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Leachman validation
Large scale commercial validation proves that $Feeder works!
In a study involving 2,428 steers and heifers fed at Lincoln County Feed Yard, Zoetis provided Inherit Select DNA tests. Then, carcass data was collected. The individual EPDs accurately predicted changes in ribeye area, marbling, % premium quality grades, backfat, and carcass weight. This happened despite the cattle coming from 19 herds and 11 states. The cattle were harvested from 6/1/19 to 8/1/20 at Cargill Meat Solutions in Fort Morgan, CO. The cattle were then priced on a fixed market and grid.
$Feeder Percentiles # Head Average $Feeder Avg. Actual Carcass Weight
Average Actual REA
Average Actual Marb Score Choice & Higher
Upper 2/3 Choice & Higher Percent Prime Average Actual BackFat Average $ cwt
Average Grid Value
10% 255 178 906 14.9 582 96.7% 41.0% 19.7% 0.624 $181.97 $1,648 20% 242 138 901 14.6 566 95.0% 40.9% 19.7% 0.659 $180.74 $1,627 30% 243 119 897 14.6 551 94.8% 29.0% 16.4% 0.666 $179.20 $1,606 40% 243 102 901 14.5 542 91.8% 26.3% 9.1% 0.663 $178.03 $1,604 50% 243 88 901 14.5 523 91.7% 20.7% 9.1% 0.655 $178.40 $1,606 60% 243 74 903 14.6 510 86.9% 18.9% 7.8% 0.680 $177.51 $1,603 70% 243 61 893 14.3 524 89.3% 19.3% 5.8% 0.683 $177.25 $1,581 80% 243 47 890 14.5 508 87.2% 15.3% 5.4% 0.676 $177.18 $1,576 90% 243 27 881 14.5 491 80.3% 13.5% 4.5% 0.647 $176.59 $1,555 100% 230 -11 862 14.1 488 80.6% 10.3% 4.5% 0.688 $175.69 $1,513
The index successfully showed a value difference of $135 per head between the animals in the top 10% for $Feeder Index (at $178) and those in the bottom 10% (at -$11 $Feeder). While individual feed intake data is not available, we believe that it would have shown additional value differences in favor of the index.
The AVERAGE 2021 Spring Sale bull at Imagine the feeders that you can build with Leachman’s top bulls! Leachman Scored $197 on $Feeder.
This equates to the top 100 animals in the study. Their data was impressive:
Carcass Weight: 912 lbs. Ribeye Area: 15.2 square inches Choice & Higher Marbling: 96% Upper 2/3 Choice & Higher: 43% Prime quality grade: 24%
These cattle earned a $74 grid premium over the average cattle in the study.
