Under this programme, cattle are fed out at University of Minnesota Crookston or UMore Park, Rosemount, until they reach finishing weight.

Producers pay $30 per head in addition to expenses. In exchange, producers receive performance data comparing their cattle against other cattle in a feedlot setting.

They get information on what to expect from their cattle under retained ownership agreements, and they receive carcase data.

They can compare their own management techniques to those of the University of Minnesota Beef Team. The producer also receives information on feed intake, weight gain and efficiency to determine the effects of genetic selection.

Purebred breeders can use this venue to test the offspring of bulls they produce.

A producer with a small herd can even use this programme to feed out their calves, and improve marketability by commingling in larger groups.

“We get cattle anywhere from some that were 250 pounds (Rosemount only) on up to 750 or over 800 pounds,” said Alfredo DiCostanzo, University of Minnesota Extension beef specialist. “Most come in between 400 and 800 pounds.

“They are fed out, and we pass the information on to the producer - on the intake, on the grain, on the carcase. At the end, the University sells them as a truckload, and the individual expenses are deducted with the balance distributed to the producer.