1. Control cost of gain

Outside of keeping cattle alive, the most important task of a stocker cattle business is to control cost of gain. Any cattle business focused on growth is not going to be successful if the cost to put a pound of weight on is greater than the value of the additional pounds.

Eric Bailey

Assistant Professor and State Beef Nutritionist / University of Missouri Extension

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First, set a target on cost of gain for stocker cattle. Feedlot cost of gain is currently $1.10-$1.15 per pound. Generally speaking, we want stocker cattle cost of gains to be less than two-thirds of the feedlot cost of gain. Remember, cost of gain calculations are not just the cost of feed. You should include medicine, vaccines, interest on cattle and feed, trucking and yardage in the calculation.

Feed is usually the largest contributor to cost of gain. There are two scenarios where cost of gain is negatively impacted by a feed program: first, if feed is more expensive than the value of gain. Let’s assume feed costs 20 cents per pound ($400 per ton), calves gain a pound of weight for every 4 pounds of feed consumed. Then the feed cost of gain would be 80 cents. That’s on the high end but still workable. However, if you’re paying that much for feed but it takes 7-8 pounds of feed per pound of gain, then the cost of gain is going to be $1.20-$1.40. If you are paying a lot for feed, make sure calves are gaining well.

The second scenario is the exact opposite. Your strategy to reduce cost of gain is to feed the cheapest feed imaginable. For some, that may be home-raised hay and a little bit of commodity mix. Your feed costs may be low, but if the hay is 50% total digestible nutrients (TDN) fescue hay, and you’re only feeding a couple of pounds of commodity mix per day, the cattle may only gain half a pound a day. If you are spending 60 to 70 cents per calf per day in this “miser mix,” but they are only gaining half a pound per day, then your cost of gain will be $1.20-$1.40.

Again, cost of gain is the most important metric for any kind of growing calf business. Keep track of it and try to keep it as low as possible.

2. Keep energy concentration of the diet up

Energy is a key nutrient to balance growing cattle rations. Protein, minerals and vitamins matter too, but sometimes we focus on them too much when performance is not up to par. A wall is built from bricks and mortar. Diet protein represents bricks and energy represents the mortar holding the bricks together. Our wall needs both to be sturdy.

This principle is important whether feeding a total mixed ration (TMR) or grazing pasture. The stocker cattle industry in the Flint Hills of Kansas has long focused on a “double-stock” grazing system. Essentially, it is twice the head of cattle for half the time. Gain per head is usually less because cattle graze for 90 days instead of 180 days, but gain per acre increases by 25%-35%. One of the reasons this program works is that stock density (pounds of beef per acre) is greater with double stocking. Greater stock density matches “grazing pressure” with forage growth rate, increasing forage that is harvested at or near peak quality. When pastures are stocked in a manner where forage growth rate outpaces grazing pressure, forages mature and lose quality. Increase grazing pressure with more head for a shorter time, and you will be surprised at the performance, especially when measured on a per-acre basis. This principle is broadly applicable across the country. I am having very good success implementing it in Missouri on tall fescue pastures.

In backgrounding operations, I commonly see producers try to build a ration around free choice grass hay. In general, grass hay is unlikely to be above 55% TDN, and when I build rations for growing cattle, I aim for a diet TDN above 65%. Always use highest-quality hay for growing cattle so that you can balance a ration to get cattle to gain more than 2 pounds per day without having to feed a high-concentrate diet. Increasing the energy concentration of the diet reduces the pounds of feed required per pound of weight gain. I have a YouTube video that explores this concept in more detail.

3. Watch manure piles for indication of nutrition

An important piece of grazing management is watching manure change over time. On my stocker cattle operation, I use the consistency of cattle manure to decide when to rotate pastures. The ideal manure pile looks something like pumpkin pie filling. This consistency tells me that the feed consumed is digestible enough to pass through the gut in a reasonable amount of time. When manure piles stack, feed is staying in the gut for a long time and water is being absorbed. This makes the manure piles drier and they begin to stack. As I rotate through pastures, it is interesting to watch the manure consistency change from loose to firm the longer cattle are in the pasture. Cattle will graze the high-quality feed first then the old, brown dormant grass only when the green, newer forage is gone. Stocker calves that are stacking manure piles are not gaining weight as quickly as those with looser manure.  Keep track of manure and let it help you decide when to rotate pastures.  

PHOTO: Cost of gain is the most important metric for any kind of growing calf business. Photo by Eric Bailey.