Cost of Gain vs Value of Gain Darrell Rankins, Jr.

2011 – New Rules  Input costs – up , up , up volatility is high Fuel  Everything is transported by truck  On farm usage as well

2011 – New Rules  Prices received – also up, up, up  Quite volatile as well  We cannot change this so we must determine the value of the gain and manage the cost of gain

Value of Weight Gain  Wean 580-pound calves   Background for 45 days Assumptions  ADG of 2.25 lb/day  8:1 feed conversion  Now have 680-pound calves

Value of Weight Gain    680-pound at $121.18/cwt  $824.02

580-pound at $130.94/cwt  $759.45

$824.02 - $759.45 = $64.57/100 pounds  Value of gain = $64.57/cwt  Based on AL prices 4-22-2011

Cost of Weight Gain   Fixed Costs Variable Costs      Vaccines Deworming Chute charge $10-$15/head – 45, 60 or 75 days no different Feed changes by day

Cost of Weight Gain     Max is $0.65/pound of gain 10:1 conversion   100 pounds of gain requires 1,000 pounds feed Feed must be <$130/ton 8:1 conversion   100 pounds of gain requires 800 pounds of feed Feed must be <$162.50/ton 6:1 conversion   100 pounds of gain requires 600 pounds of feed Feed must be <$216.67/ton

Cost of Weight Gain   Rankins AAES projects    6.2 to 9.7 on free-choice single feed + hay 9.6 to 11.8 on diets containing low-cost roughage 4-weight calves much more efficient than 8 weight calves Ionophores improve feed conversion  Rumensin, Bovatec

Final Thoughts    Performance of calves is extremely important in determining cost of gain ADG for 45 days is HIGHLY dependent on weighing conditions Longer periods to higher weights need to be considered

Questions??