Cost Analysis of Cattle Feedlot Designs

A cost analysis of fixed and non-fixed costs of gain was conducted on 3 cattle feedlot designs. The three facility designs compared were conventional open pens (OPN), open pens with shelter over the feeding area (OS), and a monoslope confinement barn (MON). The OPN design was the least expensive facility to build and operate. However, because of poorer cattle performance (P < 0.05), it was not the most cost effective. The MON design had significantly higher operating costs when compared to the OPN or OS designs, especially for the tractor/spreader (P < 0.05), skid loader (P < 0.10), labor (P < 0.05), and straw (P < 0.05). The operating and fixed costs, combined, made the MON design the most expensive cost of gain design (P < 0.05). The OS design was the most expensive facility to build but with current feed prices and the cattle performance, it was the most cost effective cattle feeding design.