30 Years of Feedlot School

A few decades ago, there was a false perception that we couldn’t feed cattle to finish, or feed ‘fat cattle,’ in North Dakota. “It was too cold to cost effectively put weight on cattle,” the uninformed complained.

While North Dakota is colder than southern states, the frozen north is actually excellent for cattle feeding. Mud, rain, and extreme summer heat are larger problems than cold, snow and blizzards. Part of the reason North Dakota feedlots and cattle herds can cope with winter is that we are prepared to handle inclement weather. A poor man’s concrete is frozen ground!

Cattle feeding can be cost-effective here because of North Dakota’s inherently plentiful and lower-cost feed. Feed yards run on cost of gain: low-cost, high-quality feed is the first consideration in lowering cost of gain.

To help stimulate more cattle feeding in North Dakota, a two-day school for cattle feeders was developed several years ago, and the Carrington Research Extension Center has now hosted NDSU Feedlot School for 30 years.

North Dakota State University’s Carrington Research Extension Center will hold its annual NDSU Feedlot School on January 22-23, 2025. This intensive course is for cattle producers, feeders, backgrounders, feed industry personnel, animal health-care suppliers and anyone else who is interested in learning more about feedlot production, nutrition, waste management and marketing. Feedlot School helps identify areas for improvement, ranging from feed bunk management to health to business planning to marketing.

A few slots remain in the 2025 class. Register online at www.tinyurl.com/payCREC.

For more information about the course topics or to be placed on a waiting list for next year’s Feedlot School, contact Karl Hoppe at 701.652.2951 or karl.hoppe@ndsu.edu.

Karl Hoppe, Ph. D.
Karl.Hoppe@ndsu.edu
Extension Livestock Systems Specialist