Lon Tonneson Archives Email Author New Features Improve N.D. Feedlot Efficiency 30 foot wide feed alleys, a 12-foot wide feed pad, fencign around the solid/liquid separator structure pays dividends. Published on: Sep 13, 2012 Tweet Post to Your Wall. Email Story RSS Permalink Print Paul and Jim Bitz, Napoleon, N.D., expanded their feedlot, J&P Feeders, from 1,800 head to 4,000 head capacity in 2006. Many of the new things they included in the construction and design of the feedlot increasing the efficiency feeding cattle.A 30-foot wide feed alley makes it easier to feed cattle fast.A 30-foot wide feed alley makes it easier to feed cattle fast.A 12-foot feed pad in front of the bunk. "We considered only going 9-feet," Paul says, "because that's wide enough for cattle to stand on when they eat, but the cattle walking behind them are walking off the pad. Pretty soon you end up with a mud hole behind the pad that you have to fill." A 12-foot pad is also wide enough so the outside tractor or pay loader wheel doesn't run off the edge of the concrete.A 12-foot feed pad in front of the bunk. "We considered only going 9-feet," Paul says, "because that's wide enough for cattle to stand on when they eat, but the cattle walking behind them are walking off the pad. Pretty soon you end up with a mud hole behind the pad that you have to fill." A 12-foot pad is also wide enough so the outside tractor or pay loader wheel doesn't run off the edge of the concrete.Solid/liquid runoff separator structures are located outside the cattle pens. Because cattle have a tendency to stand in muddy areas, they fenced cattle out of the separators. This way cattle do not stand in front of separator creating a hole that will not dry out, Jim says. The runoff from the lots flow to a lagoon where it is pumped onto fields through a pivot irrigation system.A double alley in the processing barn leads to the working chute. Cattle are calmer when they walk side-by-side rather than in single file through the alley, says Bob Schrenk, who manages the feedlot. It also speeds up the working time, keeps the workers and cattle safer. Plus, the vaccines are more efficient when the cattle are under less stress.