I read a claim that it takes 100 barrels of oil to get a calf finished once. Since I'm too retentive to just do the quick math to know that this is completely bogus (A 100 barrels of oil at current West Texas Intermediate pricing being $100.84 per barrel creates a calf with a finishing costs of 100 x 100.84 = $10,084.00 I don't know anyone paying that kind of change for one, not to mention other costs), I worked out the very long math at the time on what I believe would be an average finished calf to figure a close estimate.
The final figures are mine, so that makes me the liar, with references to where I obtained the original values. Feel free to waste the next 10 minutes reading it and suggesting changes that should be made.
(Fine Print for TB) The following is understood to not be a complete and well rounded diet, but a close representation of the necessary energy needed to produce the caloric intake in the lotted time frame needed to produce a feedlot finished calf. It was an assumption that the corn would be a major component and one of the most petroleum energy expensive components of the diet. It therefore was utilized to encompass the total petroleum energy requirements for the production of a feedlot diet. :mrgreen:
Feed: Corn
Manufacturing 1 ton of anhydrous ammonia fertilizer requires 33,500 cubic feet of natural gas. ~ 16.75 cubic feet of gas per lb of anhydrous ammonia.
Average for years 2000-2006 was 150 bushels per acre of corn with an average N application rate of 148 pounds of N per acre.
Therefor 148 lbs of N = 150 bushels/acre. Which is approximately 171 lbs of anhydrous ammonia, which equals 19 cubic feet of natural gas consumed per bushel to fertilize 148 lbs of N per acre or 2864 cubic feet per acre (19 cf x150 bushels). Then to account for DAP fertilizer. Even doubling this which I would expect to be over kill, you have 38 cubic feet of gas per bushel.
Average 0.3 to 1.5 gallons of diesel per acre per pass for tillage and planting depending on implement. How many passes ~ 7 for prepping ground, planting, application of fertilizer/weed killer, cutting? Average is probably ~ 1 gal/acre with 7 passes- 7 gallons acre with per 150 bushels or 0.046 gallons per bushel. (
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/farmmgt/05006.html) (
http://www3.abe.iastate.edu/livestock/pm587.asp)
Hauling material is fairly limited to elevators and then on to feed yards per bushel due to them being close. Add even another 0.014 for processing hauling local. 0.06 gallons of diesel per bushel of corn for processing and planting.
Drying corn is ~ 1 gallon propane per 6 bushels.
Cattle:
Cow/Calf
Pasture for mama cows- let say average N application for grass is 100 lbs/acre and you run a cow calf pair per 2 acres. 200 lbs of N ~ 244 lbs of anhydrous ammonia = 4,087 cubic feet of natural gas fertilizer for cow calf unit. (so there is some positive left in the cow as well)
Hauling cattle average 8 miles/gallon with even pulling them out of Florida to Oklahoma for stockers- ~1,000 miles or 125 gallons per 100 head of 500 wts = 1.25 gallons shipping per calf
Application of fertilizer ~ 0.5 gallon per acre = 1 per head and general fuel usage ~ 5 gallon per head
Stocker
http://www.noble.org/ag/soils/winterpastures/ something worth noting is that "Research data show that if you do not fertilize winter pastures, you will produce about 2,000 pounds per acre of dry matter forage in a season. With good grazing management, cattle can consume all the forage except about 500 pounds per acre. Simple subtraction, cattle will consume about 1,500 pounds of dry matter forage per acre from unfertilized winter pastures (2,000-500)."
However, using N average 100 lbs of N per acre of wheat again looking at 2044 cubic feet of natural gas per acre for gain of ~ 435 lbs but we'll just say 400. So 2044 cu ft per calf.
Fuel use is probably 5 passes so 5 gallons per acre or 5 gallons per calf.
http://www3.abe.iastate.edu/livestock/pm587.asp
Oklahoma city to Kanasas~250 miles to feed lot at 900 lbs =55 calves per pot load and 31 gallons per potload = 0.56 gallons of diesel per calf
General fuel usage ~ 2.5 gallons per head
Feedlot
Trucking corn to Feedlot, consider even 200 miles at 8 mile/gallon with 50,000 lb payload 25 gallons 893 bushels = 0.03 gallons of diesel per bushel fed for trucking.
