What happens on a feedlot?

[sim.-ang.king]

The stocker operator seems to have been over looked in this discussion. Stocker operators are the ones who buy our calves. If I was a green horn and read this discussion I would have been led to believe that all of our calves went straight to feed lots.

Any calves sold around here have to spend some time in a feedlot first, even with stocker operations, because of a little thing called mud, and no grass. Unless of course they get sold in April, but even then quite a few go to a feedlot.
So it's going to depend on your area.

[Tim/South]

600 lb calves are 2 way cattle. They can go on feed or grass. The price of corn usually makes that determination. I can never picture a 300 lb. calf going straight to a feed lot.
Order buyers here, and from the online auctions I watch, want 4 weight calves. A 4 weight calf will bring as much money as a 5 weight calf. The stocker wants to put the weight on the calf. The stockers operators say they are more likely to get a carcass to grade prime or choice if they get the calf as a 4 wt. and grow it like they want.

[Dave]

600 lb calves are 2 way cattle. They can go on feed or grass. The price of corn usually makes that determination. I can never picture a 300 lb. calf going straight to a feed lot.
Order buyers here, and from the online auctions I watch, want 4 weight calves. A 4 weight calf will bring as much money as a 5 weight calf. The stocker wants to put the weight on the calf. The stockers operators say they are more likely to get a carcass to grade prime or choice if they get the calf as a 4 wt. and grow it like they want.

Once again regional differences. Yes 600 pound calf is a two way deal. They can go on feed or grass. But the vast majority of calves up north are born late winter early spring. They come off the cows in the fall when cattle are brought in out of the hills. So they either go on feed or on a truck and get hauled a long ways to any where that has grass that time of year. The result is most go to the feedlot. Everyone I know that has any amount of cattle will cull a cow who raises a 400 pound calf. One that raises 500 pounders might be getting on the truck too.

[brownvet]

Very good post! thanks for sharing.

[elkwc]

Good post. As mentioned some things are different regionally. She did say she only spent 2 weeks at the one lot. That isn't enough time to know the operation well.
As many have mentioned in a normal year not many of the lighter calves in this area go straight to a feedlot. Most go to wheat pasture for part of all of the winter and then to the lot. In the lots I've been around some over the last 35 years retained ownership is a small amount. A few lots will have up to a 1/3 but most way below that. I've known many who have fed for years including my BIL. They prefer weights above 6 but more than that if price allows due to less days on feed. And I've never seen the number of people she mentioned for lot size. Again propably region and management style.

[LDEnterprises]

Glad I finally read this post. Great info within it!