All fees were deducted, and the producer received the balance. Feedlot information reported included average daily gain, total cost of gain, slaughter value, and net profit. Carcass information collected included carcass weight, ribeye area, fat thickness, yield grade, and quality grade. Complete information on every animal was made available to each producer to evaluate their cattle and make necessary changes so their production programs might better fit the needs of the industry. Project averages shown in Table 1 serve as a basis for comparing data from cattle owned by individual producers.
Averages can be useful in developing budgets and calculating breakevens.
The figures in the monetary categories are a function of the economic conditions in the industry. Final value and profit per head are also functions of economic conditions in the industry. Prices in this summary were similar to prices offered for other cattle at the same time. From 259,717 animals graded nationally by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association Carcass Data Service. Some 40 percent of the cattle fell within the 3.01 to 3.5 pounds per day range, with 23.75 percent of the group gaining more than 3.5 pounds per day.