The effects of sex (ram vs wether) and management system on market returns were investigated utilizing 256 February-March born lambs produced at the Antelope Range Field Station, Buffalo, South Dakota. Lambs weaned in early June and finished on a high concentrate ration made superior gains to either lambs weaned a month later or lambs left on native range with their dams. Early weaned-drylot finished ram lambs were heavier when marketed and grossed more total dollars per head than any of the other management-sex combinations, although they brought less per pound than early weaned-drylot finished wethers. Market alternatives that avoid such differential in favor of the intact group. In general, short-fed lambs did not return enough additional dollars to offset feed cost. Discounts on ram lambs compared to wether tended to be higher in the short-fed and all pasture system

Slyter, A. L.

English

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South Dakota State UniversityOpen PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access InstitutionalRepository and Information ExchangeSouth Dakota Sheep Field Day Proceedings andResearch Reports, 1979 Animal Science Reports1979Effect of Management System on Lamb ReturnA. L. SlyterSouth Dakota State UniversityFollow this and additional works at: http://openprairie.sdstate.edu/sd_sheepday_1979This Report is brought to you for free and open access by the Animal Science Reports at Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access InstitutionalRepository and Information Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in South Dakota Sheep Field Day Proceedings and Research Reports, 1979 byan authorized administrator of Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange. For moreinformation, please contact michael.biondo@sdstate.edu.Recommended CitationSlyter, A. L., "Effect of Management System on Lamb Return" (1979). South Dakota Sheep Field Day Proceedings and Research Reports,1979. Paper 9.http://openprairie.sdstate.edu/sd_sheepday_1979/9EFFECT OF MANAGEMENT SYSTEM ON LAMB RETURN (Prog ress Report)  Depart m e n t  of  An i m al Sc i e n ce Experi m e n t  Stat i o n  Summary A .  L. S lyter  So u t h  Dakota State U n i vers i ty A.S. Series 79-17 The e f f e c t s  o f  sex ( ram vs we t he r )  and mana gement syst em on market returns wer e  inve s t igated  u t i l i z ing 2 5 6  February-Ma rch b o rn lamb s p roduced at  the Ant elope Range F i e ld S t a t ion , Buf falo , South Dako t a . Lamb s weaned in early June and f in i shed on a h i gh concent rate  rat ion made super i o r  gains to ei ther lambs weaned a mont h  l a t e r  or  lamb s lef t on nat ive range with the i r  dams . Ear ly weaned-drylot fini shed ram lambs were heavie r when marke ted  and gro s s ed mor e  t o t a l  dollars per head t han any of the o t he r  mana gement - sex comb inat i ons , a l though they b rough t l e s s  p e r  pound t han e arly weaned-drylot f ini shed we t he r s . Market a l t e rna t ives that avo id such d i s c ount s  on young , adequa t ely fini she d ram lamb s would inc rease t h i s  d i f feren t i a l  in f avo r o f  the int act  group . I n  gene ral , sho r t - fed lamb s did  not return enough add i t ional do l lars to o f f s e t  feed cos t . Discount s on ram lamb s compared t o  wet he r  t ended t o  be  hi gher in the sho r t - fed and all  pasture  s y s t em .  Int roduc t ion Ear ly weaning of range l amb s at 70 to 90  days of age and f in ishing in the drylot o f fers  an a l t e rnat ive management sys tem for the range sheep operat o r . H i ghe r ewe s t o cking rat e s , less predator lo s se s  and a h i ghe r percentage o f  finished marke t lamb s are s ome o f  t he p o s s ible advant ages o f  t h i s  sy s t em . In add i t ion , i n t ac t ram lamb s have b e en s hown t o  gain fas t e r  and have leaner carcas se s .  A maj or  cons iderat ion o f  s uch a s y s t em i s  the p r o f  i t  or  loss  realized comp ared t o  the convent i onal app roach o f  s e l l ing gra s s  lambs in the fall . Th i s  s tudy was ini t ia t ed t o  compare the e f f e c t  o f  t h r e e  management syst ems and sex ( ram v s  we the r ) o f  lamb on d o l l a r  return . Exp e r imen t a l  Procedure Two hund red f i f ty- s ix Feb ruary-March born mal e  lamb s were ut i l i zed  in t h i s  s tudy during the summe rs o f  1 9 7 7  and  1 9 7 8 . App roxima t e ly one -hal f  o f  t he lamb s wer e  cas t ra t ed w i t h in 1 week o f  b ir t h . Ewes were lambed at  the Ant e lope Ran ge F i e l d  S t at i on , Bu f fa lo , South Dako t a , in a typ ical  range shed  l amb ing sys t em ,  with  the ewes and lamb s go ing back on  win t e r  range as s o o n  as snow cover permi t t ed . June 1 t he l amb s were randomly a l lo t t ed to one of t hree management s ys t ems . One- th ird o f  the lamb s were Prepared for  Sheep Day , June 8,  1 9 7 9 . 4 0  - 2 -sorted from the i r  dams in early June and t rucked t o  B rookings and p laced on feed in d ry lo t at  the Sheep Res earch Uni t . One - t hird of  the lamb s were weaned in la t e  June ( 1 9 78 ) o r  early Ju ly ( 1 9 7 7 )  and moved t o  t he drylot in Brookings fo r fee d ing . The remainder were al lowed t o  graze w i th the i r  dams on nat ive range unt i l  s o ld in early t o  mid-Augus t .  Lamb s in the drylo t were b rough t  t o  a ful l feed o f  a 2 0 %  chopped a l f a l fa hay-80 %  concen t rat e rat ion a s  rapidly a s  po s s ible . Drylot  lamb s were shorn as soon as  p o s s ib le a f t e r  arrival at the feedlo t . Live wei ght of lamb s f inished in the drylot syst ems has not b een corrected for  f leece we i gh t  removed or  marke t rece i p t s  adj u s t ed for fleece v�lue . Lamb s rema ining in the pasture s y s t em were no t sho rn prior t o  sale . Ini t i al l ive wei gh t s  were t aken a t  t he An t e lope Range S t a t ion . Int e rme d i a t e  we i ght s we re t aken at t he i r  re s pe c t ive locat ions prior  to movemen t  of the s econd group t o  B rookings . Final  weigh t s  were sc ale we i gh t s  at  the t ime o f  sale  a t  the Sioux Fa lls  S t ockyard s . Lamb s were s o r t ed by s ex w i t h in mana gement sys tem on arrival at the  yard s . Fur t h e r  sort ing wi th in t h i s  group ing wa s done by the sales rep resent a t ive if he fe l t  it was advi sable . Lamb s f rom a l l  three mana gement s y s t ems were marke ted by t h e  same commis s ion f i rm t h e  same day via auc t i on . Lamb s go ing d i re c t  to marke t from Bu f falo  were wei ghed at  the t ime o f  sale at  S ioux Fa l l s  within 30 hours of l oad ing . Lamb s out o f  t he drylot  a t  Brookings were acro s s  the scale within 6 hours a f t e r  leaving t h e  lo t . Al l l amb s  were t rans ported t h e  same t o t a l  d i s t ance during the course o f  the expe r iment f rom the p lace o f  b ir t h  to marke t . Resul t s  and Dis cus s ion Res ul t s  of the 1 9 7 7  t r ia l  are shown in t ab l e  1 and t he 1 9 7 8 t r ial  in t able 2 .  Int e rmed i a t e  wei gh t s  favored lamb s in sho r t - fed and a l l  pas t u re s y s t ems . Fina l we i gh t s  we re heavier for early weaned-d rylot f ini shed lamb s . However ,  p a r t  of t h i s  di f fe rence in 1 9 7 7  can b e  ac counted for in the d i f fe rence in ini t ia l  we i gh t  present a t  the  s t ar t  of the t r ial . Sho r t - fed lamb s had the l igh t e s t  f inal wei gh t s  in 1 9 7 7 . Apparent ly , the t ime on feed ( 34 day s )  in 1 9 7 7  was not su f f i c i ent for t hem t o  re gain ship ping re lated  losse s , e t c . In 1 9 7 8 , sho r t - fed lamb s were int e rme d i a t e  i n  f inal wei gh t  t o  e a r l y  weaned-drylot f inished and a l l  pas ture lamb s . In general , ram lamb s were heavier  in all  management s y s t ems and at a l l  we i gh p e r iods than wether lamb s . Ram lamb s brough t  less  per  hundredwe i gh t  than wethers with the larges t dockage in short - fed and a l l  pas ture s y s t ems . Ligh t e r , under finished ram lamb s received the heav ie s t  dockage on the marke t . In s p i t e  o f  the d i s coun t  on rams , ram lamb s in t he early weaned­drylo t system brough t  the mo s t  t o t a l  dollars per  head . Marke t al t e rnat ives that avo i d  d i scoun t s  on young , ade qua t e l y  f ini shed ram lamb s would increase this d i f ferent ial  in favor of the  int ac t  group . Ret urn per  head ove r cont ro l we thers (wethers in the a l l  pas ture s y s t em )  varied f rom - $ 4 . 7 6 t o  $ 1 2 . 0 9 ,  no t cons idering feed or yardage charges . In genera l , feed c o s t s  were no t re covered in sho r t - fed lamb s . A margin ove r feed cos t s  was s hown for the early weaned-drylot  sys t em w i th an advant a ge for ram vs wether lamb s . No p as ture charge has b een cha r ged a ga ins t the  a l l  pas t ure lamb s , which mus t  also  b e  cons ide red in any f inal economic analys i s . 4 1  � N Tab le l .  E f f e c t  o f  Man·agement Sys t em on Lamb Ret urn 1 9 7 7  Trial Treatment Ear ly weaned-d rylot f ini shed Sho r t - fed All  pas t ur e  Days on feed 70 34 0 Sex Ram We t her · Ram We t her Ram Wet her Ini t ia l  wt . ,  lb . 7 5 . 1  ( 2 4 )a 6 7 . 9  ( 2 3 ) 65 . 2  ( 26 )  64 . 4  ( 2 5 )  6 3 . 4 ( 25 )  64 . 5  ( 24 )  Int e rmedi ate  wt . ,  lb . 7 5 . 5  ( 2 3 )  7 1 . 9  ( 2 0 )  84 . 4  ( 2 7 ) 83 . 0  ( 25 )  8 2 . 8  ( 2 5 )  8 1 . 1  ( 2 3 )  Fina l  wt . ,  lb . b 1 06 . 1 ( 2 3 )  98 . 3  ( 20 )  85 . 2 ( 26 ) 8 1 . 9  ( 24 )  89 . 0  ( 25 )  84 . 4  ( 2 3 )  P r ice  rece ived / cwt . , $ 5 1 . 1 2 54 . 7 7  4 7 . 7 0 5 3 . 2 8  4 6 . 86  49 . 9 6  Per head value , $ 54 . 2 3 5 3 . 8 1  40 . 64 4 3 . 6 2 4 1 . 7 0  4 2  . 1 4 Return over cont ro l wet hers /head , $ 1 2 . 0 9 1 1 . 6 7  - 1 . 5 0 1 . 48 - . 44 . 00 Number  lo s t  1 3 1 1 1 1 Average da i ly feed , lb . 2 . 7  2 . 5  2 . 5  2 . 4  To t a l  feed , lb . 1 8 9 1 7 5 85 82 Cos t of fe ed , $ . 0 3 / lb . 5 . 6 7 5 . 2 5 2 . 5 5 2 . 4 6 : Numbers  in parenthe s i s  are numbers o f  animals . Scale  wei gh t  a t  S ioux Fal l s  marke t . No cred i t  given f o r  woo l  sho rn f rom e arly weaned-drylot f ini shed and s hort - fed lamb s . VJ � VJ Tab le 2 .  E f fe c t  o f  Management Sy s t em on Lamb Return 1 9 7 8  Tri a l  Treatment Ea rly weaned-d rylo t  finished Sho r t - fed All pas t ure Days on feed 6 3  4 0  0 S ex Ram We t her  Ram We t he r Ram Wet he r Ini t ia l  wt . ,  lb . 69 . 4  ( 2 0 )a 6 2 . 7  ( 1 7 )  6 1 . 1  ( 1 7 )  63 . 0  ( 1 7 )  66 . 8 ( 2 1 )  66 . 4 ( 1 7 )  I n t e rmed i a t e wt . ,  lb . 7 4 . 6  ( 1 9 )  7 3 . 1  ( 1 7 )  7 1 . 6  ( 1 7 )  74 . 6  ( 1 7 ) 7 9 . 8  ( 2 1 )  7 9 . 2 ( 1 7 )  F inal wt . ,  lb . b 1 1 3 . 7 ( 1 9 )  9 8 . 8  ( 1 7 )  1 00 .  6 ( 1 6 )  9 5 . 6  ( 1 7 )  8 3 . 3  ( 2 1 )  82 . 4 ( 1 7 )  P r i c e  rece ived / cwt . ,  $ 5 5 . 2 2 5 8 . 5 0  5 5 . 9 7 58 . 9 5 60 . 00 66 . 5 0 Per head value , $ 6 2 . 7 8 5 7 . 8 1 5 6 . 3 2 56 . 3 5  5 0 . 00 54 . 7 6 Re turn over con t rol wet he r s /head , $ 8 . 02 3 . 05 1 . 5 6  1 .  5 9  -4 . 7 6 . 00 Number  los t 1 0 1 0 0 0 Average daily feed , lb . 2 . 5  3 . 2  2 . 9 2 . 8  To t a l  feed , lb . 1 5 7 . 5  20 1 .  6 1 1 6 .  0 1 1 2 . 0  Cos t o f  feed , $ . 04 / lb . 6 . 3 0 8 . 06 4 . 64 4 . 4 8 �· Numbers in parenthe s i s  are numbers o f  animals . Scale  we i gh t  at  S ioux Fal l s· ma rke t . No cred i t  given f o r  woo l shorn from early weane d-drylot  f inished and s ho rt - fed l amb s . � 

Effect of Management System on Lamb Return

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Effect of Management System on Lamb Return

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