Fall 2014 Feedlot Projections
Over the past few weeks a common question received at a number of Wisconsin Extension Offices has been around the high costs of feeder calves, feed costs and how does back-grounding or finishing cattle pencil out this fall. To help answer these questions the extension team “dug up” some of the projections that were done few years ago and updated them with current values.
These estimates will hopefully get you thinking and encourage you to make some calculations using your own numbers, if you have not already done so.
A few things to keep in mind when looking at the projections.
- These estimates will likely be out of date soon, prices have been changing, and they can change rapidly. Your local basis may be different than the examples I used.
- The estimates that were used may not reflect typical performance or costs for your operation! Cost of production for feedlots are highly variable. Many factors contribute to your costs including type of cattle purchased (health costs), feed costs, and overhead (yardage) expenses. In addition, knowledge of how cattle perform in your facilities is important information.
- Do your own work. These projections are based on averages, therefore the prices and scenarios will not apply to every feedlot operation.
2014 UW Extension Fall Feedlot Projections (Excel file)
The known errors have been fixed in the UW Extension Feedlot Budget Spreadsheet, (Excel file) and it is available for download. Let me know if you find cells that are not working properly.
Source: University of Wisconsin Extension
