NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665
August 17, 2000
Two steer feedout trials are planned in North Dakota this winter to help producers evaluate the performance of their calves.
"These trials give producers an opportunity to track the performance of their calves through growth and carcass value," says John Dhuyvetter, a North Dakota State University Extension livestock specialist. "It's an opportunity to assess their genetics and see how they compare with other producers. Assuring that quality beef is produced for consumers means producers have to manage their cattle so the final product is safe and wholesome. That includes selecting and breeding cattle with quality carcass attributes."
The two projects are the Decatur Beef Alliance Feedout Project sponsored by the Northwest Beef Task Force and the Performance Steer Classic - Pen Division affiliated with the North Dakota Winter Show.
Decatur Beef Alliance Feedout Project
Preregistration for groups of 10 or more spring-born steer calves are due Sept. 15. Calves must be delivered to the Sand Creek Feedlot near Williston Oct. 16 - 18 where they will be backgrounded to about 700 pounds. From there, they'll be shipped to Decatur County Feed Yard at Oberlin, Kan., for finishing to slaughter weights.
Individual animal performance and carcass data will be collected on feed weight, frame score, live sale weight, days on feed, average daily gain, feed efficiency, quality grade, yield grade, ribeye area and carcass weight. Processing cost, treatment cost, cattle cost, carcass price, live price and net return per head will also be reported. Producers will receive summaries on cattle receipt, end of backgrounding, during finishing and at the end of the project.
For more information on this project contact, John Dhuyvetter at NDSU's North Central Research Extension Center in Minot, (701) 857-7882.
Performance Steer Classic - Pen Division
Beef calves with excellent growth and carcass composition are being sought for this pen steer feeding competition. The competition is designed to identify superior genetics of calves finished under similar conditions and to discover the feeding and carcass value of these genetics. Registration for the competition is due Sept. 15.
To encourage participation in the feeding competition, the North Dakota Winter Show is offering premiums totaling $1,000 to be paid to the top five pens. The scoring will be based on weight per day of age (25 percent of the overall score), average daily gain during the feeding period (25 percent), retail product value per day of age (40 percent) and a pen uniformity index based on the variation within the pen for retail product (10 percent).
Steers will be fed at North Dakota State University's Carrington Research Extension Center. The feeding period will begin Oct. 2 and continue until March. The steers will then be displayed at the North Dakota Winter Show in Valley City, N.D., before the steers are harvested and carcass information collected. Ownership of the cattle will remain with the consignor, and cattle will be fed as retained ownership.
Cattle producers participating in the Performance Steer Classic - Pen Division will receive feeding performance and carcass information. Consignors may enter either three or four steers per pen. All steers must have a recorded birth date and been born between Jan. 1 and April 30, 1999. To encourage only steers with high gainability, all steers must have a minimum of 3 pounds weight per day at weigh-in.
For more information and entry forms, contact Karl Hoppe at NDSU's Carrington Research Extension Center, (701) 652-2951.
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Sources: John Dhuyvetter, (701) 857-7882, Karl Hoppe, (701) 652-2951
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629