Shumaker Herefords
For the last 10 years steer calves have been fed out through the American Hereford Association's Genetic Outreach Program/National Hereford Feedout (GOP/NHF). The calves were shipped to the feedlot at 8 to 11 months of age and were harvested at 13 to 16 months of age. At the packer, actual carcass data was collected on individuals and reported with the feedlot performance. This information combined with data on the replacement heifers allows identification of the combination of genetics to produce superior feedlot performance. The calves have returned a profit for 9 out of the 10 years through a wide range of cattle prices, feed costs and weather! Note that the steers in both the 2009 winter and spring tests topped the feed conversion rankings. The spring steers also topped the net return ranking.
Last year the cull heifers were also sent to the feedlot. They preformed well with 70% grading Choice.
| Year | Head | Days | Marbling | Fat | Ribeye | Yield | Average | Feed | Net | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | on | Score | Thickness | Area | Grade | Daily | Conversion | Return | ||
| Feed | Gain | |||||||||
| 2000(winter) | 6 | 165 | 4.7 | 0.5 | 11.6 | 3.3 | 3.28 | 5.12 | $13.49 | Lane County Feeders |
| 2001(winter) | 9 | 188 | 4.9 | 0.6 | 11.6 | 3.8 | 3.71 | 5.22 | $112.58 | North Platte Feeders |
| 2002(winter) | 9 | 153 | 4.5 | 0.7 | 12.8 | 3.6 | 3.79 | 5.91 | -$15.36 | North Platte Feeders |
| 2003(winter) | 10 | 172 | 4.7 | 0.6 | 13.0 | 3.3 | 3.83 | 4.90 | $151.39 | North Platte Feeders |
| 2004(winter) | 10 | 148 | 4.1 | 0.5 | 13.1 | 2.4 | 3.31 | 4.93 | $8.76 | Royal Beef |
| 2005(winter) | 10 | 142 | 4.4 | 0.4 | 12.5 | 2.6 | 3.68 | 4.58 | $152.20 | Royal Beef |
| 2006(winter) | 17 | 179 | 4.6 | 0.5 | 13.8 | 2.9 | 3.80 | 4.90 | $103.24 | Royal Beef |
| 2007(winter) | 15 | 146 | 4.5 | 0.5 | 12.2 | 3.0 | 3.51 | 4.52 | $154.11 | Royal Beef |
| 2008(winter) | 12 | 155 | 4.4 | 0.4 | 13.2 | 2.7 | 3.84 | 5.04 | $40.95 |
Royal Beef |
| 2008(spring) | 11 | 136 | 4.9 | 0.5 | 11.8 | 3.1 | 4.25 | 4.26 | $128.52 | Royal Beef |
| 2009(winter) | 15 | 164 | 4.7 | 0.4 | 12.9 | 2.7 | 3.65 | 4.51 | $10.21 | Royal Beef |
| 2009(spring) | 15 | 169 | 5.1 | 0.5 | 12.5 | 3.1 | 3.93 | 4.37 | $59.25 | Royal Beef |
| 2009(spring)(heifers) | 11 | 165 | 5.5 | 0.5 | 12.2 | 2.8 | 3.39 | 4.92 | $39.49 | Royal Beef |
Consignment Ranking in the Winter 2009 GOP (National Hereford Feedout)(Steers)
| Consignment | Head | Marbling | Fat | Ribeye | Yield | Average | Feed | Carcass | Net |
| Rank | Count | Score | Thickness | Area | Grade | Daily Gain | Conversion | Weight | Return |
| 1 | 5.00 | 0.30 | 15.20 | 2.30 | 4.20 | 4.51 | 874 | $72.35 | |
| 2 | 5.00 | 0.31 | 14.80 | 2.30 | 4.00 | 4.67 | 864 | $55.50 | |
| 3 | 4.90 | 0.35 | 14.40 | 2.40 | 4.00 | 4.69 | 817 | $40.17 | |
| 4 | 4.80 | 0.37 | 14.20 | 2.40 | 3.90 | 4.84 | 799 | $34.40 | |
| 5 | 4.80 | 0.37 | 13.90 | 2.50 | 3.80 | 4.85 | 792 | $10.64 | |
| 6 | 15 | 4.70 | 0.38 | 13.70 | 2.50 | 3.80 | 4.92 | 773 | $10.21 |
| 7 | 4.70 | 0.39 | 13.70 | 2.50 | 3.80 | 4.96 | 749 | $5.81 | |
| 8 | 4.60 | 0.39 | 13.40 | 2.70 | 3.70 | 5.04 | 747 | -$10.69 | |
| 9 | 4.50 | 0.44 | 13.40 | 2.70 | 3.60 | 5.52 | 733 | -$72.65 | |
| 10 | 4.50 | 0.46 | 13.00 | 2.80 | 3.60 | 5.78 | 723 | -$92.23 | |
| 11 | 4.50 | 0.48 | 13.00 | 2.80 | 3.20 | 6.33 | 697 | -$118.40 | |
| 12 | 4.40 | 0.51 | 12.90 | 3.00 | 3.10 | 9.26 | 682 | -$220.80 |
Consignment Ranking in the Spring 2008 GOP (National Hereford Feedout)(Steers)
| Consignment | Head | Marbling | Fat | Ribeye | Yield | Average | Feed | Carcass | Net |
| Rank | Count | Score | Thickness | Area | Grade | Daily Gain | Conversion | Weight | Return |
| 1 | 5.90 | 0.32 | 15.60 | 2.00 | 4.10 | 4.37 | 877 | $59.25 | |
| 2 | 5.30 | 0.37 | 14.50 | 2.40 | 4.10 | 4.52 | 871 | $43.97 | |
| 3 | 5.20 | 0.39 | 14.40 | 2.50 | 4.00 | 4.56 | 849 | $24.75 | |
| 4 | 5.10 | 0.44 | 14.40 | 2.60 | 3.90 | 4.85 | 837 | $9.21 | |
| 5 | 5.10 | 0.45 | 13.70 | 2.90 | 3.90 | 5.00 | 831 | -$0.64 | |
| 6 | 5.00 | 0.46 | 13.60 | 2.90 | 3.90 | 5.14 | 828 | -$21.38 | |
| 7 | 5.00 | 0.47 | 13.40 | 3.00 | 3.90 | 5.15 | 821 | -$23.18 | |
| 8 | 15 | 4.90 | 0.50 | 13.30 | 3.00 | 3.80 | 5.38 | 805 | -$30.35 |
| 9 | 4.90 | 0.50 | 13.20 | 3.10 | 3.70 | 5.67 | 786 | -$35.09 | |
| 10 | 4.80 | 0.51 | 13.20 | 3.10 | 3.60 | 5.78 | 758 | -$120.17 | |
| 11 | 4.70 | 0.52 | 12.70 | 3.10 | 3.50 | 5.90 | 731 | -$149.87 | |
| 12 | 4.40 | 0.52 | 12.50 | 3.10 | 3.30 | 6.14 | 673 | -$209.16 | |
| 13 | 4.20 | 0.58 | 12.40 | 3.30 | 3.20 | 7.13 | 650 | -$222.15 |
Consignment Ranking in the Spring 2008 GOP (National Hereford Feedout)(Heifers)
| Consignment | Head | Marbling | Fat | Ribeye | Yield | Average | Feed | Carcass | Net |
| Rank | Count | Score | Thickness | Area | Grade | Daily Gain | Conversion | Weight | Return |
| 1 | 6.20 | 0.41 | 13.10 | 2.40 | 3.40 | 4.56 | 701 | $47.30 | |
| 2 | 5.60 | 0.46 | 13.00 | 2.70 | 3.40 | 4.73 | 694 | $39.49 | |
| 3 | 11 | 5.60 | 0.49 | 12.80 | 2.80 | 3.30 | 4.92 | 682 | $34.07 |
| 4 | 5.40 | 0.51 | 12.20 | 2.90 | 3.10 | 5.63 | 678 | -$4.95 | |
| 5 | 4.80 | 0.54 | 12.20 | 3.00 | 2.80 | 7.13 | 678 | -$138.22 | |
| 6 | 4.70 | 0.56 | 12.20 | 3.20 | 2.70 | 7.51 | 597 | -$293.62 |
According to data compiled by Kansas State University on closeouts from Kansas feedlots in June 2009, the ADG for steers was 3.40 lb/day with a conversion of 5.94 lb/lb (dry basis) and the average cost of gain was $0.79/lb. The average cost of gain (total) for the GOP steers was $0.69/lb. That translates to a savings of $65 per head feeding Herefords compared to the average (black) feeder steer. the ADG for heifers was 3.07 lb/day with a conversion of 6.24 lb/lb (dry basis) and the average cost of gain was $0.83/lb. The average cost of gain (total) for the GOP heifers was $0.64/lb. Feeders that have been chasing CAB premiums might want to reconsider how cost effective that strategy actually is!