S. Boyles* and R. Lewandowski+
*Department of Animal Sciences and
+OSU Extension, Guernsey-Nable Counties
Producers need to continue to seek out quality bulls that can produce calves that meet cattle buyers' specifications. Calving dates should be matched to sale dates so that calves are at least 300 pounds at marketing. The practice of selling polled or dehorned calves results in an additional $27 to $45 in total value.
During 1993-1994, the Ohio Beef Industry Strategic Plan was conducted by the Ohio Cattlemen's Association, the Ohio Beef Council, and The Ohio State University. One of the goals of the strategic plan was to develop and implement en Alliance Integrated Marketing program among Ohio beef producers, processors, and retailers to provide quality products for specialized markets. One area in need of attention was the type of feeder calves preferred by cattle feeders.
Feeder calf sale data were obtained from the Guernsey-Noble Feeder Calf Association. Sale results were obtained from the Associations's April 1994, October 1994, and April 1995 feedercalf sales. The Guernsey-Noble Feeder Calf Association also held another fall sale during 1994, but the information was incomplete and was not used in this project.
Cow-calf producers participating in the sale must be members of the Association. The calves typically arrived at the auction barn during the morning and afternoon and were sold in the evening. All male calves were checked to ensure that they were castrated upon arrival.
The calves were graded individually based on the USDA feeder calf grading system (USDA, 1980), sex, and breed. The grading system is based on frame and muscle scores. Frame categories are large, medium, and small. The frame scores are based on predicted final weight that cattle will attain U.S. Choice grade. Muscle thickness is related to the muscle-to-bone ratio at a given degree of fatness to carcass yield grade.
The three muscle thickness grades were designated by Number 1, Number 2, and Number 3. Number 1 muscle-score calves exhibited more muscle than Number 3 muscle-score calves. The calves also were classified as to sex and breed. The general breed classifications are Hereford, Angus, Hereford-Angus, and Crossbred. Further separation of calves by weight was done by cattle auction barn employees after they were graded.
Calves of similar frame score, muscle score, sex, and approximate weight were placed in common pens. A second sort was done after the initial grading to split large pens or identify individual calves that did not fit the group's type, condition, or age. The calves were sold in groups or lots and not as individual animals. The sales receipt data in this study were based on lots and not individual animals.
Average sale weight across all auctions was 569 + 155.5 pounds, with an average unit price of $69 + 10.26/cwt. and an average total value of $390. A total of 296 lots of cattle were sold through these three auctions (157 lots of steers and 139 lots of heifers). A total of 1302 cattle were represented by these lots (629 steers and 673 heifers).
Auction Sale Date. Weight differences were observed with selling cattle in the fall rather than spring (P = 0.0001). Calves typically were heavier for spring sales than for fall sales (Table 1). Calves sold in the spring of 1994 had a higher price per pound than those sold in the fall of 1994 or spring of 1995. Differences in spring prices were probably the result of the relative changes in the price cycle for cattle. Total value was greater in the spring than the fall; however, total value should not be equated with profitability. The cost of production varied, based on feed cost and time of ownership.
Sex. The sex of a calf affected weight (P = 0.0037), unit price (P = 0.0001), and total value (P= 0.0001). Heifers were 48 pounds lighter and sold for about a dime less than steers (Table 1). The result was heifers were worth about $100 less in total value. Currently, science has not yielded a cheap, effective method for controlling how many heifers and steers are produced. Various organizations prepare price projections for the coming year, and these may be based on steer prices. Producers need to keep in mind how many heifers they will be selling and what their price will be when evaluating future cow-calf production profitability.
Frame Score and Muscle Score. Large-, medium-, and small-frame cattle weighed approximately 600, 500, and 300 pounds, respectively (Table 1). Although the large-frame cattle sold for $5 less per 100 pounds, they had the greatest total value. Small- and medium-frame cattle had a similar price per 100 pounds ($68 to $69), but the producers marketing medium-frame cattle were able to market more weight or total value. Producers with small-frame cattle need to evaluate their current source of bulls. Frame is highly heritable, and rapid progress through proper bull selection can make significant progress in this trait.
| Table 1. Sale results from the Guernsey-Noble feeder calf sales | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sale results | |||
| Item | Body weight (pounds) | Unit price ($/cwt.) | Total value ($) |
| Sale date | |||
| 04/27/94 | 517 + 27.3a | 70 + 1.54a | 369 + 15.20a |
| 10/19/94 | 425 + 31,4b | 65 + 1.77b | 279 + 17.49b |
| 04/28/95 | 538 + 32.2a | 65 + 1.82b | 351 + 17.94a |
| Sex | |||
| Steer | 517 + 28.5a | 73 + 1.61a | 383 + 15.90a |
| Heifer | 469 + 29.5b | 62 + 1.66b | 282 + 16.42b |
| Frame | |||
| Large | 622 + 28.9a | 64 + 1.63a | 405 + 16.13a |
| Medium | 527 + 22.8b | 69 + 1.29b | 363 + 12.70b |
| Small | 331 + 46.5c | 683 + 2.62ab | 230 + 25.91c |
| Muscle | |||
| 1, Thick | 547 + 26.9a | 69 + 1.52a | 376 + 15.01a |
| 2, Medium | 439 + 31.5b | 65 + 1.77b | 289 + 17.53b |
| 4, Thin' | ... | ... | ... |
| Breed | |||
| Angus | 480 + 31.3 | 71 + 1.77a | 341 + 17.43a |
| Hereford | 482 + 35.6 | 63 + 2.01b | 302 + 19.82b |
| Hereford-Angus | 537 + 38.7 | 67 + 2.18bc | 362 + 21.55ac |
| Crossbred | 475 + 26.5 | 68 + 1.49c | 325 + 14.75abc |
| Horns | |||
| No horns | 494 + 22.5 | 69 + 1.27a | 346 + 12.55a* |
| Horned | 493 + 39.2 | 64 + 2.21b | 319 + 21.85b* |
| Crossbred calves | |||
| No horns | 571 + 12.3 | 68 + 0.66a | 387 + 7.82a |
| Horns | 529 + 36.4 | 65 + 1.94b | 342 + 23.10b |
| 1. None sold. | |||
| abc Means in the same column within an item without a common letter in their superscript differ (P + 0.07). | |||
| + Means in the same column within an item without a common letter in their superscript differ (P = 0.12). | |||
Thick-muscled calves were heavier and sold for more money per pound than medium muscle-thickness calves (P < 0.01). there were no thin muscle-score calves sold. approximately 90% of all u.s. feeder calves are in the number 1 muscling grade, about 10% are number 2 grade, and less than 1% are in the number 3 grade (boyles et al., 1992). similar to frame score, progress in muscle thickness can be made through proper bull selection.
Breed. Breed did not appear to affect weight (P= 0.21). However, breed did impact unit price (P = 0.0007) and total value (P = 0.0115). Angus calves and Hereford calves were similar in weight, but Angus calves sold for $8 more per 100 pounds, resulting in $39 more in additional value (Table 1). Presence of horns was investigated as a possible reason for the discount, but with only 37 lots of Herefords sold, differences in weight (P = 0.76), price (P = 0.24), or value (P = 0.36) could not be detected for presence or absence of horns within the Hereford calves.
However, Hereford genetics appeared to be highly valued when the sale performance of Hereford-Angus calves was observed. Hereford- Angus calves appeared to be somewhat heavier than purebred Hereford or Angus Calves. Hereford-Angus calves sold for $4 less per 100 pounds than Angus calves, but their additional weight resulted in approximately $21 additional value.
Results for the crossbred calves were difficult to interpret. The crossbred calves represented many breed combinations of varied genetic make-up. They appeared to be the lightest breed group represented but were intermediate in total value. There is a need to identify more accurately the various breed combinations for reporting and analysis purposes. However, this can be difficult to do strictly from a visual observation basis.
Horns. The presence or absence of horns did not affect market weight (P = 0.98). However, buyers were willing to bid an additional $5 per 100 pounds of body weight to avoid horns (Table 1). The result was $27 in total value if the calf did not have horns. Bidders appeared to be more sensitive to steers having horns (P = 0.04) than heifers (P = 0.80) with regard to price per pound. Analyses were not able to detect any particular differences for the presence or absence of horns when calves were separated by sex and split into 100-pound weight classes (P > 0.10).
The 185 lots of crossbred calves were evaluated for horns. Similar to the general population, no difference in weight was observed (P= 0.28), and the calves that did not have horns appeared to be heavier. Buyers bid an additional $3/100 pounds of body weight for calves that did not have horns, and the result was that crossbred calves without horns were worth $45 more compared to crossbred calves with horns. In summary, buyers bid a higher price per pound for polled or dehorned crossbred calves that also had a heavier market weight.
Pen Size. Pen size did not appear to affect the weight of calves sold (P = 0.91) or total value (P = 0.98) but did impact unit price (P = 0.02). Although pen size affected price, there were some very light and very heavy animals sold as singles that may have had an affect on price. Kansas and Missouri have found the greatest price return for lot sizes of 60 to 75 head (Miners et al., 1995). The smallest lot size sold in the Guernsey-Noble feeder calf sales was one head and the largest was 19 head. Average lot size was 5 + 3.5 head.
Price Trends. Price trends are reported in Table 2 for steers and heifers at 100-pound weight intervals. Calves less than 300 pounds sold for less per pound than calves weighing 300 to 400 pounds. Price per-pound spreads between weight categories increased after steer calves attained a body weight of 600 to 699 pounds. Calves weighing more than 700 pounds were not necessarily less profitable, but careful break-even analysis should be done to evaluate the value of additional weight vs the cost of additional inputs. Total value increased with both sex classes as weight increased. Total value should not be equated with profit, because it is not known what the cost was of the additional weight.
| Table 2. Price trends for steers and heifers sold through the Guernsey-Noble feeder calf sales. | ||
|---|---|---|
| Sale results | ||
| Body weight (pounds) | Unit price ($/cwt.) | Total value ($) |
| Steers | ||
| 200 to 299 | 77.50 | 197.25 |
| 300 to 399 | 78.88 | 290.61 |
| 400 to 499 | 76.97 | 346.65 |
| 500 to 599 | 75.20 | 415.80 |
| 600 to 699 | 75.41 | 486.57 |
| 700 to 799 | 72.12 | 532.98 |
| 800 to 899 | 66.78 | 560.55 |
| 900 to 999 | 65.50 | 606.32 |
| >1000 | 59.67 | 617.89 |
| Heifers | ||
| 200 to 299 | 65.75 | 181.40 |
| 300 to 399 | 66.05 | 235.34 |
| 400 to 499 | 66.76 | 297.62 |
| 500 to 599 | 66.02 | 357.12 |
| 600 to 699 | 59.77 | 377.42 |
| 700 to 799 | 59.63 | 442.87 |
| 800 to 899 | 55 33 | 473 74 |
| 900 to 999 | 67.00 | 643.20 |
| >1000 | 53.50 | 558.01 |
A large price spread occurred between heifers weighing 500 to 599 pounds and 600 to 699 pounds. Contact with various feedlot producers indicated that there is concern with pregnancy in older, heavier heifers. Price values for 900 to 999 pound heifers and heifers weighing more than 1000 pounds are questionable, because one lot represents each of these prices.
Boyles, S., T. Flakoll, and K. Ringwall. 1992. The feeder calf grading system. North Dakota State University Extension, Fargo. AS-1043.
Minert J., T. Schroeder, F. Brazle, J. Sartwelle, R. Bolze, and M. Langemeier. 1995. Feeder cattle price differentials: How much did they change over time? Cattlemen's Day. Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station. Report of Progress 727, p. 43.
USDA. 1980. U.S. Standards for feeder cattle. AMS-586.