264 Dakota Feeder Calf Show: Twenty-two years of producer retained ownership at NDSU

Abstract Retained ownership of weaned steers has been limited in North Dakota. With annual reductions to cattle on feed numbers, genetic potential continues to leave the state each fall as North Dakota-born steers are fed across Central and Southern Plains States. In October 2001, the Dakota Feeder Calf Show (DFCS) relocated to the North Dakota State University Carrington Research Extension Center (CREC). The DFCS provides livestock producers the opportunity to consign spring-born steer calves to be fed to finish while receiving performance, carcass, and economic data to make informed management decisions, such as genetic selection. Calves consigned to the DFCS are marketed on a value-based grid and producers are afforded premiums for exceptional carcass qualities. The aim of this analysis is to determine changes in growth performance and carcass characteristics of steers. From Fall 2001 to Spring 2023, 140 consigners delivered 3,913 steers to be backgrounded and finished at the CREC. To identify trends throughout time within the dataset, independent variables, including initial bodyweight (IBW), days on feed (DOF), final bodyweight (FBW), marbling score (MS), hot carcass weight (HCW), rib fat (RF), ribeye area (REA), USDA Yield Grade (YG), total weight gain (TWG), and average daily gain (ADG) were regressed against year and DOF and correlations among independent variables were calculated using the REG and CORR procedures of SAS 9.4. No differences in IBW (P = 0.46), REA (P = 0.70), and ADG (P = 0.69) were detected. Days on feed (P < 0.0001), FBW (P = 0.0012), MS (P = 0.0006), HCW (P = 0.0017), RF (P = 0.0023), YG (P = 0.0007), and TWG (P = 0.0015) have increased linearly throughout the 22-year retained ownership program. The relationship of MS and RF are regressed MS = 263+(373*RF; P < 0.0001). Increasing DOF has resulted in linearly increased FBW (P = 0.012), MS (P = 0.0009), HCW (P = 0.0164), RF (P = 0.0193), YG (P = 0.0042), and TWG (P = 0.007).