By Mary Drewnoski
Some producers think of compensatory gain as “free gain.” If you’re buying calves in the spring for summer grazing, that might be a reasonable perspective. The lighter weight “green” calves you buy gain more on the same feed resource compared to calves that were previously on a higher plane of nutrition and gaining at a higher rate before purchase. However, for retained calves, the economics shift. The higher cost of winter gain, due to spreading fixed costs like forage, labor, and equipment over fewer pounds of gain, may not be fully offset by increased summer growth rates.
When comparing a target winter gain of 2.0 lb/day vs. 0.8 lb/day by feeding more supplement on corn residue, the extra feed cost averaged about $50 per head over an 18-year period. However, even after compensatory summer gain, the calves with the higher winter rate of gain were still about 70 lb heavier in September.
Source : unl.edu