When Daryl Strohbehn retired as an Iowa State Extension beef specialist there was one project he wasn’t ready to give up the reins to.
Since 2003, he has tracked the profit values for sires of calves enrolled in the Tri-County Steer Carcass Futurity (TCSCF). “To make things work in the cattle business today, it takes information based on sound data,” Strohbehn says. “I enjoy figuring out what that sound data is and what it might tell us.” The cooperative’s Sire Profit Analysis has grown from data on 35 sires in the initial report to 3,451sires evaluated in 2012.
Nobody wants cattle with too much “attitude,” but it takes focused genetics and handling to improve docility in a herd. “We’ve always tried to be careful about selecting bulls for disposition,” says Roger Jones, of Tri-Tower Farm, near Shenandoah, Iowa. “It’s very important to us to have a cowherd that we can handle, without a lot of wild calves in it. You know, the cattle do better in the feedlot when they aren’t wild.” Since he operates both enterprises, Jones knows how those issues carry from the field to the feedlot.
Today, Debbie Lyons-Blythe, who regularly updates her blog “Life on a Kansas Cattle Ranch,” gives us a snapshot of what Sunday looked like at their place.
Earlier this week Mark told you a herd bull is a big investment, and getting more so all the time. That’s why we asked Mark for his top tips for bull buying.
Many people have a distinct strategy for purchasing a new pickup. They want certain features, they’re willing to pay more for this, but not that. They figure value and how much it’ll be worth for resale X-number years down the road. But when those same ranchers go to buy a bull, it’s hard to follow such a plan. Action at the auction can lead to price “opportunities” and buying less than they really wanted. Jim McGrann, emeritus ranch management economist at Texas A&M, says bull-buying should be more like a vehicle purchase and less like shopping the bargain bin on an after-Christmas sale.
When we kicked off our first-ever live Facebook chat, we didn’t know what to expect. But the hour flew by and we were impressed with the variety and depth of the questions our friends asked.
Some “recent” history: I was digging back through some information we researched out of the Iowa Tri-County Steer Carcass Futurity (TCSCF) database the other day.
They know Angus EPDs (expected progeny differences) like nobody’s business. Er, nobody else’s business.
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