Updated Resources For Determining Beef Feedlot Facility Needs

May 15, 2015

By Russ Euken

As the beef feedlot industry in Iowa continues to grow and improve, some producers are considering their options for expanding or adding new feedlot facilities. All alternatives have advantages and disadvantages, and making the right choices can favorably help an operation’s bottom line. That’s why Iowa Beef Center and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach completely revised the Beef Feedlot Systems Manual

Russ Euken, beef specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, led the revision effort on the manual which describes and compares different types of feedlot facilities: open lots, open lots with shelter, solid floor bedded confinements and slatted floor confinement buildings. He said the manual is designed to help producers make investment decisions based on these types of facilities.

“The manual has updated investment and operating costs for different types of facilities, and includes estimated performance and manure values,” Euken said. “A calculated cost of gain for each facility type is provided, and environmental stewardship and regulations are also discussed in the manual.”

The manual is available at no charge as a 36-page PDF download on the Iowa Beef Center feedlot website www.iowabeefcenter.org/feedlot.html and from the Extension Online Store at https://store.extension.iastate.edu/. Print versions of the manual are available for purchase from both websites.

Because actual facility costs can vary from those used in the manual, Euken and others also developed a spreadsheet-based calculator that allows users to enter their own costs and performance assumptions for making facility decisions.

“In addition to entering their own costs and performance assumptions, users can explore financing alternatives for facilities,” Euken explained. “The calculator will provide a cost of gain calculation for each type of facility entered, as well as an income statement and financial efficiency measures.”

The calculator is available as a free download from the Iowa Beef Center following registration. Complete the registration form found on the IBC feedlot Web page under Facilities, then Feedlot Facilities and the Environment.

Source:iastate.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.