2013 Missouri Steer Feedout Ends in Red Ink Again

Eldon Cole, Livestock Specialist
Tel: (417) 466-3102
E-mail: colee@missouri.edu

MT. VERNON, Mo. -- The curtain has come down on the 2012-13 Missouri Steer Feedout with the Finale on June 27 in Mt. Vernon. Participants and other interested cattle producers received the sad news that the average loss per head on the 149 steers that began the program was $227.49 during the feeding phase of their life.

“This was the second Feedout in a row that saw losses exceed $225,” said Eldon Cole, a livestock specialist with University of Missouri Extension.

The November closeout was $225.71 in the hole. The range in the profit/losses went from one steer that actually made $8.42 for the owner, Bart Renkoski, Purdy to a loss of $618.32 for one steer from another consignor.

The large losses can be blamed on a variety of causes. They range from the initial value placed on the steers in November which ran from $135 to $170 per hundred. The feed cost averaged $109.36 per hundred with the total cost of gain $130.45.

Other factors that contributed to the red ink were: two steers died; 25 percent of the calves were individually treated at an average cost of $11.24 per head; six head were Yield Grade 4s; four head had very low marbling scores thus graded Standard; two carcasses weighed less than 550 lbs. Each of these items made profits more elusive.

The least money lost per head for a group was $141.47 on 10 head of Angus-sired steers entered by Jeff Kaal of Verona. They weighed 666 lbs. after the warm-up in the lot in Iowa. They averaged 1219 lbs. when slaughtered. Seven of the ten made low Choice. They were the second high gaining group at 3.52 lbs. per day.

The top rate of gain entry was 6 head from Donald Stuckey, Tunas. They were out of Angus and Simmental bulls.

The 149 steers were all born after January 1, 2012 and made an average daily gain of 3.19 lbs. They weighed 1181 lbs. when slaughtered. Their average fat cover was .42 inch and their ribeye average was 12.5 square inches. The 147 carcasses averaged 59% low Choice or above with 60% having a Yield Grade of 1 & 2.

In addition to the various costs that contributed to the $227 per head loss, the fed cattle marketed remained low throughout the spring.

The Missouri Steer Feedout has been held since 2001 in southwest Iowa as part of the Tri-County Steer Carcass Futurity.

“The Feedout is an educational program that gives cow herd owners a chance to get detailed performance and carcass data on individual steers,” said Cole. “This information helps owners make breeding and management decisions that should improve the type of calf they produce. They can learn if their cattle are ready to go for the high-end, quality grade market or if they are more suited to the high yield grade market."

More information on the Feedout program, contact any of the MU Extension livestock specialists in southwest Missouri: Eldon Cole in Mt. Vernon, (417) 466-3102, Andy McCorkill in Dallas County at (417) 345-7551 or Logan Wallace in Howell County at (417) 256-2391.