Feedlot gains

[D.R. Cattle]

I've never put any cattle on a lot, so I've got a question concerning gains. A local producer put some of his steers on a Feedyard, I think he called it Vega. He claimed his steers were gaining 3.94 lbs/day on 8 lbs feed. He also said they grade Select Plus. Select Plus doesn't sound all that great, but they're Brafords and I guess that is to be expected. Anybody care to elaborate on this performance? I'm using Braford heifers off this ranch but I don't use Braford bulls, I use Black terminal sires.

 

[Anonymous]

I've never put any cattle on a lot, so I've got a question concerning gains. A local producer put some of his steers on a Feedyard, I think he called it Vega. He claimed his steers were gaining 3.94 lbs/day on 8 lbs feed. He also said they grade Select Plus. Select Plus doesn't sound all that great, but they're Brafords and I guess that is to be expected. Anybody care to elaborate on this performance? I'm using Braford heifers off this ranch but I don't use Braford bulls, I use Black terminal sires.

A daily gain of 3.94 pounds is not out of the ordinary for many feedlot cattle. However, I am guessing that the 8 pound figure is probably the conversion, meaning 8 pounds of feed consumption for for every pound of gain. Usually conversion figures are figured on a dry matter basis. If this 8 pounds is dry matter this is not at all a good conversion and the cost of gain for thos 3.94 pounds per day would be very high. If the 8 pounds was an as fed number then depending on the moisture content of the feed it would probably only be a fair conversion.

 

[D.R. Cattle]

Thanks Guest. After your reply I had to go back to my literature and found that my memory didn't serve me very well. Please "re-analyze" the results. 148 steers fed at Kirkland in Vega, Texas. 175 days. Conversion, dry matter 5.97 lbs per pound gain. Gain cost $0.48/lb. ADG 3.21 lbs/day. 0 death loss. Pay weight 1260 lbs. Sold for $1.03 live weight. 63% dress
Hot carcass weight 800 lbs. Quality-Select +. REA 13.81 square inch. Yield grade 2.94. Forgive me for being so inquisitive. I'm considering the other end of the business and need to know more. Thanks in advance.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Guest. After your reply I had to go back to my literature and found that my memory didn't serve me very well. Please "re-analyze" the results. 148 steers fed at Kirkland in Vega, Texas. 175 days. Conversion, dry matter 5.97 lbs per pound gain. Gain cost $0.48/lb. ADG 3.21 lbs/day. 0 death loss. Pay weight 1260 lbs. Sold for $1.03 live weight. 63% dress
Hot carcass weight 800 lbs. Quality-Select +. REA 13.81 square inch. Yield grade 2.94. Forgive me for being so inquisitive. I'm considering the other end of the business and need to know more. Thanks in advance.

Dear Sir,
Thank-you for the additional informantion. If these were my cattle, I would be very satisified with this close out. The conversion, daily gain, cost of gain are all very good. I do have one question though. Were these cattle sold on a live basis or dressed?

 

[D.R. Cattle]

From what I wrote I would have to guess LIVE. (Sold for $1.03 live weight) The data comes from a friend whom I buy replacement Braford heifers from (Adam's Ranch in Ft. Pierce,FL) It's published in the last edition of "The Florida Cattleman". I was always under the impression that these cattle were fair to good producers, but mostly designed for mothering, fertility and calving ease under harsh tropical climates. I'm quite pleased to realize the unfound qualities of this line. I will definitely continue to select from this "foundation" herd.

 

[Anonymous]

From what I wrote I would have to guess LIVE. (Sold for $1.03 live weight) The data comes from a friend whom I buy replacement Braford heifers from (Adam's Ranch in Ft. Pierce,FL) It's published in the last edition of "The Florida Cattleman". I was always under the impression that these cattle were fair to good producers, but mostly designed for mothering, fertility and calving ease under harsh tropical climates. I'm quite pleased to realize the unfound qualities of this line. I will definitely continue to select from this "foundation" herd.

The reason I ask if they were sold live or hanging up is because usually the packer does not give such detailed carcass information if they buy the cattle at the feedlot. You did state that the cattle were sold live at $103.00 so your packer is very good to you or to the feedlot that sold the cattle to them. This kind of information in a producers hand is very usefull in pricing your cattle in the future. As far as the type of cattle, you probably already know that feeding brahma cross cattle further north can cause problems in the winter months as far as prerformance and convincing buyers to pay top money for them when they are ready. Good luck.