Feedlot pen floor design, management and production implications

Facilities for finishing cattle in North America include open lots with either earthen or solid pen floors, and confinement barns with either a bed pack or a deep pit. Confinement barn facili­ties are typically found in areas that receive a greater amount of precipitation, and actually represent a relatively small propor­tion of the total cattle on feed in North America. Currently, the most common feedlot facility type would be an open lot with an earthen floor. However, the use of roller compacted con­crete has been identified as an economically viable product for amending feedlot pen floors to create a solid surface on which cattle are housed. The objective is to identify the pros and cons of roller compacted concrete as a pen floor surface, and discuss the management and production implication of this pen floor surface technology so that feedlot practitioners are equipped to have an informed discussion with their clients about the incor­poration of this product into their production systems.