Spring 2022 Cattle Feeder Enterprise Projections

May 19, 2022

Due to the ongoing volatility in prices we assembled a set of spring 2022 feedlot projections looking at purchasing and placing animals on feed in late April and early May. We used current feed prices including pricing dry corn as currently in storage that could be sold as cash grain. Corn stored as high moisture grain last fall is likely worth less due to fewer sale options.

Spring 2022 purchase prices were determined by looking at late April area feeder sales in western Wisconsin and southeastern Minnesota. Projected sale prices were estimated by looking at futures contract prices, seasonal and cyclical trends, current placements, and animal breed influence on prices.

Current prices, cost structures, and volatility are resulting in rapid changes in the enterprise margins this spring and will continue to affect margins.

These projections are intended to serve as an initial guide. These projections are based on averages; therefore, the prices and scenarios will not apply to every feedlot operation. They serve as a guide for helping producers to use their own numbers to evaluate their specific situation.

In the projection’s spreadsheet file, the yardage calculator and ration cost calculator components are not functional due to the way they are bundled together into one spreadsheet. We recommend using the UW-Madison Extension Feedlot Enterprise Budget that they were adapted from. The fully functional Extension Feedlot Enterprise Budget Tool (xls) includes functional feed, yardage, and labor and management tabs to help producers evaluate their operation more accurately. Using the enterprise budget tool or similar tools with your own numbers is more valuable to help you with your decisions than using our estimates.

The Spring 2022 Cattle Feeder Projections (xls) include the following eight different feedlot related enterprises that are summarized on the first tab. Each enterprise projection has its own sheet within the file.

Holstein bull calf birth to 400 lbs
Dairy x Beef cross calf birth to 400 lbs
Dairy x Beef cross steers 400-1400 lbs
Holstein steers 400-800 lbs
Holstein steers 400-1450 lbs
Holstein steers 800-1450 lbs
Finishing beef yearlings 775-1400 lbs
Beef feeder heifer calves 725-1250 lbs

Source : wisc.edu

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.