaxis
* Long acting macrolides= Tulathromycin (Draxxin)
- Major economic and animal welfare benefit in terms of close to 50% reduction in treatments and significant drops in mortality
- Antimicrobial use and antimicrobial resistance of pathogens are the concerns that are often raised
Factors in Choosing Metaphylaxis
Expected disease risk (High risk, ultra high risk calves)
* Risk tolerance of the owner: For disease, death and chronics
* Product efficacy based on clinical trial data
* Labour availability and skill
* Cost of treatment and cost of mortality
* Cost of the metaphylaxis program
toe-tip necrosis
- Unknown cause
- Occasionally occurs in outbreaks of feedlot calves
from one source farm or auction yard - Often severely lame after arrival at feedyard
- May be simply due to severe abrasion of toe during
handling - Treatment is unrewarding= culled animals
Primarily hind feet affected - Infection usually with environmental bacteria (E. coli, Trueperella pyogenes)
- More common in “excitable or wild” animals
- Excessive wear on apical white line at toe-tip
- Ascending infection
Nutritional Diseases and Grain fed cattle
- Finishing rations can often contain close to 90% grain
- If not managed well, you can create significant health issues because of acidosis
- Moving cattle to quickly up a step-up program
- Delivering wrong ration to cattle
- Failing to keep feed available at all times to cattle
- Liver abscesses, Post-venal caval thrombosis, laminitis,
mycotic rumenitis are all potential sequelae to rumen
acidosis - Ionophores are an important additive that helps with the
management of bloat and acidosis
Ionophores
-very wide spread use in almost all feedlot rations
* They effect the cell membranes of specific rumen microbes and change the microbial flora of the rumen
* ex. Rumensin (monensin)
* No prescription required if fed at label dosage and not in
combination with other products
EFFECTS:
* Decrease feed intake (3%)
* Changes the protozoa population of the rumen
- Improve F/G & Improved ADG (2% - 7%)*****
Increase propionate - Reduce acetate, methane, hydrogen ion and lactate
production - Slower rate of food passage
- Reduced protein degradation in the rumen
- Aids in the control of coccidiosis***
- Reduces the incidence of bloat***
Hormone Feed Additives
- Melengestrol Acetate (MGA Premix)
- MGA - 125 X progesterone activity:
-PREVENTS ESTRUS - Stabilizes follicles on the ovary
- Reduces plasma cortisol
- Metabolized to an androgen
- ADG increased & F/G improved***
- Used in feedlot heifers to prevent estrus
- Occasionally used to synchronize estrus in breeding
animals - Not approved for concurrent use with hormone implants
- 24 hour withdrawal prior to slaughter
Antimicrobials as Feed Additives
- used over 40 yrs. Antibiotics can cause significant changes in rumen flora resulting in growth benefits as well
- However, growth promotion claims are all ELIMINATED
- Antimicrobial resistance concerns are becoming more significant!
- All antimicrobials in feed now require a veterinary feed prescription!
- Primary use in feedlot cattle would be antibiotics in feed to prevent liver abscesses
-ones used: tylosin, choletetracycline, oxytetra. - Chlortetracycline + sulfamethazine:
- Prevention of foot rot
- Reduction of bloat
- Maintenance of weight gains
-some tetras at high doses prevent histopholis or resp disease
Tylosin and Liver Abscesses
- 40-70% reduction in abscesses
- Improved ADG by 2.1%
- Improved feed efficiency by 2.6%
Growth Promotants b agonists
Beta Agonists:
* Clenbuterol (illegal)- Not used in beef industry
* Ractopamine: Optaflexx, Actogain 100, Ractopamine 100
- True repartitioning agents:
- Orally active
- Reduce carcass lipid 15%- 40%
- Cattle close to market weight would typically become
less efficient as they produce less muscle and more fat - Beta-agonists increase weight gain, ribeye area, total
red meat yield
What do Beta Agonists do?
- Repartitioning agents***
- Alter body tissue deposition: Increase protein and decrease fat **
- Direct mode of action
- Chronic exposure to beta-agonists causes receptor desensitization
- Therefore these are added to feed at end of feeding period for short period of time (30 days)
- Responses are not permanent!:
- Zilmax withdrawal should not exceed 10 days
- Optaflexx (24-48 hour withdrawal is optimal
hormonal growth implants
- Drug delivery system:
▪ Compressed tablets or pellets
▪ 60% - 80% drug (hormone) lactose, cholesterol, polyethylene glycol.
-low oral BV, slow release, in an inedible part of animal. safe
-two catagorites are: estrogenic or androgenic
implant types
ESTROGENIC
* Estradiol -17 Beta
* Estradiol Benzoate
* ZeranoL: ralgro** produced from zeralonone a product of Fusarium spp. of fungus. slightly less anabolic, estrogenic, and dose not bind to muscle tissue like estrogen. USED IN EITHER SEX
ANDROGENIC
* Testosterone
* Trenbolone Acetate
* Progesterone
mode of action different growth implant hormones
-ZERANOL (ralrow) and estrogen do the same mode of actions
* Increase Growth Hormone
* Increase Somatomedins
* Increase Insulin
* Reduce Cortisol
-ANDROGEN:
*Increase somatomedins
*Increase calpistatin
*Increase mitosis
*Increase structural and
enzymatic proteins
*Reduce cortisol
*Reduce thyroxin
Buller Steer Syndrome
- Behavioural trait where steers are persistently ridden by penmates
- Ridden animal is referred to as a “buller”
- Animals doing the riding are referred to as “riders”
- Bullers become exhausted, show loss of hair, swelling and trauma on rump and tail head, suffer severe musculoskeletal injuries
- Usual treatment is simply removing the animal from the pen and placing it in a convalescent pen
- Can sometimes be re-introduced
Implant Effects on Behaviour
Bullers
*1%-6% incidence common in US feedlots
*Implants involved TBA > Estradiol > Zeranol > No implant
*“Stacking” implants – re-implanting too soon after previous implant
implant problems could contribute:
* Riders:
* crushed implants
* separated implants
* bunched implants
* implants too close to the head
- Bullers:
- missing implants
- partial implants
- implants in the cartilage
- walled off implants
- abscessed implants
bull steer syndrome stats
2-4% incidence common in feedlots (up to 11%)
* More common in larger pens (social dominance?)
* More common early in feeding period or after mixing
* More common in cattle that are implanted with androgenic implants
* Bullers are 2.5 times more likely to get sick
* Bullers are 3.2 times more likely to die
* Economic losses estimated at $23.68 U.S. per buller
Beef Cattle and GHG Emissions
3 ways
-carbon dioxide: burning fossil fuels, crop porduction ect.
-methane: in animal and in manure, 5% emmisions. fooddigestion in the GI tract is the largest contributor 60%
methane is more potent than CO2 but broken down faster
-nitrous oxode: 25% total emissions from canadian beef. dont want excess protien.
cost of gain
-costs associated with feeding calf until it reaches slaughter weight
-include: cost of feeder cattle, feed costs, health costs, yardage, freight, bedding, interest.
-the sum of these costs/ total projected weight gain = COST OF GAIN COG
On the rail
- Price paid on a carcass basis
grid pricing
- Packers may buy cattle on a carcass basis with bonuses and penalties based
on carcass characteristics such as quality grade, marbling score etc.
custom feeding
- Custom Feeding provides a “guaranteed” cash flow for
the feedlot owner - Custom Feeding lowers Risk compared to ownership
-two options:
1. Investing or owning a group of cattle
2. Feeding a group of cattle for other investors/customers
-customer owns cattle, takes risk on market, morbidity and mortality. feedlot charges. when marketed to packer the customer gets a cheque.
