NDSU Seeking Calves for Feedout Project

North Dakota State University’s Extension Service is looking for cattle producers to participate in the 2007-08 Eastern North Dakota Cattle Feedout.

Producers can consign their calves to the feedout project, in which the animals will be fed at the NDSU Carrington Research Extension Center until they’re ready for harvest. Center staff will give the producers periodic reports on their calves’ feedlot performance. The staff also will provide producers with carcass data after the calves are harvested.

The project helps producers understand the value of their herd’s genetics in a feedlot situation, according to Karl Hoppe, an NDSU Extension Service livestock specialist at the center.

The program is open to producers from eastern North Dakota and surrounding regions. The deadline to enroll is Nov. 15. Cattle should be delivered to Lake Region Livestock in Devils Lake on Nov. 28.

Delivery coincides with the annual Ranchers Night program at Lake Region Livestock. The program starts at 6 p.m. Several speakers will present innovative ideas and information on cattle production.

Producers can consign one or more groups of six spring-born steer calves to the feedout project. Calves should be vaccinated for BVD, IBR, P13 and BRSV and with a seven-way clostridial two weeks before being delivered. The calves will be revaccinated, dewormed, deliced, weighed and ear tagged on delivery to the feedlot.

Two to three weeks after they reach the feedlot near Carrington, the calves will be placed on a high-grain diet. The target for harvesting the cattle is when they reach 0.5 inch backfat and choice marbling.

Producers retain ownership of the calves during the feeding period and they’re responsible for the feeding costs. The costs are deducted from the proceeds of the carcass sales. The rest of the money goes to the producers.

The previous feedout’s harvest was in May. The calves, which were on feed for 213 days, averaged 700 pounds at delivery. They gained 3 pounds per day, converted feed at 7.5 pounds of dry matter per pound of live gain, averaged 1,204 pounds at slaughter and had feed-plus-yardage cost-per-pound gain of 51.1 cents and a break-even point of $86.06 per hundredweight.

“Feedout projects allow producers to benchmark their herds,” Hoppe says. “This allows the owners to compare their cattle’s feedlot and carcass performance under similar feed and management conditions. Then they can adjust their breeding decisions accordingly. Also, these projects allow for an introduction into retained-ownership programs.”

For more information or to enter the project, contact Hoppe at (701) 652-2951 or mailto:karl.hoppe@ndsu.edu, or Bill Houdous at (701) 662-7027 or mailto:bill.hodous@ndsu.edu.

NDSU Agriculture Communication