Dry lot cows & calves

[cowboy43]

Attended our local feed dealer's annual appreciation dinner, the speaker was a representative from a national feed company, he made the statement a large feedlot in the Tx. panhandle & Kansas dry lotted 8000 cows year round for $500 cost per head per year weaned the calfs at 4 months age. That is $1.37 per day for feed. How can this be done, if it was possible with the price of calves more ranches would be doing this.

 

[Bigfoot]

I suppose anything is possible. They aren't achieving this numbers with hay and ddg. Not at 25 pounds of hay a day, and 5 pounds of ddg. Perhaps they have access to some kind of byproduct roughage? I have read that cows don't need as much, roughage as we give them.

 

[Kingfisher]

Seems like the trick is cheap input. Close to cotton gin? Yep. Close to alfalfa hay? Yep. Close to corn? Yep. A little salt , mineral and water and I suppose you could get em fat! Better get a loader to move the waste!

 

[TexasBred]

Attended our local feed dealer's annual appreciation dinner, the speaker was a representative from a national feed company, he made the statement a large feedlot in the Tx. panhandle & Kansas dry lotted 8000 cows year round for $500 cost per head per year weaned the calfs at 4 months age. That is $1.37 per day for feed. How can this be done, if it was possible with the price of calves more ranches would be doing this.

Was he wearing a cap with checkerboards??

 

[bmoore87]

Is that just cow feed if so that sounds right or even high for the times that cows dont have a calf on them. They would have to be close to by products and have a good size land base around them.

The main additional cost is labor unless they are on sand lots they would probably have a guy just to haul manure and a couple to feed. Not the way id want to farm year round think id keep my pastures over that.

 

[HDRider]

Might an incredible continuous effort toward efficiency and the economies of scale play the bigger role?

 

[Waterway65]

When I see 30 cow/ac land sell for $650/acre I have to wonder?

 

[Jalopy]

I am aware of cattlemen near here that uses 95% of their roughage for their dry LOT (hoop building) cow calf operation is ground cornstalk bales. They use in in TMR feed.I do not know their costs but they are row cropping what once was pasture and making it work

 

[TexasBred]

I am aware of cattlemen near here that uses 95% of their roughage for their dry LOT (hoop building) cow calf operation is ground cornstalk bales. They use in in TMR feed.I do not know their costs but they are row cropping what once was pasture and making it work

You can feed cornstalks. Just have to supplement the heck out of them (TMR) for the cattle to get any nutrition.

 

[bmoore87]

In our expierience you dont need to supplement that much if they are getting their fill on cornstalks 3 or 4 pounds of gluten can do alot.

A good thing about cornstalks is they are becoming more avaiable as crop farmers have started to think that getting rid of some of the residue off the field due to the tonnage of stalks with the newer corn varieties.

 

[TexasBred]

In our expierience you dont need to supplement that much if they are getting their fill on cornstalks 3 or 4 pounds of gluten can do alot.

A good thing about cornstalks is they are becoming more avaiable as crop farmers have started to think that getting rid of some of the residue off the field due to the tonnage of stalks with the newer corn varieties.

What do you think "gluten" is if not supplement???

 

[bmoore87]

Didn't say it wasn't. Just said we've gotten by using a few pounds.

 

[aerow27]

right now I feed my cows this ration, its 1.33 a day

Hay - 10lbs
Corn stalks - 15lbs
Wdgs - 10lbs
Whole corn - 1lbs
Pea vines - 4 lbs
corn silage - 4lbs

They seem to be doing well on it.

 

[bigbull338]

the dry loting and feeding cows has been around for over 40yrs.a friend of ours a feed mill owner wanted us to drylot 120 cows on 5acs.he wanted us to feed them free choice all the feed and hay they could eat.fast farward you might can drylot feed the for $2 a day.

 

[Stocker Steve]

I am aware of cattlemen near here that uses 95% of their roughage for their dry LOT (hoop building) cow calf operation is ground cornstalk bales. They use in in TMR feed.I do not know their costs but they are row cropping what once was pasture and making it work

Yes - - you can make "intensive" work when selling prices are high, but you better not be making TMR and building payments when selling prices drop.
I am "dry lotting" purchased fall pairs right now in about 6" of snow. FEL but no TMR. Early freeze corn silage but no stalks. I will do well if the dairy guys don't tank the kill market.