The 24th Annual Dakota Feeder Calf Show and Feedout will be held on October 15 in Turtle Lake, North Dakota.
Interested consignors will ship bull calves between 500 and 700 pounds before 10:00am CST on the day of the show. Each producer can deliver one or two pens with three or four calves. The calves are displayed and graded that afternoon and then transported to the feeding area at NDSU Carrington Research Extension Center where they are fed to finished market weight.
“After 23 years of comparing calf performance, North Dakota cattle breeders are finding superior growth and carcass traits,” said Karl Hoppe, Extension Livestock Specialist at North Dakota State University’s Carrington Research Extension Center. “Because cow herd genetics can change over time through selection of bulls and heifers, sending cattle to the Dakota Feeder Calf Show and Feedout gives the rancher information on how their selections will advance their herd.”
The NDSU Extension and Carrington Research Extension Center are partnering with the Dakota Feeder Calf Show to provide producers with an opportunity to experience calf ownership beyond the cow-calf segment of cattle production.
“There are several ways to capture carcass data of your calves’ growth performance,” says Hoppe. “It is best to feed your entire calf crop. This takes a lot of time, effort and money. An alternative is to give a group of calves to a feeding project. Their risk is lower and a feeding project provides a significant amount of information about the calves.”
Dakota Feeder Calf Show Chairman Darwin Chesrown has delivered calves since the feeding began.
“I still like to compare my October weaned calves to May’s finished calves,” says Chesrown. “The calves are really growing and I see differences in herd sires.”
During the 2021-22 feed, the calves gained an average of 710 pounds in 220 days at a total feed cost (excluding interest) of $1.22 per pound of gain. The average selling weight was 1,290 pounds. The calves were fed at a market weight breakeven point of $142.84 per hundredweight.
“It’s the variation between the cattle that makes this project educational and a real eye-opener,” says Hoppe.
At the 2021-22 feed, the spread in net yield per capita between the average of the top and bottom five flocks was $179.66. The spread between the top and bottom herds is clearer ($255.75 per capita). The average daily weight gain in the feed lot was 3.07 pounds for the highest yielding flock and 2.79 pounds for the bottom flock.
“Small differences in production have a big impact on profits,” says Hoppe.
Feedout project staff will collect data on growth rate, feeding costs and other traits during the trial. After the calves have been marketed, staff collect information on carcass weight, meat quality, feeding cost and value and make it available to participants. Calves should be pre-vaccinated against BVD, PI3, IBR and BRSV, Mannheimia, Clostridia and Histophilus somni. Booster vaccinations will be given upon delivery to the show.
An entry fee of $20 per calf will be charged to producers. Dakota Feeder Calf Show officials will present awards to producers at the end of the trial.
For more information or to pre-register calves, contact Hoppe at 701-652-2951 (office), 701-650-8810 (cell) or [email protected] or Chesrown, Dakota Feeder Calf Show Committee, at 701-448 -9286.
NDSU Agriculture Notice – September 19, 2022
Source: Karl Hoppe, 701-652-2951, [email protected]
Publisher: Elizabeth Cronin, 701-231-5391, [email protected]
