Cull cows tagged last year to be marketed after the first of this year are not included. The demo herd had 166 cows in the Jan. 1 inventory, compared to the benchmark herds' average of 177 cows. Pay weight dollars for steer calves is the market price of steer calves used in the analysis. If the rancher actually sold his calves at weaning, this is his reported sale price. If the ranchers retains his calves, it is the average North Dakota price received for steer calves during the week that the calves were weaned, adjusted for the weaning weight of his steer calves.
Marketing appears to be a weakness for the demo herd.
Capital invested in breeding herd, beef cow facilities, beef cow equipment, and pastureland represents the total capital investment in the beef cow profit center. Debts on farmland and farming machinery are not included. Accrual income is the sum of the cash income plus capital gains income adjusted for inventory changes. Inventory changes can be either positive or negative, depending on management strategies. Total feed cost was 8 percent higher for the demo herd than for the average of the benchmark herds.