Risk-Reward of sending cattle to feedlot
- Thread starter Pharmer
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G&L Cattle
Well-known member
We pre-condition calves and yearlings for a special sale where they are purchased by feedlot buyers. Does this have to do with your question?
Hope I can help.
Glen
Hope I can help.
Glen
Tod Dague
Well-known member
Pharmer":3cmuegeo said:
The risks are: 1. poor performance (feed efficiency), 2. sick calves (see 1.), 3. dead calves, 4. high feed cost, 5. low fat cattle prices, 6. yield and grade discounts.
The rewards come with good management to avoid the risks. Select bulls with good performance and carcass. Keep your calves in good shape and vaccinate properly. Keep your eye on the feed and cattle prices before sending your cattle to the feed yard. Then pray it all turns out ok. ;-)
Jeanne - Simme Valley
Well-known member
Cornell University has a "Discovery Program" where they custom feed your steers and/or heifers. They ship them based on optimum profit/finish. Of course, we get all the stats, including all the carcass data. The final report tells you what the calf was worth the day you delivered them to the feedlot (if you had sold them instead) and calculates all the expenses incurred thru their feedlot program. We had a $225/head profit over selling them as feeders. Now, this varies of course from year to year.
In the fall, you have to decide if feeders are bringing enough money for you. If not, you have to decide if you want to GAMBLE (isn't that what we do everyday in the beef business???) :lol: and put them on a feedlot.
Also, it really depends on the management of the feedlot.
And yes, you must start with great steers.
Cornell's program is designed to let breeders know how their bulls/breed are performing in the finish product.
In the fall, you have to decide if feeders are bringing enough money for you. If not, you have to decide if you want to GAMBLE (isn't that what we do everyday in the beef business???) :lol: and put them on a feedlot.
Also, it really depends on the management of the feedlot.
And yes, you must start with great steers.
Cornell's program is designed to let breeders know how their bulls/breed are performing in the finish product.
I've read every calf killed in the US is owned by 5-7 people before he's killed. Each one of those people will expect to make money from that calf. The theory is that if a producer owns his cattle from start to finish, he will get the money that these other owners would expect to make.
But with grid marketing today, if your cattle don't match the grid, you can also lose money. Most states have some sort of steer feedout program. In Oklahoma it's called the OK Steer Feedout; Texas calls it Ranch to Rail. It's an opportunity for a rancher to feed out a few of his calves to see how they perform. In OK the minimum is five head, maximum is however many you want to send in groups of five. There is a per head nomination fee, then no further cost to the producer. When the calves are killed, all the normal costs (feed, vet, transportation) are deducted from the money the producer receives. In your case you might do well to send a few calves through your state program before you take the plunge and feed all your own calves. Good luck...
But with grid marketing today, if your cattle don't match the grid, you can also lose money. Most states have some sort of steer feedout program. In Oklahoma it's called the OK Steer Feedout; Texas calls it Ranch to Rail. It's an opportunity for a rancher to feed out a few of his calves to see how they perform. In OK the minimum is five head, maximum is however many you want to send in groups of five. There is a per head nomination fee, then no further cost to the producer. When the calves are killed, all the normal costs (feed, vet, transportation) are deducted from the money the producer receives. In your case you might do well to send a few calves through your state program before you take the plunge and feed all your own calves. Good luck...
Texan
Well-known member
Check out this link on retained ownership:
http://animalscience.tamu.edu/ansc/publications/beefpubs/L5246_retainedownership.pdf
Or do a search on retained ownership. Most of the larger feedlots have a page on their sites. This one is typical Ansi PDF format, but its a fairly quick load.
The Ranch-to Rail type programs that Frankie talked about are a good idea to try out first. They'll let you feed cattle on a small scale to see if you like it. One bit of advice on those---most producers will pick out their best 5 calves to send. These will usually be the oldest, growthiest, earliest maturing calves that look the best. If those work good on feed, you may be surprised when you send your entire calf crop and have different results with grading/feed efficiency. Don't send your best 5 calves. Try to choose 5 that represent the average of your calf crop.
My advice is that you think about feeding cattle when calves are cheap. When they're high like they are now, don't put 'em on feed, put 'em in the bank. JMO
http://animalscience.tamu.edu/ansc/publications/beefpubs/L5246_retainedownership.pdf
Or do a search on retained ownership. Most of the larger feedlots have a page on their sites. This one is typical Ansi PDF format, but its a fairly quick load.
The Ranch-to Rail type programs that Frankie talked about are a good idea to try out first. They'll let you feed cattle on a small scale to see if you like it. One bit of advice on those---most producers will pick out their best 5 calves to send. These will usually be the oldest, growthiest, earliest maturing calves that look the best. If those work good on feed, you may be surprised when you send your entire calf crop and have different results with grading/feed efficiency. Don't send your best 5 calves. Try to choose 5 that represent the average of your calf crop.
My advice is that you think about feeding cattle when calves are cheap. When they're high like they are now, don't put 'em on feed, put 'em in the bank. JMO
Texan":3icmpxnz said:
The guy who used to run the OK Steer Feedout program suggested sending your ugly calves (off colors, spotted) to the feed out program and sell the others at the sale barn. You'd get more money for the good looking ones at the sale barn. But the ugly ones you send to the steer feedout program should have similar genetics to give you a clue about what sort of cattle you're raising.
