Economics of alternative beef genotypes and cattle management/marketing systems /
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| Other Authors: | , , |
| Format: | Thesis Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
1980.
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | ProQuest, Abstract Link to OAKTrust copy |
| Abstract: | This dissertation used the Texas A&M Cattle Production Systems Model to answer the question of "What type of cattle is most profitable?" and "Can a cow-calf producer's profits be increased by maintaining ownership of calves through the stocker and feeding stages?" A budgeting analysis was conducted for a representative Central Texas cow-calf producer who faced no constraint (other than price) in acquiring rented small grain pasture and employing a custom feedlot to finish weaner calves produced by the cow-calf operations. The model was used to simulate a number of calves differentiated by sex, age, weight, and condition from each herd. The nine herds differed by mature cow size and potential milk production. Post-weaning production/marketing options included: (1) selling weaner calves; (2) placing weaner calves directly into a feedlot for finishing; (3) placing the calves on winter pasture for four months and then placing them into a feedlot for finishing; (4) placing the calves on winter pasture for seven months and then selling them; and (5) placing the calves on winter pasture for seven months and then placing them into a feedlot for finishing. Each calf class was priced separately based on feeder or slaughter cattle pricing equations which accounted for sale month, year, weight, grade, sex, and condition. Costs were adjusted to reflect the cost level of each particular year under analysis. Net returns to land and management were computed for each calf crop of the 1972-1978 period for each production option. In addition, a decision model was developed to determine the expected net returns of retained ownership for each individual calf class based on using (1) the current slaughter cattle price as a forecast, (2) USDA slaughter cattle forecast, and (3) a positive hedging margin. The findings were the post-weaning operations had lower cost per pound of gain than cow-calf operations. While none of the post-weaning production systems were consistently most profitable, the fixed system of always placing the weaner calves directly in the feedlot had the highest average returns... |
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| Item Description: | Typescript (photocopy). Vita. "Major subject: Agricultural Economics." |
| Physical Description: | xx, 243 leaves ; 29 cm |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (leaves 191-196). |