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October 6, 2006 Dakota Feeder Calf Show Set for Oct. 21 in Turtle Lake The eighth annual Dakota Feeder Calf Show and feedout is set for Saturday, Oct. 21, in Turtle Lake. Cattle will be accepted for the project and shown at the weighing station in Turtle Lake. The entry fee is $15 per calf. Spring-born steer calves that producers consign to the feedout project will be fed to market weight at North Dakota State University’s Carrington Research Extension Center feedlot. Project staff will gather data on rate of gain, feed conversion and other characteristics during the trial. After calves are marketed, the staff will collect information on carcass weight, meat quality and value, and provide it to entrants. "This project will give producers information on how their calves perform in the feed yard and on the calves’ ultimate carcass value,” says Karl Hoppe, livestock specialist at the Carrington center. The trial also gives producers a low-risk way to explore opportunities for retaining ownership of cattle beyond the cow-calf phase of production. Producers who participated in previous feedout projects have made huge changes in sire selection and substantially improved feedlot and carcass performance in their cattle as a result of what they learned, Hoppe says. During last year's feedout, the calves gained an average of 641 pounds in 202 days, with a total feeding cost of about 46 cents per pound of gain. The average sale weight was 1,249 pounds. The calves were fed with a market weight break-even of $86.24 per hundredweight. The average per-head profit per consigner for the 2005-06 feedout ranged from $54.77 to minus $186.42 after feeding expenses and calf value were deducted from slaughter value. Producers will be eligible to receive $2,500 in awards at the end of the trial. For more information or to preregister calves, contact Hoppe at (701) 652-2951; Teresa Presser, Bank of Turtle Lake, at (701) 448- 2323; or Pat Carpentier, McLean County Extension office, at (701) 462- 8541, ext. 208. Cattle may be registered the day of the show, but the trial is limited to 170 head. The NDSU Extension Service, Turtle Lake businesses, Fort Dodge Animal Health, Superior Livestock, Z Tags and the Boehringer Ingleheim animal health company sponsor the show and trial. ### Source: Karl
Hoppe, (701) 652-2951, karl.hoppe@ndsu.edu |
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North Dakota State University |
