Good evening!  Let's look at some more FUN WITH MATH from Ogallala last week. 

627# top-quality steer CALVES went for $118.00 or $739.86

683# top-quality steers went for $100.00 or $683.00

These two drafts are telling us something incredibly important.  They are telling us where the "Edge of the Cliff" is right now in Western Nebraska.  We can clearly see that a LIGHT 6-weight is heavily favored and OVERVALUED in the market.  We can also see that moving up a mere 50 pounds in weight can be devastating.  Note that the 683# steers brought $56.86 LESS per head than the 627# steers.  That means that in gaining those 56 pounds, you would have to pay the market a SERVICE CHAGE of $56.86 for the pleasure of putting that weight on the animal. 

Now, I'm no math genius, but isn't that a negative cash flow of $1 per pound for each pound gained?  NEGATIVE CASH FLOW.  And we haven't even attacked the cost of putting those 56 pounds on the animal, which we will have to stand in addition to the "recreational charge" of $1.00 per pound.  Let's say your cost of gain is running $0.75 per pound - okay, now you're looking at a grand total of $1.75 per pound to gain that weight.

I keep pounding and pounding on this point because the incompetent mainstream analysts and Ph.D.s keep telling you guys that weight gain is how you make money on cattle, and the more weight gain the better . . . and it is killing you.  They are killing you.  You CANNOT project the grain production mentality of "bushels, bushels, bushels" onto the livestock industry as "pounds, pounds, pounds" and expect it to work.  It doesn't.  Just ask a mainstream feedlot manager. 

Never hold cattle in inventory that are going to DEVALUE as they gain weight.  Never put on weight when the market will not cover the cost of that gain.  Let the guys who subscribe to that forecasting outfit in Denver do that.  YOU are called to greatness and excellence.  YOU are called to consistent profitability.