Calf Research

You might think your cattle herd is top notch but have you ever put it to the test Ag Reporter Sarah Gustin shows you how some herds are looking to compete Competitions can be nerve racking but in the end your usually glad you gave it your best shot Karl Hoppe Livestock Specialist Our goal in the feed out project is to try and help explain how calves perform better than other calves Which calves do do better 158 weaned calves recently arrived at the Carrington Research Extension Center 31 different breeders from across the state are placing some of their best calves on feed to see how they compare The Dakota Feeder Calf Show gives producers the opportunity to see how their calves compete aganist others in apperance as well as on paper Hoppe says profitability comes down to 3 big drivers Karl Hoppe Livestock Specialist Average daily gain final weight and marbling score To achieve a daily gain of 3 1 to 3 2 pounds per day these calves are chewing on a barley based ration with increasing levels of distillers Breanne Ilse Research Specialist Producers are a little reluctant to fee it because of the rapid fermantation rate of barley it can cauese ome problems with acidosis So feeding distillers grains or inclusion of distillers grains which is high in digestible fiber high in fat and low in rumen degradable protein they make a very excellent match for stablizing that rumen during receiving or backgrounding period Hoppe says you need to know your end target then manage to hit the bullseye Karl Hoppe Livestock Specialist If you are looking to produce a weaned calf you need to focus on weaning weights If you are looking to maek a market animal you need to focus on your yearling weights and corresponding average daily gains and carcass charteristics that go along with this Every change you make could put more change in your pocket Karl Hoppe Livestock Specialist Now when you start to look at the average of these calves there can a 100 difference between the average of the top 5 herds and the average of the bottom 5 herds That is a per head basis Now as we look at decreased revenue in our cattle industry with lower prices that keeps showing up every year that there is that much of a difference so it behoves you to know which type of animal you are raising With a struggling cattle marketevery extra dollar makes a difference At the Carrington Research Extension Center for KX news I am Sarah Gustin The calves are fed to finish The first week of May the calves will leave Carrington to be harvested Then producers will see how their calves compare and will be provided with performance information and carcass data