  BeefTalk:
Allow Calves to Grow Quickly, But Use a Pinch of Economics
By Kris Ringwall, Extension Beef Specialist,
NDSU Extension Service
The North Dakota State University Dickinson Research Extension Center has
been running creep feeding studies for a number of years, so one question I
often get from producers at this time of the year concerns creep feeding. This
is a very obvious question with a not-so-obvious answer.
I suspect those who sell feed are anxious to load the trucks and deliver,
while those who own the calves are hanging on to their wallets and trying to
hold input costs down. This can be akin to watching an underdog team win the
series.
The decision to creep feed is made at the fork in the road: one producer goes
left and provides supplementation or creep to the calves and counts on gain;
another producer goes right, holding the line on input costs by providing no
supplementation or creep, and is willing to accept a lighter calf.
Which road is right? The real answer is probably somewhere in the middle. In
beef management today, two concepts come through loud and clear: cattle need to
grow to make a profit and time is money. To explain some of the money held up in
a beef operation, review the 2001 year-end fiscal inventory for the Dickinson
Research Extension Center. The center had inventory values of $9,201 in crops
and feed, $236,686 in market livestock, $259,900 in breeding livestock, $276,910
(50 percent attributed to the cattle enterprise) in machinery and equipment and
$661,045 (50 percent attributed to the cattle enterprise) in buildings and
improvements. That’s a total of $1,443,742 in ending inventory attributed to
the cattle enterprise.
Without getting those who work with inventory and value numbers upset, I will
beg their indulgence to make a quick point about why some producers survive
while some don’t. If you’re at the end of the year managing $1,443,742 worth
of inventory, a simple interest rate of 3 percent will return $43,312 annually
on your investment.
In a 400-cow operation, each cow would need to contribute $108 annually above
direct costs just to make 3 percent on the inventory--about 30 cents a day more
than input costs to meet this expectation. But calves don’t grow dollars, they
grow pounds (which takes time), so you have to translate the potential growth
(and time) into dollars.
The typical calf in North Dakota gains 2.3 pounds per day from birth until
weaning. In last year’s creep feeding study at the center, calves receiving no
creep gained 1.65 pounds per day, while those calves that received a pea, wheat
midds, molasses, soybean meal plus mineral and vitamins based creep gained 2.33
pounds per day. For this particular creep feed, animal scientist Doug Landblom
reported a net $1 return for every dollar invested in creep feed, using actual
creep feed costs and appropriate price slides for the calves.
Creep feeds vary in price and calf price may not always be favorable, but in
this case, creep feeding the calves increased the calf value almost $50. This
translates into just under 25 cents a day over the 205-day grazing season--but
at least the dollars were in the right direction, and all the calves should have
been creep fed. Actual profit for the operation still depends on total calf
profit: gross returns minus total direct expenses and overhead expenses.
The bottom line on creep feeding: don’t be afraid to allow your calves to
grow, use a pinch of good economics and remember time is money. May you find all
your ear tags.
Your comments are always welcome at www.BeefTalk.com.
For more information, contact the North Dakota Beef Cattle Improvement
Association, 1133 State Avenue, Dickinson, ND 58601 or go to www.CHAPS2000.COM
on the Internet. In correspondence about this column, refer to BT0096.
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Source: Kris Ringwall, (701) 483-2427, kringwal@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629, tjirik@ndsuext.nodak.edu
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Graphic from above --
Ending Inventory Values for Fiscal Year 2001
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Crops and feed $ 9,201
Market livestock $ 236,686
Breeding livestock $ 259,900
Machinery and equipment (50% of total) $ 276,910
Building and improvements (50% of total) $ 661,045
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Total ending Inventory $ 1,443,742
3% return on inventory $ 43,312
Expected contribution per cow $ 108
(400 cows; above direct expenses)
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