FEEDER Focus

CattleFax, one of the world’s most recognized livestock and grain analyst groups, says cattle feeders will likely need 20% more capital this year to maintain their operations than they did three or four years ago. For many commercial feedyards, that’s an extra $10 million or more...More

Spring has sprung. It’s the time of year when cattle feeders can capitalize on the natural urge for cattle to hit the bunks and increase feed intake. Managed correctly this “spring feeding frenzy” can produce higher gains, improve feed efficiency, reduce health problems and boost profit potential. Fortunately, there is a proven method of creating a consistent rate of dry matter intake, which promotes peak cattle performance...More

A cattle feeder’s main goal is feedyard profitability. Why else devote the blood, sweat and tears? More gain with better feed efficiency is the objective...More

Cowboys are people too. While you’re trying to wrap your mind around that concept, consider this: “Com-munication is the key word,” says Jen Livsey of Corpus Christi, TX. “Employees like to know what they are (supposed to be) doing, how well they are doing at it, and why they are doing it.”...More

The factors that put rocket fuel underneath the cattle market in 2011 will continue into 2012, and that means prices for all classes of cattle still have some upside, according to Kevin Good, CattleFax analyst....More

The drought of 2011 has turned many Southern Plains ranches into deserts, leaving some producers no choice but to cull their herds and flood auction sales and packing plants with a steady stream of open and bred cows and heifers. But Frontera Feedyard, Muleshoe, TX, is helping ease the pain....More

Each fall, when ranchers unload their weaned calves at Darnall Feedlot near Harrisburg, NE for the annual feedlot trial, it marks the first step in garnering information ranchers can use to make important management decisions....More

There is value – measured in hard dollars and cents – in improving cattle performance in the feedyard. “If we could change feed efficiency 5% on a pen of cattle, that would be about a $30-$35/head premium for us,” says Tom Hill with Agri-Beef in Boise, ID....More

Projections for historically high cow-calf returns for the next couple of years may be enough to entice herd expansion, but only modestly, if the latest 10-year baseline from the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri (FAPRI-MU) is close to correct....More