Yes. In Illinois farm records from 2005 through 2024, feeder-cattle operations grouped by average purchase weight differed in sale weights, sale prices and feed use—but their average returns above feed costs were relatively close. The 500–750-pound group had the highest 20-year average, while the gap between the highest- and lowest-returning groups was about $7.90 per hundredweight produced. These are descriptive averages, not proof that purchase weight alone determines profitability.
What the 20-year comparison measured
Bradley Zwilling’s June 20, 2025, article for the University of Illinois farmdoc daily compares Illinois Farm Business Farm Management (FBFM) feeder-cattle operations over 2005–2024. It sorts operations by their average feeder-cattle purchase weight into three bands:
- Under 500 pounds
- 500–750 pounds
- Over 750 pounds
The 500–750-pound category included the majority of participating operations. The number of usable farms varied over time, falling from 148 in 2005 to 70 in 2024. The findings therefore describe participating Illinois operations across a long period; they are not a randomized test or a forecast for current cattle prices. Read the University of Illinois article.
How purchase weight related to sale weight and prices
The lighter-purchase group sold lighter cattle on average. In the University of Illinois analysis, its average purchase weight was 275 pounds and its average sale weight was 1,222 pounds. The 500–750-pound and over-750-pound groups sold at average weights of about 1,300 and 1,400 pounds, respectively.
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The under-500-pound group received about $10 less per hundredweight at sale than the other groups. It also paid more per hundredweight to purchase cattle: its average purchase price was about $11 per hundredweight higher than the over-750-pound group’s. These are differences reported for the study’s 20-year averages, not today’s market prices.
Despite the lower sale price per hundredweight, the lighter group had the highest gross returns as the article defines them: sale amount minus purchase amount. The lighter cattle started at lower weights, so the purchase-to-sale weight difference matters when comparing total amounts. This gross-return measure does not subtract feed costs.
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Feed use varied with the weight group
The study’s “value of feed fed” includes purchased feed and an assigned value for farm-raised grain, silage, hay, pasture and other roughages. In most years, the under-500-pound group had the highest feed value per hundredweight produced, while the two heavier-purchase groups were lower and similar. Feed-cost patterns came closer together in 2012 and 2013, when grain prices were high, but did not converge as closely in 2021 and 2022.
Feed quantities followed a different pattern: the under-500-pound group typically fed fewer pounds of concentrates per hundredweight of gain and more hay and roughages per hundredweight produced. Zwilling associates this pattern with backgrounding lighter cattle on grazing and roughages, while heavier cattle need more concentrate in a finishing ration aimed at the desired carcass grade. That is an explanation for the observed pattern, not a controlled finding that purchase weight caused it.
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Returns above feed costs were relatively close
Returns above feed costs are not the same as gross returns. The article’s measure accounts for sale price, cattle purchase cost, and the change in inventory value for cattle still on hand at calendar year-end; it is stated per hundredweight produced. It does not mean net farm profit after every operating cost.
On this measure, the three groups’ 20-year averages were close. The 500–750-pound group ranked highest by more than $4 per hundredweight produced, and the spread between the highest and lowest group averages was about $7.90 per hundredweight produced. The modest spread is a useful counterweight to differences in sale weights, sale prices and feed use: no one weight band stands out as a guaranteed route to stronger returns in these records.
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What a cattle operation can take from the comparison
Use the figures as a historical benchmark for questions to investigate in your own records, not as a purchase-weight recommendation. Geography, market timing, feed availability, cattle quality and production system can all differ from the Illinois operations in this analysis.
- Track purchase and sale weights, prices, feed quantities and feed costs consistently.
- Separate gross returns from returns above feed costs when comparing groups or years; they answer different financial questions.
- Compare results over time and account for cattle still in inventory at year-end when evaluating returns.
FBFM provides computerized recordkeeping and farm financial management services, and accurate weights are one part of useful cattle records. Zwilling’s practical conclusion is to keep accurate records and compare them over time when making financial decisions for a feeder-cattle operation.
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