33 Figuring Cattle Feeding Profits For Eastern Oregon L T. Wallace Emery Castle 41.101NOREMININI10 Miscellaneous Paper 33 Agricultural Experiment Station December 1956 ■ Oregon State College • Corvallis FIGURING CATTLE FEEDIIAG PROFITS FOR EASTERN OREGON L. T. Wallace and E. N. Castle * ummary This publication presents a method of figuring cattle feeding profits. Because of the increase in feed grains in eastern Oregon, ranchers are giving more thought to feeding possibilities. The construction of budgets permits a rancher to estimate how much feeding will affect his income, as well as the resources required for feeding. To illustrate how the metnod works, three counties were selected in eastern Oregon -- Baker, Grant, and Umatilla. They were selected because their feed potential is high, The profitability of cow-calf, cow-yearling, and cow-feedlot systems were compared in each county. The cattle systems are defined as follows; Cow-calf—calves are sold in the fall as reaners; Cow-yearling--offspring are sold as yearlings; Cow-feedlot—calves are put into the feedlot in the fall as weaners, fed for a maximum rate of gain, and sold as slaughter animals at 800 to 1100 pounds. Figures used in this report are averages. Consequently, the results are examples of what might be expected under similar conditions. The three cattle systems are practiced in all three areas, and the counties provide a wide range in conditions. In Grant County, cattle are the main source of income. In Umatilla, wheat is more important. Baker is more diversified, producing both wheat and cattle. * Authors are formerly Research Assistant and Assistant Agricultural Economist, respectively, Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station. Special credit is due t. B. Back, formerly Assistant Agricultural Economist, for assistance in planning and developing the study. Ranchers and Extension personnel also were helpful in supplying information and advice. The cow-feedlot system was the most profitable in all three areas, However, the feeder system also increased expenses ,and capital investments. Little difference in income was found between the cow-calf and cow-yearling system. Probably the most profitable system would varyfrom year to year depending on the relative prices of calves and yearlings. A cow-feedlot operation is not practical for every rancher. Some may not like to feed cattle, others will not want to take on additional risk. Not everyone can feed cattle to a market finish well, and some would have to go into debt to establish a feeding operation. But, for those who can meet the requirements, it may be a profitable means of increasing the size of farm or ranch business. Practices and Resources Baker County has mountain range, desert, forest, and small, highly productive valleys. The county is high in elevation and comparatively dry. Winters are cold and summers are warm. Baker raises hay and grain and has access to range. The range consists of privately owned land, as well as public land under the control of both the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service. Hay usually is stacked loose or baled. Irrigation is common. Calving dates vary from ranch to ranch and depend partly on the ranch's geographic location. Home-grown feeds usually are used. Winter feeding dates vary within the county depending on ranch location. Much of this description of Baker County also applies to Grant. Umatilla is mainly a grain-producing area. Irrigation in the wheat area is much less common than in either Baker or Grant Counties. Since cattle are less important than in Baker and Grant, investment in livestock facilities is lower. On the other hand, machinery investment is considerably greater. The Budgets In building budgets it is necessary to make certain assumptions about ranching operations. Certain things are held constant while cattle operations are studied. Many of the assumptions, however, will not greatly affect the comparison between cattle systems. Some of these assumptions used in the following budgets are: 1. A 20 per cent cow replacement. 2. A 3. Additional grazing permits usually are not available, so they 2 per cent death loss. were considered to limit further increases in herd size. The permits used were Baker, 135 head; Grant, 250 head; Umatilla, 40 head. t. 1954 prices and costs. 5. Current management practices in the three counties. When these assumptions are used, there is a definite income advantage in favor of the cow-feedlot operation. This comparison is shown in figure 1. There is little difference between the income of the cow-calf and cowyearling operation. A small change in price could easily reverse this relationship. The increased income from feeding is impressive. It is large in all counties, but much greater in Grant than in others. Feeding will require more capital, more labor, and better management. These increases in requirements are shown in table 1. In Grant County, 168 acres of additional cropland would be needed to provide feed. More capital would be required in all counties, ranging from about 24 000 in Grant to Ol 665 in Umatilla. In Umatilla County, the enterprise was so small that no important increase u labor would be required Additional labor of about 430 hours in Baker and over 1,000 hours in Grant mould be needed. Many ranchers might be able to use their existing labor supply more intensively if they would take on a feeding operation. Additional feed would be needed in all counties to produce the increased pounds of salable beef. Some ranches already have some of the needed equipment for a feedlot operation, while others must start from scratch. Some ranchers, of course, are not in a position to acquire the necessary additional resources for feeding. Others would not be willing to take on the increased risk that comes with the larger cattle operation. On the basis of the figures used, it appears that an opportunity may exist for expanded cattle production by feeding in the area. In addition, utilization of byproduct feeds, such as peavine silage and wheat straw and chaff, may provide feeding opportunities in an area such as Umatilla County. In tables 2 through 7, a detailed breakdown of the budgets will be found. Since the budgets probably will not fit most ranches exactly, they can be used as a guide. Just substitute your figures for those shown. How Budgets Were Develoml A budget is a financial p lan for a ranch or farm. To "build" the budgets in this report, management practices and resource information were obtained from typical ranchers in the three areas. Detailed production requirements, costs, and income are available from the Department of Agricultural Economics, Oregon State College. Particular emphasis was focused on changes that would occur in going from one beef system to another; less emphasis was given to those items that remained constant for all systems. Those who are not familiar with budgets and how they are constructed should study tables 2 and 3. Building a budget consists of a number of steps. First, decide what it is you wish to compare. (In this case, cattle systems.) Next, list the resources at your disposal. (Take an inventory.) Then decide just haw much land, capital, labor, etc., each system will take. By applying prices and costs to these items, you can arrive at an estimated expense and income. The top half of table 2 is devoted to the land, buildings, livestock, labor, machinery, and produc tion that might be expected for the different systems. The bottom half shows income and expenses. 0,5 •I■ C 0 o U 411 a) -"0 0 E D 0 V c 0 0 .13 0 C 0 '"6 U ti ••■ C 3 0 0 • 2 cs LL. c • o Z a) a. 0 ye 0 SID/100 JO spuosnoui -6- 911100U/ 111.10j ,ION Table 1. Increase in Resources Required for Changing from a Cow-Calf to a Cow-Feeder Operation Resource Baker County Grant County Umatilla County 16 8 Cropland (acres)---- 1,66 5 13,945 24,002 432 1,026 57 75 28 Barley (bushels) 1,500 2,542 240 Oats (bushels) 1,870 2,924 400 Capital (dollars)--Labor (hours) Home-grown Feed Hay (tons) Wheat (bushels) Livestock Number 91 173 20 Animal units 55 lo4 11 Pounds 53,100 96,750 8,150 Table Item Baker Ccuntj Budget . ------7— Cow-calf Land Use Rangeland: Owned (acres) Leased (acres) Hay: Irrigated (acres) Nonirrigated (acres) Pasture: Irrigated (acres) Nonirrigated (acres) Other cro pland: Nonirrigated Barley (acres) Oats (acres) Wheat (acres) Other (idle, waste, homestead)(acres) Total acres Cow-yearling Cow-feedlot 1,500 3,000 225 100 100 200 110 20 5,665 20 5,665 20 5,665 2 2!. 2 30 - 24 2,000 130 80 130 220 600 Buildings Sheds (No.) Fences (miles) Feeding facilities (dollars) Livestock Beef cows (No.) Beef calves (No.) Yearling steers (No.) Yearling heifers (No.) Bulls (No.) Miscellaneous (horses, cows) (No.) Total animals ( N o.) Labor Hired (hours) Operator (hours) Total labor (hours) 1,500 3,000 225 220 1,500 3,000 225 220 600 118 2 25 5 72 36 36 3 390 4 118 59 59 5 7 287 7 234 7 378 3,564 3,564 3, 996 6,26! 6,264 2,700 6,696 8,653.66 8,653.66 9 613.66 715 715 772 1,550 1,550 3,100 50, 150 48,600 103,250 2,700 2,700 Machinery Present value (dollars) Production Hay (tons) Grain Barley (bushels) Oats (bushels) Wheat (bushels) Beef (pounds) 1,870 Table . (Continued). Item 1 Sales Hay Grain Beef Cull cows Calves $ Cow-calf 4 Cow-yearling Cow-feedlot 6, 300.00 $ 6,400.00 999.00 999.00 $ 2,400.00 675.00 2, 5 92.00 3,168.00 Yearling steers 41536.00 1,768.00 252.00 Yearling heifers Bulls Gross Farm Income Direct Expenses Hired labor Equipment operations Veterinary Feed ' Salt, Minerals . Grain Livestock Bulls Constant cash costs Total Direct Expenses Indirect Expenses Taxes Depreciation Interest -- $ 1,000.00 $ 1 060.00 3,769.85 3,604.85 91.00 Feed---- Livestock Machinery Buildings- 50.00 250,00 Total Indirect Expense $ 4,604.85 $ 4,307.26 $ 5 220.85 Total Expenses $12,082.88 $11,210.39 $14 965.66 6,200.71 $ 5,336.61 $11,650.84 Comparative Net Farm Income 4) 0 0 I 0_ ••I 0 -P r1 '0 0 a) c■-1 I 0 CD 0 0 1 1-1 0 03 0 P0 F-■ fr .1 /-1 H 0 0 0 0 . ., 111 0 ...o crstr. 0 Is- 0 0 IA H 141 .o "I-r( (‘-- ON 0 IA .. H 1..n 0 c— I H r. c,'N It \ 41% 0 0 CIS a) O ct 0 0 LA c0 41.. 0 (N c\J n • 0 1-r\ .' H r--I 0 M \O 0 CO 1.41 C(.1 It's ....7 I I IP% .. 0-,1 f-7 I I 00 UN CO N00 ts-- 0 Cs- 1 t--- H co *., •s r1H I I sso co 4.) 0 r_4 1:5 0 0 I • 0 V) •r-I $-1 Cd P4 0 ›.• 9 \O IA ■0 \ID es . 0 0 8 0 1.11 CeN 41. 0 4-1 H F-1 cif +3 in (41 to •.0 i 0 0 0 IA '0 \0 'LA H‘ erN ‘.0 0 CO r-- H liN H (4.-■ cv (NI •• at en ON CV 0 H H .c. . s's . ON \O c-.) r'l \0 oo 0 -"I' tr\0 , HC\I CO -CO 1-4 In. 0 H r-- In. 0 H0 C\1 CO .0 1-r\ VDNHH H 0 C\ U'. 0 H Is\ Cs- 111 H 0 CscoON H 0 ..../..• H r.4.% •0 ON s..o V) 1., 4' cv •■ '0 - 0 'UN ...o .., H H H 1/40 \O cfl .% 'LA P1/40 cd -p (-I 0 E-t p 0 • 0 0 CO 0 ('Y'N tr \ '0 \O 1.11 rrl V\ \0 CD I • 0 -. \O 0 0 H \Oft \d'' 0 I-4 a) cu cc) 0 a) •/-1 -P -1-1 H .1-i 0 tt/ 4-1 to -■-■ ^0 a) a) tH or\ 5 •••• ul a) r-t 0 0 .. V.;% a) 0 Z a) CH ...---. .. CO a) 7-1 clo Qs H -ri t-I '10 0 f--.1 '0 •r.i .....-. 1 1 i I I1 t I I I I I I ..---. co -P .1-I I -...... ....", 9 I . --% COu ;-4 r--I V) C5 ct 'CI H H •••••.• 5 g H r- • •-1 0 0 0000 .0 'V 0 f:). ....... .............,.............., ;-t a) •r-I .4 0 .. c.) 0 -1--) (1) a) cd ..--,.. co ..--... H "--... v) I 0 CO H f ,.i-1 co I 0 0 ..0 •--. 0 .0 u) Cfl C) (a 0 Z ,../ 0 ,0 0 ,0 `---.' 4-, -....•---, a) -1-' H Cf) a:1 .. $4 -P (1) ,0 . 0 .0 a) = al 0 C-4: izi — 10 — 0 v) S.-4 ci H r-I 0 "CI N../ to Cl) 9-4 H 04 0. ,--... u) ...-... f.4 0 .0 ca Table Grant County Budgets, Item Cow-calf ow-yearling Cow-feedlot Land Use Rangeland: Owned (acres) Leased (acres) Hay: Irrigated (acres) Nonirrigated (acres) Pasture: Irrigated (acres) Nonirrigated (acres) Other cropland: Nonirrigated Barley (acres) Oats (acres) Wheat (acres) Other(idlelAmste,homestead)(acres) Total acres 1,000 1,000 7,5 00 7,500 1,000 7,500 400 400 400 100 100 100 50 50 132 0 20 9,170 20 9,170 9,338 86 20 Buildings Sheds (No.) Fences (miles) Feeding facilities (dollars) 3 40 3 46 7 40 3,000 Livestock Beef cows (No.) Beef calves (No.) Yearling steers (No.) Yearling heifers (No.) Beef bulls (No.)- Miscellaneous(horsetl mi1k cowsjtIo,) Total animals (No.) Labor Hired (hours) Operator (hours) Total labor (hours) 238 215 2 128 115 238 215 108 4u 57 58 7 514 7 372 7 687 3,672 2,700 6,372 3,672 4,69& 12 7 2,700 6,372 107 12 2,700 7,398 Machinery Present value (dollars) Production Hay (tons) Grain Barley (bushels) Oats (bushels) Wheat (bushels) Beef (pounds) 11,386.16 11 386.16 12,346.16 800 800 875 1,500 1,500 4,092 2,924 9 1, 37 5 77 ,6 25 188,125 Table 4. Contimie . Cow-calf Item Sales Hay- $ Grain Beef Cull Caws Calves Yearling steers Yearling heifers 675 Cow yearling Cow-feedlot $ 4,740 - 3,312 6,048 13,131.21 - 7,056 3,536 23,593.50 12,286.75 $20,862.21 ;:e19,148.00 $42,936.25 $ 3,780 $ 3,780 $ )4,770 299 257 472 504 1,008 Bulls Gross Farm Income Direct Expenses Hired labor Equipment operations Veterinary 763.57 Feed Salt minerals- Grain 763.57 Bulls Constant cash costs Indirect Expenses Taxes Depreciation Interest Feed Livestock Machinery Buildings 2,132.96 64 75 2,400 2,000 1,000 2,904 2,000 3,744 $ 9,921.57 5 8,843.57 $15,636.96 5 1,500 $ 1,475 4.0 1,900 2,904 Total Direct Expenses 1,008 75 100 Livestock $ 6,048 5,496.54 4,700.69 + - 2.52 + 175 75 118 5,736.54 164.01 50 400 Total Indirect Expense $ 6,996.54 $ 6,073.17 5 8,250.55 Total Expenses $16,918.11 $14,916.74 $23,887.51 Comparative Net Farm Income $ 3,944.10 $ 4, 231.26 519,048.74 -12- . ■ ■ , I I •• 0 -1.3 CH • iHd 0 H 10 (1) a) 4-4 •wO co NO H 0 0 0w OD 0 0 ..0 0-, C.) 0 co\ ,..• C) 1,-- t*-- 0 In, (n H H N- .. ft ‘0 0‘ 1.1 CV -I' N• ..d0.1 I u a. . w w CV CV CM I"— '0 NO Is\ 0w, CMw ‘.0 M) 01 o to 0 .rI I ..ri 0 H 0) 0 5 p 0 /4 H $.-1 CI--t IA C‘I 0 ) tr \ es H o C3 +-I o H -0 0 O 4-) N (I) P 0 .1-i H cd 0 E-I H• 0 \0 0.....1' 0 ('`'N w w, CNJ co 0 rr‘ CH I• w Cr\ 0 0 taG .49 r.4 F•4 cd 0 M C--H I PON. 0 0 CH H 0 o j r- O 0 I I I I I I II I I I I rvI ..0 E-1 H 0 NH w 0 0 1-e■ ... -1 111 \O r--3• •0 co en 4., H H 0 0 0 w cf \ IA ‘C) H • NO CO Cr1 H H 0 0 -1-4 -P -ri H -r-4 0 M 1 I I I I I I I 0 4S ).-i I I (f) a) r-ro 0 M '..... 0 V3 1-1 •d ----- I 0.,1r‘ ON 0 I rt. ‘ -.1 ... 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CV C-- (-,-N . 1-0 • H en ..., ......1 CV N- er1 r-I• CM cr• Nft CV .., \O I I I I I I I to M H 0 15 s.....0 .0-, co ‘,...... to a) ....-• 0 $4 0 ,O q .1-1 H 04 04 Cr) 0 0 i---1 ■--4 El $_, 0 44 -P (I) Z Table 6. Umatilla County Budgets. Item Cow-calf Land Use Rangeland: Owned (acres) Leased (acres) Hay: Irrigated (acres) Nonirrigated (acres)------ - Pasture: Irrigated (acres) Nonirrigated (acres) Other cropland: Nonirrigated Barley (acres) Oats (acres) Wheat (acres) Other(idle,waste,homestead)(aores)-Total acres 1,500 - 1,500 44 Cow-feedlot 1,500 - - - 424 424 404 702 110 2,780 Buildings 4 Sheds (No.) Fences (miles) Feeding facilities (dollars) Cow- yearling 702 110 2,780 4 20 702 110 2,780 5 20 20 20 1,000 29 26 - 22 20 10 1 29 26 13 13 1 66 67 86 1,782 2,700 1,782 2,700 1,782 2,700 Livestock Beef cows (No.) Beef calves (No.) Yearling steers (No.) Yearling heifers (No.) Bulls (No.) Miscellaneous(horses,milk cows)(No.) Total animals (No.) Labor Hired (hours) Operator (hours) Total labor (hours) 6 10 4 4 1 4,482 4,482 It 4,482 Machinery Present value (dollars) 12,685.64 12,685.61t 58 64 86 5,088 5,088 4,848 400 12 685.64 Production Hay (tons) Grain Barley (bushels) Oats (bushels) Wheat (bushels) Beef (pounds)__- 7,020 9,500 —14— 7,020 10,200 7,020 17,650 Table 6. (Continued) Item Cow-calf Cow-yearlin ICow-feedlot Sales Hay Grain Beef Cull cows Calves Yearling steers Yearling heifers Bulls Gross Farm Income $17,270.84 $17,243.40 720 576 1,572.60 - $16 240.86 720 - 2,866.50 1 457.75 1,260 552 $19,563.44 $19,631.90 $21 285.11 $ 1,830 7,295.33 66 $ 1,830 7,302.13 67 $ 1,830 20 100 100 400 2 114.82 2,114.82 2,1114.82 $11,426.15 $11,438.95 $11 805.04 $ 1,390 $ 1,390 $ 1,1400 3,344.3)4 Direct Expenses Hired labor Equipment operations Veterinary Feed Salt, minerals Grain Livestock Bulls Constant cash costs Total Direct Expenses 25 7 334.22 86 40 _ Indirect Expenses Taxes Depreciation Interest Feed Livestock Machinery Buildings Total Indirect Expense $ 4,670.84 $ 4,671.19 75 $ 4 835.34 Total Expenses $16,087 99 $16,101.14 $16 740.38 Comparative Net Farm Income $ 3 465.45 $ 3,520.76 $ 4 644.73 3,280.814 - 3,280.84 .35 _ 16 0 tr% 0 1-4 0 cv H tr• •0 r-4 H es • ON. 0 eci 0 1 ■0 0 IA 0 VD 0 0 0 co CO IA .0 .0 0 01 • C\I .10 • H CO IA .1 ‘13 4) •0 CO 'isN H H 00 CV co 0 0 0 CV C.— M ‘0 0 1 0 0 0 1-r‘ If't 0 IA \O " r•-• H cfN NO CO 0 0 N" CO --.1" 0 C \ CO 00 0 —1 —71. r`"- z `,0 0 CO •r4 H 0 cd C.) 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