Effects of selected variables on prices received for calves in the Brownsville demonstrational feeder calf sales

The feeder calf sales in Brownsville, Tennessee, have established themselves as an important part of the livestock enterprise in the south western part of Tennessee. These sales were developed in response to the needs of farmers with small herds of cows, generally from 20 to 30 head, to offer attractive lots of feeder calves in large enough groups to attract buyers and successfully compete with the larger producers of the West. Farm income from feeder calves sold in the fall sales has risen from $33,308 in 1955 to $529,858 in 1965. During this 11 year period the number of calves sold increased from 389 in 1955 to 5,011 calves in 1965. The number of fall sales increased from one sale in 1955 to five sales in 1965.

While only a small per cent of the calves produced in this area are sold through the Brownsville sale each fall, county agents and others close to and familiar with the situation estimate that more than 25 percent of the feeder calves marketed in the area each year are sold on the basis of prices established at these sales.

Since the beginning of the sales, no organized statistical analysis has been made of the effects of various factors on the price of feeder calves sold in the sales. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of grade, sex, breed, pen size (number of calves per pen), and pen weight (average) on the price per hundredweight of feeder calves sold from October, 1955 through 1965.

It is hoped that conclusions drawn from this study will be helpful to breeders and feeders in planning their respective beef production programs and that this study will contribute some ideas which will be useful in improving the Brownsville and other existing feeder calf sales.