Vagaries Of Weather Affected
Ranch To Rail Feedlot Program

By David Bowser

AMARILLO — Weather caused problems for the 1997-98 Ranch to Rail cattle program, says the coordinator of the seven year-old project.

More than 1000 head of cattle from 103 ranches went on feed at Randall County Feedyard between Amarillo and Canyon beginning Oct. 21, 1997. The first blizzard to hit the Texas Panhandle came through on Oct. 25, says Dr. Ted McCollum, beef cattle specialist with the Texas Agricultural Extension Service and coordinator of the northern Texas program. A similar program is mirrored at Hondo Creek Feedyard near Corpus Christi for the southern part of the state.

The annual program places cattle in a feedyard setting and allows producers to see how their cattle perform and to get carcass trait data back on those cattle after they've been slaughtered.

"It's an information feedback program," McCollum says. "It's an opportunity for cattle producers to place their cattle in a feedyard and see the performance of their cattle in terms of health, weight gains and carcass traits. It's not a contest."

When the program first started in 1991, it was conducted only in the Panhandle. About 600 head of cattle were entered. The number of cattle peaked several years ago at 3200 head in both north and south programs. The last two years, it's leveled off between 1800 and 2000 head. This year there were about 1900 head in both programs, 1019 of those in the Panhandle.

As of May 12, 690 head of the Ranch to Rail cattle have gone to slaughter at IBP in Amarillo.

"We still have over 300 head of cattle left out there to kill," McCollum says. "We're behind compared to previous years."

In addition to the weather that caused performance problems early in the feeding program, the cattle in the program came in two weeks later last fall than they normally do, McCollum says.

The average daily gain of the cattle early in the period was about six-tenths of a pound less this year than last year because of the weather.

"The weather set us back quite a bit," McCollum admits.

In addition to the first blizzard, the feedyard suffered others about every 14 days until mid-March, slowing the feeding process.

The cattle coming in last fall averaged 629 pounds.

"That is about what we run each year," he says. "We suggest people ship them in weighing between 500 and 800 pounds."

Despite the guidelines, however, McCollum says in the three years he has been involved in the program, they have never turned any cattle down for being outside those parameters.

"On average we get them between 620 and 630 pounds," he says.

The influence of the weather upon cattle performance shows up readily, McCollum says, when they compare the average daily gain for the cattle from their late October arrival through the first re-implant in January.

This year, the average daily gain was 2.84 pounds per day compared to last year's 3.44 pounds per day. During the same period, the cattle were fed 6.01 pounds of dry matter for each pound they gained compared to 4.84 pounds of dry matter for each pound they gained last year. It took a lot of feed just to maintain body heat this winter that was turned to gain last year.

Of the cattle slaughtered to date, final liveweights have averaged about 1221 pounds, but the liveweight range of those cattle has been from 910 pounds to 1540 pounds.

Carcass weights have averaged 761 pounds. The carcass weight range is from 583 pounds to 980 pounds. The heaviest carcass so far this year is below the heaviest carcass they've seen in past years, an indication that at least some of the cattle that are outside packer parameters are being eliminated from the country's herds.

Backfat for the cattle slaughtered to date averaged l.38 inches. Data from past programs shows an average of four inches.

Ribeyes on the carcasses so far have averaged 13.5 square inches, ranging from 10 square inches to 17.9 square inches.

The weather during the 1997-98 program also affected the sickness rate among the cattle this year. About 27 percent were treated at least one time for health problems versus 18 percent the year before.

There were 274 cattle treated at least one time for illness, for a 27 percent pull rate.

"Last year, the pull rate was about 18 percent," McCollum says.

The weather, again, seemed to be the primary factor in the increased sickness, although McCollum admits that vaccination rates still aren't what they should be.

In a health program developed by Ranch to Rail calling for vaccinations 45 days prior to sending cattle to the feedyard, many of the health problems encountered in incoming cattle should be alleviated.

"What we've found over time is that not everybody follows directions that we give them," McCollum says. "We have a lot of people coming into the program every year, and it's a learning experience for them."

Consequently, health costs this year were up. Of the cattle that needed to be treated, an average of $26.82 worth of medicine was pumped into them.

"That does not include processing or vaccines," McCollum says. "This is just antibiotics."

About three-quarters of one percent of the cattle this year were railed for one reason or another before they could complete the program.

About 30 percent of the cattle so far have been Yield Grade 1. Slightly fewer than 52 percent were Yield Grade 2. Almost 18 percent were Yield Grade 3. Less than one-half percent were Yield Grade 4.

Forty-one and a half percent of the cattle slaughtered to date have graded Choice compared to between 30 and 35 percent in years past. Slightly more than 53 percent graded Select, and 5.4 percent graded Standard.

Most of the data collected so far, McCollum says, is in line with programs from the last seven years. He says there is little change in the averages because of the new cattlemen coming into the program.

"We get about 20 to 30 percent repeats," he says. "We have a lot of people coming into the program every year, and it's a learning experience for them."

The cattle left in the program will be sent to slaughter by May 26, McCollum says.

"Our first cattle were sent to the packing plant at 154 days on feed," McCollum says. "Our last cattle will go at 216 days on feed. That's the normal spread we'll see for Ranch to Rail cattle."

To participate in the program, producers must consign a minimum of five head, McCollum says. The cattle in the Ranch to Rail North program are fed at Friona Industries' Randall County Feedyard north of Canyon and slaughtered at IBP's beef packing plant northeast of Amarillo. The Ranch to Rail South cattle are fed at Hondo Creek Feeders north of Corpus Christi and are slaughtered at Sam Kane's packing plant at Corpus Christi.

All the carcass data for the north program is collected by Dr. Ted Montgomery with the Carcass Data Service at West Texas A&M University at Canyon.

"We use the federal-state marketing service to assign a value to those cattle when they enter the program each fall," McCollum says.

The program is sponsored by the Texas A&M Department of Animal Science, the Extension Service, Texas Purebred Cattle Alliance, and Texas Cattle Feeders Association.