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The Oberlin Herald
By John Maclay
Marketing cattle based on individual value requires that you manage them ac cording to their individual potential. That belief has led Warren Weibert through a series of innovations at Decatur County Feedyard, Oberlin, Kan.
The feed yard focuses on retained-ownership customers, and Mr. Weibert says he wants to improve
ranchers' long-term profitability and also supply them with the information they need to make strategic genetic decisions back at the ranch.
Back in 1994, Decatur County was one of the first feed yard to incorporate the Electronic Cattle Management (ECM) system, designed by Micro Chemical Company, now known as Micro Beef Technologies. The system uses electronic identification, along with Micro Beef's Accu-Trac software to objectively sort cattle based on a wide range of physical and economic measures.
The feed yard added 94 pens during 1999, bringing its total one-time capacity to near 45,000 head. Along with the new pens, the feedyard added a high-capacity processing facility that brings the ECM concept to a new level. The entire system, designed with the assistance of Micro Beef Technologies and animalhandling expert Temple Grandin, takes full advantage of current technology for measuring the performance and potential of every animal and making individual management decisions.
Calves received into the ECM program begin with a 120-day shipping window, Mr. Weibert explains.
The greatest potential for higher profits is back at the ranch, Mr. Weibert notes, where genetic improvements based on individual performance and carcass data can bring another $50 per head profit.
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