Rising feed prices affect backgrounding decisions

As feed prices rise, calf prices tend to trend lower, according to Karl Hoppe, the North Dakota State University Extension livestock systems specialist based at NDSU’s Carrington Research Extension Center. Feed prices have risen since last summer. For example, corn prices have increased $1 per bushel in some North Dakota markets. Backgrounding cattle is a management and feeding program in which cattle are fed for a period of time after weaning and before they are placed in finishing feedlots. Backgrounding calves are similar to stocker cattle except in the northern tier states, where snow covers the ground in the winter and cattle are fed a forage-based ration instead of being sent to “stocker” grazing. Read more at Drovers…