Data from a 3-yr study in Montana were utilized to evaluate impacts of season of calving, weaning strategy, and retained ownership of steer calves on enterprise profitability. Calving seasons were late winter (LW), early spring (ES), or late spring (LS). Each season had 2 weaning times: 190 (LW190, ES190) or 240 (LW240, ES240) d for LW and ES, and 140 (LS140) or 190 (LS190) d for LS. Backgrounding options included shipping steers to Oklahoma (OK1), or backgrounding in Montana to a constant age (MT2) or weight (MT3). Steers from OK1 and MT2 were finished in Oklahoma in confinement or via self-feeders on pasture and harvested in Texas. Steers in MT3 were finished in Montana in confinement and harvested in Colorado. Performance of each system was modeled based on actual animal performance, market prices, and variable input costs. When calves were sold at weaning, gross margins per cow were greatest for LS190 (P < 0.05) and lowest for LW240. During backgrounding, costs of gain were similar among cow-calf systems, and gross margins per steer were greatest for LS140 (P < 0.05), but not different among backgrounding systems. During finishing, costs of gain were greatest for steers from MT2 due to transportation costs to Oklahoma (P < 0.05), and gross margin per steer favored MT3 (P < 0.05). Gross margin for a ranch with a fixed land base did not differ among systems if calves were sold at weaning, but was greatest for LS systems after backgrounding or finishing (P < 0.05).

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This research addressed the hypothesis that spring precipitation data can be used to detect agricultural drought early in the growing season. The Rangetek range model was used to simulate yearly forage data based on historical precipitation and temperature records from the USDA-ARS Fort Keogh Livestock and Range Research Laboratory (Miles City, MT) and the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Manyberries Substation (Lethbridge, AB, Canada). Monthly total precipitation and monthly average maximum and 1 Research was conducted under a cooperative agreement between USDA Agriculture Research Service and the Montana Agriculture Experiment Station. Mention of a proprietary product does not constitute a guarantee or warranty of the product by USDA, Montana Agriculture Experiment Station, or the authors and does not imply its approval to the exclusion of other products that may also be suitable. The USDA-ARS Northern Plains Area is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer and all agency services are available without discrimination.