The Cooperative Extension Service   
of Henry County, Kentucky

AGRICULTURE ARCHIVES

WHY DO LIGHTER CALVES BRING MORE?

Over the years, I've heard that question asked many times, but never had a grasp of the full reason until receiving the following example. This was sent by Dr. Lee Meyer, UK Extension Livestock Economist.

Start with a 1200 lb. slaughter steer at $60 per cwt. It is worth $720/hd.

Now, we'll compare a 700 lb. steer with 500 lb. steer, and we'll assume of cost of gain of $.50 per pound in the feedlot. So, it costs the feedlot $250 ($.50 times the 500 lbs. of gain) to add 500 lbs. to the 700 lb. feeder, and it would cost $350 to add 700 lbs. to the 500 lb. feeder to get it up to the 1200 lb. slaughter weight.

That leaves $470 ($720 - $250) for the feedlot to pay for the 700 lb. steer, which is $67 per cwt. ($470 / 7). It leaves $370 ($720 - $350) for the feedlot to pay for the 500 lb. steer, which comes out to $74 per cwt. ($370 / 5).

In the real world, the cost of gain will be lower for the calf than for the yearling, but health costs and death loss will be higher. But this example illustrates the point-and comes out with prices very close to current market prices.