Finished adding up my feed bill...

[milkmaid]

for my 4H steer project. Tell me how this sounds:

Beginning weight - Jan - 800lbs, estimated ending weight 1370lbs on August 4th (+ or - 20lbs).

Jan 9 to Aug 6, total hay 4,605lbs (2.3 tons): $185.62
March 20 to Aug 6, total grain 2,508lbs: $274.99

Total feed bill hay + grain from Jan 9 to Aug 6: $460.61

Sound about right for finishing out a steer? is this about average $$$ and feed?

 

[Arnold Ziffle]

Hello Milkmaid:

My thoughts may be way off base, but IMO I think your results illustrate at least two things that are important to keep in mind, and those are that dairy calves simply take longer to finish (of course you already knew that) and economy of scale is very important.

You got a 570 pound gain for a cost of $460 for feed alone = 81 cents per pound of gain before meds, etc. In a commercial setting you probably couldn't stay afloat for very long at that rate. Of course, I realize this was a Holstein 4-H calf and that you probably had to buy feed in small quantities so the lack of economy of scale hammered you pretty hard. But remember that (I assume) of no small value is the overall experience, satisfaction, etc. you've gained as a result of this project. Good luck to you in your present and future calf projects.

The info at the link below is not super current, but it will give you some insight as to average cost of gain at feedlots for closeouts made around January 2005 -- see the Feedlot Update section on page two of the report. You'll see that for January 2005 closeouts the average reported cost of gain was about $58 per cwt, including feed, yardage, meds, etc.

http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/aginfo/lsm ... 022505.pdf

 

[milkmaid]

Actually...he is a beef "calf". Red angus. I've got a picture of him at about 1250lbs or so.

The cheapest I can find corn is $12 per hundredweight - most expensive $18. Barley $11-15, show chow $19, cottonseed $8.50, and barley/corn mix (from neighbor who buys in bulk) at $6.40. That's all bagged, of course. I couldn't use the amount of grain I'd have to buy in bulk to get it for less. I actually thought those prices were OK; are they a little higher than most folks pay?

 

[Medic24]

Wow...I thought Idaho was part of the grain belt???/ Corn that high there?

We pay average of 6-7 bucks per hundred for corn.... even cheaper if you get it ground in with the cob and husk.......about $95-100 bucks per ton.

12 dollars for 100 lbs of corn is mighty high in my opinion......maybe should go for the barley /corn mix... alot cheaper.

If you want me to bring that calf out, I can try and bring some cheaper grain too....lol ;-)

 

[R ^ 5]

.81 on the gain for 210 days sounds awful high to me.I sold a pen of steer's out of the feed yard 3 wks ago.Avg gain was 475 # on 158 day's at .55 .Cattle went in at Avg. 800#, and came out at Avg. 1275#.Cattle were English crosses.

 

[Utah]

Hey up there in South East Idaho, you are paying WAY TOO MUCH for your corn. If you have a truck with trailer I can tell you where you can get it dumped into your truck or trailer for about $6.50 per hundred weight - whole corn. The place is in Ogden, Utah right off the freeway.

A Ford F-150 truck can easily carry about 1200 pounds plus or minus depending on your tires and suspension - more weight with bigger trucks of course.

I buy wheat for my birds and I get corn for my steers at this place. I've also got barley and oats from the same.

Private message me and I'll look up their number and address if you are interested...

 

[milkmaid]

Yep corn is that high here. Even if you get it in bulk - 25 to 30 tons - it's still a touch over $6/cwt. I'm not sure about barley in bulk, but cottonseed is $8.50/cwt in bulk. The only reason I'm getting the corn/barley mix and cottonseed at those prices is because a very generous somebody gets it in bulk at that price and offers it to me at his cost. Shall we say 'spoiled'? :lol:

If I want straight corn or barley, I have to get it from the local (or not so-local) feed places at their prices, which means at least $12/cwt for anything. I was feeding 20lbs per day of straight corn this past week plus the barley, cottonseed, show chow mix. Conan was on a total of 28lbs/day this past week. :shock: The show is this coming Friday, sale is Saturday. :frowns:

 

[dj]

Good Luck at the sale

 

[Medic24]

yeah will cross the fingers for you to get a great sale price!

sounds like you need my dummy calf to take it's place after you sell, huh? maybe if you feed it that high dollar stuff he will get smarter? ;-) :cboy:

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

IMO: Anyone "feeding out" or "grooming" any animal for the Show circuit, 4-H, Club Calves, etc., will pay a lot of $ to get them "finished" for the event. This is part of the overall picture of this environment. You can't compare such costs with the "normal" costs of raising any animal in the "normal" month by month way on a farm or ranch.

It costs $$ to do these things and the "rewards" are intangible benefits to the person doing it. Making money in the process is not generally the goal.

Guess I also don't understand why someone has to do a "crash feeding program" for showing? Can't a person just "grow the animal normally" and then show when the animal is the proper size to show, etc.? Or, is it because all of the show animals have to be "pumped up" to look bigger and better within their age class?

 

[eric]

You also paid more for your hay then I would of had to pay here in TX. 2 tons (4 -1000 lb. rolls) would run me around $120 down here. Guess that goes to show it's really hard to compare costs with other parts of the country.

 

[dun]

You also paid more for your hay then I would of had to pay here in TX. 2 tons (4 -1000 lb. rolls) would run me around $120 down here. Guess that goes to show it's really hard to compare costs with other parts of the country.

Around here this year, decent grass hay is running around 90 a ton and up. Normally runs more like 50-60 a ton.

dun

 

[TheBullLady]

We bought back a steer from a 4-H'er last year when it didn't make the sale. She had receipts for her feed for a little over $800, and they bought the steer when he was 450 lbs.

I thought this was incredibly high, but in talking with others that have steers, they are virtually all feeding "out of the bag" because they are not as confident using a mixed feed or mixing their own.. they all want the "brand name" on the bag because it's "proven". I'm guessing the big feed companies are the ones really making out!

 

[milkmaid]

Thanks for the responses. I personally wasn't comfortable buying a mixed feed, although I did have the option to - there are several people locally who sell mixed feed to 4Hers. I wanted to mix my own so I could adjust each grain type as needed, usually on a weekly basis.

Oh - and I had this steer weighed again last night. He was last weighed 16 days prior and was 1308lbs. Last night he weighed...1384lbs. Wow. That's a gain of 4.75lbs/day even with being walked a mile a day. I think he could handle being walked a little further. LOL.

Less than 72 hours now until weigh-in; I think he's going to finish at just a touch under 1400lbs. Heavier than I'd wanted, but he is finished.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Good luck at the fair. I know you have done a great job feeding, caring for, & working with your red angus steer. Hopefully it pays off.
As I previously told you, I am a strong believer in feeding out steers (even show steers) with whole shell corn & protein supplement at first to get the protein level up to about 14% and keep dropping it as he grows. At 800#, he only would need the straight corn.
Back when my daughter was in 4-H (decades ago) she would finish out her steers for around $350 total feed cost. So, with all the "fancy" feed you used, you weren't too far off.
Again, Good luck & keep us posted next week.

 

[MoGal]

Can we have an update please?

Hopefully you did well with your steer.... years ago the neighbor kids were in 4H and their folks made them put 2/3 of the money they got in a savings account.... by the time they got out of high school they had a nice chunk saved up. One paid for their college education and the other bought a new truck