The performance of feeder cattle of different weights, grades, and sexes in the feedlot

Feeding cattle for slaughter purposes has shown a tremendous increase during the past few years in Tennessee. Feeders are asking which kind of cattle is most profitable to feed with present feed supply and market demands. Good supplies of steer and heifer calves and yearling steers of various weights and grades are available through organized feeder calf sales, auction markets and individual producers. Much of the farming land in Tennessee can produce good quality corn silage and alfalfa hay. Cattle feeding profits are often small because of high costs of feeder cattle and imported grains. Therefore, it is necessary to use a feeding program that will utilize as much of these high-quality, low-cost, home-produced feeds as possible and still produce the weight and quality carcass that the slaughter market desires. Previous work with feeding heifers at other Tennessee stations has shown that feeding corn silage, free choice, with limited amounts of alfalfa hay, corn, and protein supplement followed by a short fullfeed of grain in the spring is an excellent program for producing slaughter cattle. The objective of this experiment was to determine the performance of different weights, grades and sexes of cattle fed on a feeding program similar to the one outlined above. Such performance data would enable a producer to take current feeder cattle prices, current feed prices and expected selling prices and estimate probable financial outcome in feeding different kinds of cattle in such a program.