Updates on the Progress of the Carcass Merit Program

Click here to view photos from the current Carcass Merit Program

September 2, 2009 

The 2008-09 Minnesota Carcass Merit Program has come to a close.  All producers should have received their final payments and final reports.  If you have not, please contact Grant.  Also, feel free to contact Grant or Alfredo if you have questions regarding your final report or payment.

Your final summary reports and performance data for your cattle are included on your personal page under the participants tab. These are the same documents that you received in the mail. If you need your password or username, please contact Grant.

We are in the process of preparing for the 2009-10 Carcass Merit Program.  The program will again be held at two locations-Crookston and Rosemount.  If you are interested in the program, you may access the updated brochure on the right hand side of this page.  We will also be hosting two open houses to provide more information:  September 17 at 5 pm in Crookston and September 21 at 5 pm in Rosemount.

May 4, 2009 

After a long delay, the website has finally been updated with new producer and overall data under the Participants tab. 

We have begun marketing cattle, with three loads and 121 head being sold out of Rosemount so far.  Loads 1 and 3 both graded extremely well, with over 80% Choice in each load.  Load 2 was not quite as good, with approximately 55% Choice.  We now feed that we are fairly current with the cattle in this lot, and will likely not market any more cattle for at least two more weeks.

The heaviest heifers in Crookston are about ready to go to market, and we will begin sending them next week.  The heavy blocks (pens 9-16) will go first, with the lighter pens (pens 1-8) following about one month later.

All cattle have been marketed at JBS in Grand Island, NE.  We have been able to take advantage of Age and Source ID premiums of approximately $4.00/cwt of carcass, or between $25 and $35/head.  For qualifying cattle, we have also been able to take advantage of Certified Angus Beef premiums.

February 8, 2009 

The website has been updated with photos and performance reports.  Overall performance can be accessed through the participants page, and individual producer performance can be accessed through logging in on the participants page.  If there are problems, please contact Grant.

For those that are interested, the Beef Team will begin their annual Minnesota Cow/Calf Days this week.  This week we will be covering central and northern Minnesota with stops in Mora, Staples, Bagley, Lancaster, Baudette, and Grand Rapids.  Next week we will be in southern Minnesota with stops in Glenwood, Pipestone, Rochester, and New Prague.  More specific information on the program can be found on the Beef Team website link on the right side of this page.  

February 4, 2009  Rosemount

Cattle were weighed and some were implanted today in Rosemount.  Overall average weight was 907 lbs., 927 lbs for steers and 810 for heifers.  Steers, on average, gained 90 lbs since January 6, the last date we weighed calves.  Heifers gained, on average, 85 lbs since January 6.  This is slightly over 3 lbs/day for steers and slightly under 3 lbs/day for heifers.  Overall average daily gains through today are 3.48 lbs, with steers averaging 3.53 and heifers averaging 3.23 lbs.

We also implanted cattle that had weighed over 950 lbs and received a Synovex C implant in December.  These cattle will be targeted for market in about 90 days.

At this rate, it looks like the heaviest group of cattle will be ready for market in late April or early May.  Forty-five head weighed greater than 1,000 lbs, and should be at or near market weight in 60-90 days.  Most of the cattle weighed between 800 and 1,000 lbs, and should be ready for market in 100-150 days.

Thanks to our guests that were able to join us at UMore today:  Dan Fedders from Fort Dodge Animal Health, Mike Wallace, Jay Pierson, Tom, and Brad. 

January 7, 2009

Good news--after many delays and technical difficulties, you finally have something to see when you log in on the Participants page!  You should have received your username and password by email and/or US mail.  If not, please contact Grant.  Your pages will be updated as new data become available. 

The Calendar has also been updated with all of the upcoming work dates at Crookston and Rosemount.  Feel free to join us on any of these days.

We are still planning on having an open house update in late February or early March in both Crookston and Rosemount.  You will be notified when we finally settle on a date. 

January 6, 2009  Rosemount

Happy New Year! 

Today we weighed all calves at UMore in Rosemount.  The calves were heavier than we anticipated, certainly a good sign.  In addition to weighing, we also re-sorted some calves based on weight to begin to put together what may be marketing groups.  There were a number of calves that weighed greater than 1,000 lbs already, meaning that they should be ready for market in approximately 100-120 days, or sometime in late April or early May.  Now that we have a idea of where the cattle are in terms of weight, we can begin to look at contracting loads for spring and summer delivery.

Also, the heifers that were spayed in early December were implanted today with a Synovex C.

December 17, 2008  Crookston

Today we weighed and implanted heifers in Crookston.  Despite the sub-zero temperatures, the work went very well and we worked through all of the cattle in approximately three hours.  All heifers were implanted with a Synovex-C implant.  Synovex C is a product of Fort Dodage Animal Health that contains 100 mg progesterone and 10 mg estradiol benzoate. 

With today's efforts we now have the heifers allocated to their trial treatments.  The heifers are arranged in a 2 x 2 factorial treatment design for a total of four treatments.  The treatments are:  1)  Intact with a Synovex Choice terminal implant; 2) Intact with a Synovex Plus terminal implant;  3)  Spayed with a Synovex Choice terminal implant; or 4)  Spayed with a Synovex Plus terminal implant.  Re-implnating will take place in approximately 70 days, or sometime around the end of February or early March.  The heifers are currently on a 51 Mcal/cwt NEg diet composed primarily of corn silage, haylage, rolled corn, and supplement.  We recently purchased beet pulp and will begin to incorporate this into the ration and will continue to step the calves up to a high energy finishing ration of approximately 63 Mcal/cwt NEg.

December 3-4, 2008  Rosemount

On December 3, Dr. Daryl Meyer spayed all of the remaining intact heifers at the UMore Park program site.  Dr. Meyer and the Beef Team hosted a spaying clinic in which local vets and U of M Vet Students were able to observe and learn spaying techniques.  Approximately 20 vets and vet students attended the training.

After spaying, we re-vaccinated UMore Park program cattle with One Shot Ultra, BoviShield Gold, and a Valbazen drench for liver fluke control.  In addition, we measured temperatures of each animal.  Any animals that measured over 103.5 degrees F were treated with Excede.  We had approximately 20 head that received Excede treatment.  Calves were also implanted today.  Implants used were a Synovex C for any calf under 650 pound initial body weight and a Synovex Choice for any calf over 650 pound initial body weight.  These two implants are both products of Fort Dodge Animal Health.  Synovex C contains 100 mg progesterone and 10 mg estradiol benzoate.  Synovex Choice contains 100 mg trenbolone acetate and 14 mg estradiol benzoate.  

The calves are eating extremely well, and are continuing to be stepped up on feed.  We are stil using a diet consisting primarily of corn silage and modified distillers grains. 

December 2, 2008  Crookston

Today Dr. Daryl Meyer spayed half of the heifers in the program at NWROC in Crookston.  This was a step in preparing these heifers for our upcoming spayed vs. intact heifer experiment.  The spayed and intact heifers were split up within producer, so for each producer half of their heifers were spayed and half remained intact. 

All total, 70 heifers were spayed in about an hour.  Thanks to Dr. Meyer for making the trip and helping us out with this project.

November 26, 2008  Crookston

Re-vaccination and Valbazen treatment took place today in Crookston.  All cattle were re-vaccinated with BoviShield Gold 5 and One Shot Ultra and all received Valbazen for control of liver flukes.  Temperatures were taken for all calves, and any that measured over 103.5 were treated with Excede.  Very few calves (approximately 5) required Excede treatment.  The calves appear to be in excellent health and are eating and gaining very well.

November 5-6, 2008  Rosemount

Cattle were received Nov 5-6 in Rosemount for the 2008-09 Carcass Merit Program.  All total, 145 head arrived from producers and an additional 83 were deliverd from Crookston for a total of 228 head.  Of the 228 head, 180 were steers and 48 heifers.  Over the course of the two days, all cattle received Draxxin, BoviShield Gold, One Shot Ultra, and a Dectomax pour-on.  All cattle were also weighed and their temperature was recorded along with home tag, CMP tag, and distinct markings.  The calves were sorted into six pens by weight, sex, and color.  The six pens are:  1)  Lightweight mixed steers and spayed heifers; 2) Intact heifers; 3) Red intermediate weight steers; 4) Black intermediate weight steers; 5) Red heavyweight steers; 6) Black heavyweight steers.  The weather took a turn on November 6 with a drop in temperature and wet condiations, but it seems as if the cattle are making it through without problems.

November 3-4, 2008  Crookston

Cattle were received Nov 3-4 in Crookston for the 2008-09 Carcass Merit Program.  All total, 212 head were received.  Of these, 83 head of steers and spayed heifers were shipped to UMore Park in Rosemount.  After shipment, 139 heifers remained in Crookston. Of the 228 head, 180 were steers and 48 heifers.  Over the course of the two days, all cattle received Draxxin, BoviShield Gold, One Shot Ultra, and a Dectomax pour-on.  Over the course of the two days, all cattle received Draxxin, BoviShield Gold, One Shot Ultra, and a Dectomax pour-on.  All cattle were also weighed and their temperature was recorded along with home tag, CMP tag, and distinct markings.

November 3, 2008

Great news-all 2008-09 CMP producers are now age and source verified through Global Animal Management.  This will allow us to take advantage of price premiums that may be available when marketing these cattle at the completion of the program.