Love is in the air…

February 14, 2011

So here’s a myth I love to tackle!

A week and a half ago, thousands of cattlemen gathered for the Cattle Industry Convention. Now, many of them are home and, like Steve, into calving.

But one rancher I visited with was already looking ahead to breeding. Thinking about his next infusion of genetics, he wondered if he should take his sights off quality in an effort to get more performance in his herd.

Heavens to Besty! Hold your horses! Oh my stars! The corny catch phrases for *shock* could go on and on, but let’s get right down to the knitty-gritty of mythbusting.

Myth–High grading cattle don’t gain well.

Fact–Performance and quality—those two are not independent of each other. (Thank goodness, because folks wouldn’t produce cattle that make CAB if they also didn’t pay the bills.)

In fact, another person I caught up with in Denver was Shawn Walter, of Professional Cattle Consultants.

He recently analyzed some data—er, correction A LOT of data, like 440,000 head a lot—and found that the highest profit groups were also the highest gaining and highest grading.

“A common misperception is that you have to give up feeding performance to get grade. Yet,the higher grading cattle also tend to gain better,” he says.

Yup, those in the high grading third gained 3.18 lb./day, versus 2.97 for those in the lowest grading group. If you’re intrigued, check out the full “Profit Profiles” report.

It appears you can have your cake and eat it, too.

So this gentleman I spoke with can keep his carcass focus and add in performance criteria and he’ll get a calf crop that’s as good as gold, or at least worth more money at every segment.

If you’re already hitting all the bells performance-wise, you can start to consider the carcass to have the real “bell ringers.”

But, wait–there’s more good news!

Those who already enjoy the predictability and wide selection of Angus genetics (this guy was) can hit high marks in both growth and grade. A growing body of research shows that straightbred Angus cattle can outperform all others in the feedlot.

That’s news that could just about tickle anybody pink. (Kind of fitting for Valentine’s Day, don’t ya think?)

Here’s to celebrating both  the day & this exciting revelation in style!

May your bottom line be filled with black ink,

-Miranda

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