Agricultural News
Pre-Conditioning Weaned Calves Could Have Economic Benefits
Wed, 05 Oct 2011 15:33:13 CDT
Kansas State University research has confirmed the thoughts of many that there are benefits to pre-conditioning weaned beef calves before marketing, including some fairly significant premiums and economic benefits. Ted Schroeder, Kansas State University Livestock Economist, along with his colleagues discovered that more and more buyers are willing to pay more for pre-conditioned calves.
Schroeder says they have estimated that some feedlots are willing to pay in a range of $6.00 to even $12.00 more per 100 weight for a 650 pound calf, depending on the pre-conditioning program the calf participated in.
Throughout their research, Schroeder and his colleagues surveyed a variety of different feedlots and auction markets and discovered that there is greater value when producers use a third party in certification of those pre-conditioned calves. Schroeder says some examples of the independent third party could be a veterinarian known to the area of the potential buyers or it could be a pharmeceutical company.
Overall, the certification system that most feedlots preferred that Schroeder found was the USDA certification. Schroeder says this makes sense because the USDA certified is a well-recognized program in the industry.
Click on the LISTEN bar below to hear more from Ted Schroeder on the economc benefits to producers on pre-conditioning weaned calves.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network- but is also a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the listen bar below for today's show- and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
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