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Abstract
Cattle feeding enterprises operate amid variability originating in prices and production. This
research explicitly models yield risks related to cattle feeding by relating the mean and variance
of yield performance factors to observable conditioning variables. The results demonstrate
that pen characteristics, such as entry weight, gender, placement season, and location
influence the mean and variability of yield factors, defined as dry matter feed conversion,
average daily gain, mortality, and animal health costs. Ex ante profit distributions, conditional
on cattle placement characteristics, are derived through simulation methods to evaluate the
effects of price or yield shocks on the distributional characteristics of expected profits.