My last article stirred some interest. I received calls from as far as Hereford, Texas. But there was a typing error that slipped past me and caused some confusion. Specifically, if you paid $1 per pound for a 700-pound steer and sold it at 1200 pounds for $0.70, the original 700 pounds you paid $1 per pound for is now only worth $0.70; that's a $0.30 negative spread. Thus, you have a $210 negative margin on the animal ($0.30 x 700). The previous article misplaced a decimal point, rendering the negative margin at $21, something most livestock feeders wish they could do with a strike of the pen. The point was that the $210 indicates the amount of money that has to be made above feed and operating costs to get to breakeven.

To clear some things up about feeding, here is a list of things to adhere to:

1. If cattle have not been receiving corn at 1 percent of their body weight, allow 2 to 3 weeks for adjustment to a high-grain diet. You can do this by hand feeding the 75 percent corn and 25 percent SLR ration at 1 percent of body weight and increasing it a little over the next 2 weeks until they are eating all they can. After this, keep feed in the bunk at all times. Another way to start these fresh cattle is to fill the bunk with SLR by itself for week one. The next week fill the bunk or feeder with SLR and corn mixed half and half. Then the next week fill the feeder with corn and SLR mixed 75 percent corn and 25 percent SLR.
2. Be aware of separation--SLR pellets and corn are different densities. There is a tendency for the corn to fall in the middle and the pellets to roll to the outside. One way to solve this is to add wet molasses at 100 to 150 pounds per ton. If the corn is being added on the farm and no wet molasses is available, it would be best to grind both the corn and the SLR pellet.
3. Place the feeder or feeders next to shelter and water.
4. Try not to let the feeders run out before ordering more feed. Even though you can probably get away with this once the cattle are adapted to the finishing diet, it is a risk that doesn't need to be taken.
5. To be on the conservative side, figure a 7:1 conversion of corn and SLR (our research data actually shows a 6:1 conversion). This means you can expect 1 pound of gain for each 7 pounds of feed consumed. You can easily calculate your feed cost per pound of gain by multiplying your cost of corn and SLR times 7. For example if corn is $2.20 per bushel and Trendsetter SLR is $180 per ton, your cost of feed is:
   • Corn $2.20/0.56 = $0.0393 per pound
   • SLR $180/2,000 = $0.09 per pound

Feed Cost Conversion

For cattle 750 pounds to 1,000 pounds, use Feed Ration 1 (F1)
At 75:25 we have a cost of 0.75($0.0393) + 0.25 ($0.09) = $0.0295 + $0.0225 = $0.52 per pound.

Therefore, at 7:1 conversion = 7 ($0.52 per pound) = $0.36 per pound of gain.

For cattle 1,000 pounds to finish, use Feed Ration 2 (F2)
At 87.5:12.5 we have a cost of .875($0.0393) = .125($0.09) = 3.44 + 1.13 = $0.0457 per pound of feed at 7:1 = 7 ($0.0457) = $0.032 per pound of gain. This is using on-farm corn prices.

Add your costs of grinding and mixing or the cost for delivery from MFA.

Add 3 to 4 cents per pound of gain for interest, marketing, shrink and hauling.

SUMMARY: With SLR you can use your own corn and finish cattle profitability without a lot of labor or investment. This year's prices are promising for finishing cattle. All you need is some hay and a creep feeder. Check with your MFA representative to see if you want to finish some cattle.