“Feedlot Steer Performance in 2018”
By: Justin Waggoner, Ph.D., Beef Systems Specialist
Each year I summarize the data from the K-State Focus on Feedlots in an effort to document annual trends in feed cattle performance. The Focus on Feedlot’s data for steers from 2018, 2017 and 2016 is summarized in the table below. In 2018, participating feedlots marketed 349,595 steers, 8497 fewer cattle than were marketed 2017. In weights remained steady, averaging 779 lbs. Final weights of steers increased slightly to 1398 lbs compared to 1387 lbs in 2017. Steers were on feed approximately 173 days, an increase of 9 days from 2017 and 14 days from 2016. Average daily gain and feed conversion were similar across years. Death loss remained steady at 1.58% compared to the 1.52% previously reported in 2017. Reported total cost of gain averaged $78.10/ Cwt. in 2018, an increase of $3.76/Cwt. from 2017.
For more information, contact Justin Waggoner at jwaggon@ksu.edu.
