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Steer Feedout Results
ELDON COLE
MT. VERNON, MO.
Profits were hard to come by as the 2018-19 Missouri Steer Feedout came to a close. Fifty-three steers did show a profit out of the 182 head that finished with carcass data. Only one group of steers showed a profit. They were entered by Norman Garton, Nevada. The 13 Angus had a $13.79 per head profit and were the top average daily gaining group at 3.65 lbs. per day. All graded low Choice or better with 7 head receiving premiums for being Prime, Certified Angus Beef or Yield Grade 2’s.
Close behind those top profits were 13 purebred Angus entered by Jeff Goodnight, Republic. They were so close to being profit makers as they had a negative $0.74 per head return. Nine of these received premiums for Prime, CAB or YG2 carcasses. Rounding out the first five groups were: Larry Peters, Carthage, Ronnie Veith, Purdy and Steve Jones, Mt. Vernon . A Veith steer was the top profit steer overall making $160.11.
There are no big cash awards given in the feedout. The emphasis is on education and using the results to make adjustments in both seedstock and commercial feeder cattle performance in the feedlot and on the rail. Participants can share their good performances with their marketers and hopefully they receive a boost on the bid prices when they sell.
Rick Huffman, Missouri Department of Agriculture marketnews reporter in this area asked me how the overall profit/loss column stacked up in the 50 feedouts since 1981. I didn’t have the ratio on the tip of my tongue but I did some researching and found that of the 50 feedouts 26 have been profitable while 24 have shown losses. That’s very close to a 50:50 split.
Granted, some individual owners seem to come out in the black significantly more than the 50:50 split. They usually have zero death loss, their steers gain above the average, they grade at least Choice minus with a premium Choice or two in their group and they have zero “outs.” Oh, one other very important help is to have steers that weren’t top-priced at the beginning. Perhaps they weren’t uniform in color, size, breed, muscling, etc.
Our next Missouri Steer Feedout entry deadline is October 10. It is for calves born after January, 2019. They should be weaned 45 days prior ot the pickup day, November 5. The pickups will be made at Joplin Regional Stockyards, Carthage and Paris Veterinary Clinic, Paris. Contact an Extension field specialist in livestock for more details.
If you would like to see what the past feedout’s cattle looked like and how they performed you can go on your computer at http://extension.missouri.edu/lawrence/ and get a complete review on the PowerPoint Show. You might find some cattle that look like yours. ∆
ELDON COLE: Extension Livestock Specialist, University of Missouri
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