Benchmarks for Iowa feedlot cattle detailed in new post
ORANGE CITY, Iowa — Benchmarking is best used to track livestock and financial performance at a feedlot, but can also be used to monitor trends within the industry. Although there are industry-wide benchmarking programs, reported values may not reflect Iowa’s climate and input costs.
Realizing this, specialists at the Iowa Beef Center collaborated to summarize close-out data for more than 171,000 yearling steers and heifers enrolled in Iowa’s feedlot monitoring program for the years 2017 to 2020. These results are reported in a new publication, “Benchmarking the Performance of the Iowa Feedlot Cattle.
Beth Doran, a beef extension specialist at Iowa State University, led the project.
“Averages are reported for each year and overall for the four-year period for steers and heifers,” she said. “In addition, performance and financial data were summarized for nearly 99,000 head of finished cattle in four types of facilities – windbreaks, outdoor pens with shelter, open pens and containment.”
The report demonstrates that livestock characteristics, type of facility and external factors, such as weather, commodity prices and marketing disruptions, greatly affect baseline values, Doran said.
“These variabilities are why we encourage Iowa cattle producers to use benchmarking as a tool to track their own operation’s progress over time,” Doran said. “It’s also important for them to be careful comparing their feedlot with other feedlots at a specific time.”
To learn more about the ISU Feedlot Monitoring Program, see the information on the Iowa Beef Center website.
For more information, contact Doran at doranb@iastate.edu or 712-737-4230, or your ISU Extension and Outreach Beef Specialist.
The Iowa Beef Center at Iowa State University was established in 1996 to support the growth and vitality of the state’s beef cattle industry. It includes faculty and staff from Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and the College of Veterinary Medicine, and works to develop and provide the latest research-based information regarding the food industry. beef cattle.
Shareable photo: Beef cattle eating grain.
