09/12/07 Days on Feed

Just when should cattle come out of the feedlot to be marketed? I'm Jeff Keane; I'll be back in one minute with some comments. An article in the Western Farmer-Stockman magazine by T. J. Burnham got me thinking about when cattle are marketed out of feedlots. Burnham's article related research that indicated cattle possessing muscling to be marketed at 1,250 pounds were being fed to 1,400 pounds and were becoming too fat. The report was compiled from research conducted by Colorado State University, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State University, and West Texas A&M as they studied performance and marketing of calves placed in feedlots from 1999 to 2005. The problem with overfed cattle is that their carcasses can become a yield grade three or four, which is discounted by beef packers. The report indicated feeders might have been feeding to try to earn more money by selling heavier cattle, which only works if they are not sold on the grid but strictly by live weight. If that were the case, I would say these feeders were simply buying the wrong type of cattle for that marketing scheme. Usually most cattle feeders move fed cattle as soon as they are marketable to cut down on extended costs. Once in a while a feeder may try to wait out a low market, but this is gambling on the cattle becoming too fat and being discounted. The cattle fed for the Japanese market about twenty years ago were fed until they were heavy and fat. Two steers I helped load for that market weighed 1,735 pounds each. I'm Jeff Keane. Western Farmer Stockman  September 2007