The objective of this experiment was to conduct an economic evaluation of feedlot finished Red Angus young steers fed to reach slaughter weights (SW) of 340, 370, 400 and 430 kg (actual SW of: 340, 373, 401 and 434 kg). Animals spent 114, 144, 168 and 209 days to reach the target SW at 12, 13, 14 and 15 months of age, respectively. Animals were fed a diet containing 13.26% crude protein and a forage (corn silage) to concentrate ratio of 56:44 (dry matter basis). The most representative operational costs (total costs/ha) for crop establishment and management were: crop fertilization (21.21%), top spreading fertilization (12.86%), seeds (11.40%), and weeds (5.78%) and insect control (4.52%). Feed (forage plus concentrate) represented 77.2% of the production cost when animal acquisition was not included in the calculation with concentrate accounting for 58.3% of these costs. The cost/kg of weight gain increased linearly from 1.94 to 2.34 R$/kg when SW was increased from 340 to 434 kg. Increasing SW from 340 to 434 kg reduced the profitability of feedlot finished Red Angus young steers.
feeding cost; feedlot cost; finishing system; production cost; slaughter age
