September 24, 2001

Feeder Calf Performance Project Set

The Dakota Feeder Calf Show and trial will be conducted beginning Saturday, Oct. 13, in Turtle Lake

"With our industry turning away from selling weaned calves to marketing a food commodity, it’s important for our producers to learn how their calves perform through the marketing chain," notes Karl Hoppe, livestock specialist at the North Dakota State University Carrington Research Extension Center. "This project will give them more information on how their calves perform in the feed yard and what their ultimate carcass value is."

The trial is a way for producers to explore opportunities for retaining ownership of cattle beyond the cow-calf phase of production, Hoppe says. "It’s a low-risk way of learning about these options with three calves instead of 100."

The show and trial are sponsored by the NDSU Extension Service the Bank of Turtle Lake and the Turtle Lake Weighing Association. For more information or to preregister calves, contact Hoppe at (701) 652-2951 or Ernie Ward (701) 448-2323. Cattle will be accepted into the project and shown in Turtle Lake on Oct. 13 at the weighing station and fed to market weight at the feedlot at the NDSU Carrington Research Extension Center. Data on rate of gain, feed conversion and other characteristics will be gathered during the trial. After calves are marketed, information on carcass weight, meat quality and value will be collected and provided to entrants.

An entry fee of $45 per pen of three cattle will be assessed and $2,000 in awards will be given at the end of the trial.

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Source: Karl Hoppe, (701) 652-2951, khoppe@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629, tjirik@ndsuext.nodak.edu