An employee called a bunk reader drives the feedyard and checks consumption on every pen. The bunk reader then adjusts the amount of feed given to each pen to ensure no feed is wasted, yet the cattle receive all they can eat. Electronic scales on board the feed truck weigh the feed given to each pen to ensure you're only billed for the feed your cattle are given. Ration costs, usually priced per ton, vary from feedyard to feedyard, with moisture and net energy levels accounting for most of the variation. Feedyards typically charge for initial processing when the calves arrive at the feedyard, plus any medicine used when an animal needs individual treatment.
Interest rates vary and are usually based off the prime rate.
Billing varies between feedyards, but most bill monthly. Feedyards can handle cattle of all weights and types, ranging from 200 to 300 lb. However, because packers prefer animals between 1,100 and 1,200 lbs., the most common weight of cattle placed on feed ranges from 500 to 700 lbs. The amount of equity you'll be asked to put up will depend on your relationship with your lending institution. Pens vary in size, from pens that can hold fewer than 50 head to those that hold several hundred.