NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665

September 17, 1998

Beef Seminars to Focus on Backgrounding

Topic-specific beef seminars sponsored by the North Dakota State University Extension Service will be held this fall at several locations in western North Dakota. The purpose of the seminars is to provide beef cattle producers with information designed to help them make decisions about whether they should background this year's calf crop.

Broadly defined, the goal of backgrounding is to add value either to calves, post-weaning, or to on-farm feedstuffs. There are a number of factors beef cattle producers need to consider before making the decision to background.

"If the value producers are adding to their calves is weight, they have to answer two questions: How much weight do I put on? And how long do I take to do that? The answers relate to market conditions and the type of calves they have,"says Chip Poland, extension livestock specialist at NDSU's Dickinson Research Extension Center.

Producers who background their calf crop will need to divide those calves into groups, based on age and body type—with older, bigger, more-growthy calves comprising one group and younger, smaller, shorter calves in another. Poland says calves in the former group need to be finished sooner than those in the latter group. If not, the larger more-growthy calves will be too big for the market. In contrast, if producers push younger, smaller calves with the goal of achieving market weight as quickly as possible, this group of calves is likely to finish at too light a weight.

"So, we use average daily gains as a way of attempting to manipulate what sized animal we're going to have at slaughter," concludes Poland.

Another consideration for backgrounders is how environmental regulations will affect their feeding operation, says Scott Birchall, extension waste management specialist at NDSU's Carrington Research Extension Center. For example, current regulation require feedlot operators to control runoff from pens as well as manage manure. If producers properly handle pen runoff, they are likely to benefit from a more efficient feeding operation.

"Poor drainage may create boggy sections within pens and can lead to reduced weight gain and odor problems," says Birchall. "Improving drainage also makes it easier to control pen runoff."

Birchall cautions producers about providing too much pen space for their animals. Being overly generous makes it more difficult—and expensive—to control the runoff during rainy periods or snow melt. And he offers producers another reminder: Facilities placed too close to a body of water are more likely to negatively affect water quality and make it more difficult to implement pollution-preventing practices.

Dr. Charlie Stoltenow, extension veterinarian, Harlan Hughes, extension livestock/marketing specialist, and Greg Lardy, extension beef cattle specialist at NDSU, will be among the featured speakers at upcoming seminars, along with a number of county extension agents.

The seminars slated for Wednesday, Sept. 30, Thursday, Oct. 1, Friday, Oct. 2, deal with health issues such as respiratory illness, preconditioning, vaccinations and pest control. Other topics will include bloat/acidosis, facility requirements and heifer development. The seminar will run from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. MST on Wednesday at the NDSU Research/Extension Center in Hettinger and from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. MST at the Great Plains Bank in Belfield. On Thursday, seminars will run from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. MST at the Grassy Butte community center and from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. MST at Our Place Cafe in Elgin. On Friday, the seminar will run from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. CST at the Center civic center.

Seminars scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 21, Thursday, Oct. 22, and Friday, Oct. 23, will cover feeding management, nutritional requirements, feed additives, implants, and feed-cost comparisons. Wednesday's seminars will run from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. MST at the Scranton fire hall and from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. MST at the Great Plains Bank in Belfield. On Thursday, seminars will run from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. MST at the Grassy Butte community center and from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. MST at Our Place Cafe in Elgin. On Friday, the seminar will run from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. CST at the Center civic center.

###

Source: Chip Poland (701) 227-2348

Editor: Tom Jirik (701) 231-9629